musty dress

darwins_mum

Hi all, I bought a cheap dress from a charity shop last week. washed it on a normal wash and wore it to work the next day. As the day wore on I became aware of a musty smell coming from the dress.
I have washed it again, but it still smells slightly musty.
any tips on getting rid of the smell?
cheers
DM

dibblersan

you could try washing it with a table spoon of vinigar.

janb5

The good news is that it only smells slightly musty so better than before!

I would suggest that when you have washed it again, then put it on the line on a hanger and hang from the hanger. What is the dress made of? It may take a few washes to get rid of the smell. It is unusual that a CS dress would smell- they are usually steam cleaned.

pigpen

Could you hang it outside after a wash to air it a bit.. might be worth adding vinegar and fabric conditioner and a slop of oxyclean stuff..

babyshoes

Are you washing it in hot water or only warm/cold to save energy? Apparently the 'wet washing' smell is caused by a specific bacterium which is killed by heat, so a hot wash or a hot tumble dry or even a good iron would work if it is that particular strain causing the smell.

If that doesn't work, I am sure bicarbonate would help a lot, it normally does for smells! For this I would soak the dress in a solution of it.

germish_se

Actually Charity shop clothes don't get steam cleaned, we only steam them to get creases out, so they are in fact no cleaner than if they were just ironed.