How to Get Mold Out of Clothes

To get mold out of clothes, brush off loose spores outdoors, soak the item in white vinegar or an oxygen-bleach solution for 30 to 60 minutes, wash on the hottest water the care label allows, and dry in direct sunlight or on high heat. Chlorine bleach works too, but only on white, bleach-safe fabric, never on colors, wool, silk, or spandex. A garment is only a lost cause if the fabric has gone weak where the mold grew, or the smell survives two full wash cycles.

Dealing with a bigger mold problem than just a few shirts? Call a licensed local mold pro now for a fast quote.

The rest of this guide covers the step-by-step process, which treatment works best, and special cases like baby clothes, shoes, and floodwater.

What's the Difference Between Mold and Mildew on Clothes?

Mildew sits flat on fabric, stays powdery, and shows up white, gray, or pale yellow. Mold digs into the fibers, can turn black, green, or blue-green, and often looks raised, fuzzy, or slightly slimy when damp.

Treatment overlaps enough that it rarely changes your first move. See the difference between mold and mildew for the full comparison. Treat any dark, textured, or musty-smelling spot on clothes as mold until a wash proves otherwise.

Is It Safe to Wash or Wear Moldy Clothes?

Washing moldy clothes is safe once handled correctly: brush off loose spores outside before they near your washing machine, and don't mix the load with unrelated laundry until treated. Wearing clothes with visible mold isn't a good idea; spores transfer to your skin, furniture, and other garments.

Health Risks of Mold-Contaminated Clothing

Brief contact with a small mold spot isn't an emergency for most healthy adults, but repeated exposure adds up: skin irritation, sneezing, itchy eyes, a scratchy throat. People with asthma, mold allergies, or a compromised immune system can react more strongly, sometimes just from handling the item. If mold on clothes keeps recurring, a closet, hamper, or damp storage area is often the real source.

What You'll Need Before You Start

Safety Gear and Ventilation

Work outside or in a well-ventilated space, not a closed bathroom or laundry room where spores concentrate. An N95 mask or better stops you from inhaling spores while you brush and handle the item, and disposable gloves keep spores off your hands. Skip this for one small spot you're about to wash anyway, but use it for multiple moldy items or anything damp more than a day or two.

Supplies: Vinegar, Borax, Oxygen Bleach, Chlorine Bleach, Detergent

• White vinegar (one cup per gallon of hot water for a soak)
• Borax (half a cup dissolved in hot water)
• Oxygen bleach, also labeled sodium percarbonate or sold as color-safe bleach
• Chlorine bleach, white or bleach-safe fabric only
• 3% hydrogen peroxide, for spot-treating
• A stiff brush for sturdy fabric, soft brush for delicates
• Your regular laundry detergent
• A bucket or basin for soaking

How to Get Mold Out of Clothes: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Take Clothes Outside and Brush Off Loose Spores

Take the garment outside or to a garage before handling it further. Brush off the mold, a dry stiff brush on cotton and denim, a soft brush on knits, working over a trash bag you can seal and toss. Doing this indoors redistributes spores onto your floor and other laundry.

Step 2: Pretreat and Soak the Stain

Soak for 30 to 60 minutes: a cup of white vinegar per gallon of hot water, a scoop of dissolved borax, or an oxygen-bleach solution mixed per the label. Older stains benefit from a longer soak, up to a few hours, but check the care label first, since some synthetics and wool don't tolerate long submersion.

Step 3: Wash on the Hottest Safe Setting

Wash on the hottest water the care label allows, with your normal detergent dose. Hot water kills spores that survived pretreatment; a cold, quick cycle mostly just moves them around. Wash the item alone the first time rather than mixing it into your regular laundry.

Step 4: Dry in Direct Sunlight or on High Heat

Sunlight's UV exposure kills residual spores and helps clear odor, so line-drying outside is the better finishing step when weather allows. In a dryer, run the highest heat the care label permits for 20 to 30 minutes. Don't hang it indoors in a closed room; damp fabric indoors is the condition that let mold start in the first place.

Step 5: Recheck the Stain and Smell Before Storing

Inspect the garment in good light and give it a close smell test before it goes back in a drawer. Any lingering dark spot, texture, or musty smell means the treatment didn't fully take, and needs a second round with a stronger method. Putting a still-contaminated item away restarts the problem in storage.

Stop Mold From Spreading Back Through the Washing Machine

Washing a moldy item can leave spores in the machine, especially in a front-loader's rubber door gasket, where they hide and reinfect the next few loads. Afterward, run an empty hot cycle with two cups of white vinegar, wipe the door seal by hand, and leave the door open between loads so the drum dries out. See cleaning mold out of your washing machine for the full fix.

Which Treatment Works Best? Vinegar vs. Borax vs. Bleach vs. Oxygen Bleach

No single method wins every category, so match the treatment to the fabric and the problem.

Method	Kills Mold	Safe on Colors/Delicates	Removes Smell	Cost	Best For
White vinegar	Yes	Yes	Strong	Low	Everyday colored loads
Borax	Yes, resists regrowth	Yes	Moderate	Low	Sensitive skin, recurring mold
Chlorine bleach	Yes, surface and stain	No, bleach-safe only	Strong	Low	White cotton, bleach-safe fabric
Oxygen bleach	Yes, milder	Yes	Moderate to strong	Low-moderate	Colored fabric, stubborn stains
3% hydrogen peroxide	Yes, fast	Yes, test first	Moderate	Low	Spot-treating a small patch

Start with using vinegar to kill mold around your home or oxygen bleach for everyday colored laundry. Reserve chlorine bleach for fabric confirmed bleach-safe.

Best Method by Fabric Type and Color

White and Bleach-Safe Fabrics

Check the care label for a bleach-safe symbol. If it's there, chlorine bleach in a hot wash clears mold and staining well; see how bleach behaves on fabric for why it fails elsewhere. Borax or vinegar work just as well without chlorine.

Colored and Delicate Fabrics

Skip chlorine bleach; it fades color and weakens wool, silk, and spandex. Vinegar, oxygen bleach, or a short hydrogen peroxide soak handle mold on colored cotton, synthetics, and delicates without the color risk. Test any solution on an inside seam first.

Dry-Clean-Only Items

Don't wet-treat suits, structured wool, or anything labeled dry-clean-only at home. Brush off loose spores outdoors, then take the item to a professional cleaner and flag the mold, not just a stain, so they pretreat it separately from a shared batch.

Warning: Never Mix Bleach and Vinegar or Ammonia

Combining chlorine bleach with vinegar or ammonia produces chlorine gas, dangerous even in a small laundry room. Pick one method and rinse well before switching chemicals on the same item; never layer them in one soak or wash.

How to Get Musty Mildew Smell Out of Clothes (Even With No Visible Mold)

Smell without a visible stain is a common variant of the same problem: soak the item in oxygen bleach or a cup of vinegar per gallon of water for an hour, wash hot with a full detergent dose and an extra rinse, then sun-dry. A smell that survives two full cycles usually means mold is present but not visible yet, or the washing machine itself is reinfecting the load; work through the section above before re-treating the garment.

Special Cases

Mold on Baby or Kids' Clothes

Skip chlorine bleach and heavy fragrances. A vinegar soak or a gentle, dye-free oxygen bleach handles mold without irritating residue. Run an extra rinse and dry in direct sunlight. If a child has had respiratory symptoms and the clothing was heavily contaminated, mention it to their pediatrician.

Mold on Shoes and Sneakers

Most shoes can't go in the washing machine. Brush off loose mold outdoors, wipe the exterior with diluted vinegar or a shoe cleaner, and pull the insoles to treat separately since foam holds moisture longer than the outer material. Stuff both shoes with newspaper and dry outside in the sun, not near direct heat, which warps glue and soles. Replace insoles if the smell returns after two or three treatments.

Mold on Stored, Vintage, or Heirloom Clothing

Older, brittle fibers don't always tolerate a full soak. For anything irreplaceable, a wedding gown, an heirloom quilt, a light vinegar dab on a hidden seam is a reasonable test, but a textile conservator is worth the cost first. Everyday vintage pieces usually need only a gentle vacuum brushing and a mild soak.

Clothes Exposed to Flooding or Water Damage

Floodwater often carries sewage and bacterial contamination beyond a normal mold spot. Wash these items separately in hot water with detergent, adding chlorine bleach if the fabric allows it. For soft, fully submerged items, stuffed animals, foam-padded coats, mattress pads, weigh whether they're cheap or hard to sanitize; those are often better replaced.

How to Prevent Mold From Coming Back

Dry Clothes Immediately, Never Leave Damp Laundry Sitting

Damp gym clothes or a swimsuit balled up in a hamper for more than a day gives mold the conditions it needs. Use a ventilated mesh hamper rather than a sealed bin, and wash damp items within 24 hours.

Control Humidity in Closets, Hampers, and Storage

Closets above roughly 50% humidity are prime territory for mold on stored clothes. A desiccant moisture absorber on a shelf, and swapping sealed plastic bins for breathable garment bags or cotton totes, both cut the risk, especially in a basement or humid climate.

Clean Your Washing Machine to Avoid Cross-Contamination

Run the empty hot vinegar cycle from earlier monthly, not just after a mold incident, and leave the door cracked between loads. A machine that never dries out becomes a recurring source of the same problem.

When to Throw Moldy Clothes Away Instead of Cleaning Them

A single checked box below is a reasonable signal to replace the item instead of treating it further:

• Fabric has gone thin, weak, or is starting to disintegrate where the mold grew
• Musty smell survives two full wash-and-dry cycles
• Mold has soaked through a thick or padded item, a coat lining, mattress pad, or stuffed toy, and two treatments haven't cleared it
• The item was soaked in floodwater and is inexpensive or hard to fully sanitize
• Someone in the household has a serious mold allergy and reacts to the item even after cleaning
• Visible staining remains on a light-colored or special-occasion garment after two full treatment attempts

When DIY Isn't Enough: Dry Cleaner vs. Professional Mold Remediation

DIY handles most isolated mold spots on washable fabric with little more than vinegar or oxygen bleach and an hour of your time. A dry cleaner is the better call for dry-clean-only garments or staining a home wash couldn't lift; expect a few days' turnaround and a cost above DIY but below a service call, and mention the mold when you drop the item off.

A professional mold removal and remediation service is the right call when clothes are a symptom of a bigger problem: mold on multiple items from one closet, a room that stays musty after every garment is cleaned, or clothes that keep re-molding within weeks. The source there is the room, not the clothes, and a remediation pro can treat it directly and test the air afterward to confirm the fix held.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are moldy clothes ruined, or can they be saved?

Most can be saved if you catch the problem early. Cotton, linen, and most synthetics hold up fine to a vinegar or oxygen-bleach soak. An item usually isn't worth saving if the fabric has gone weak or thin where the mold grew, the smell survives two full wash-and-dry cycles, or a thick, padded item is soaked through.

Does vinegar really kill mold on clothes?

Yes. White vinegar's acidity, roughly 5% acetic acid, kills most common household mold species given about 30 to 60 minutes of soak time. It's gentle on color and won't damage most fibers. For heavier infestations, pair it with an oxygen-bleach soak rather than relying on vinegar alone.

Will the dryer kill mold on its own?

Not reliably. High heat can kill some spores, but it won't lift staining or clear allergenic residue already worked into the fibers. Wash the garment first, then use the dryer's high heat or direct sunlight as a finishing step, not a substitute for washing.

Is it safe to wear clothes with mold spots?

No, treat them first. Direct skin contact with mold spores can irritate skin and airways, especially for anyone with allergies or asthma, and wearing the item spreads spores onto your skin and everything it touches.

Does OxiClean get mold out of clothes?

Oxygen-bleach products like OxiClean can lighten mold staining and have some mold-killing effect through the same sodium percarbonate chemistry as other oxygen bleach products. They're milder and slower than chlorine bleach or a straight vinegar soak, so they work best combined with a hot wash rather than used alone on heavy mold.

How do you get the musty mildew smell out of clothes?

Soak the item in an oxygen-bleach solution or a cup of white vinegar per gallon of water for an hour before washing, wash on the hottest safe setting with a full dose of detergent, and dry in direct sunlight when you can. If the smell survives two full cycles, check whether your washing machine itself is the source before you keep re-treating the garment.

Get the Mold Out for Good

Most mold on clothes comes out the same way: brush off spores outside, soak in the right solution, wash hot, and dry in the sun or on high heat. Clean the washing machine afterward and recheck the item before you store it. Mold across multiple garments points to a source in the room, not just the clothes.

Call a licensed local mold pro now for a fast quote if mold keeps coming back on more than just a few items.