mental note in favor of non-post-consumer cotton rugs in future...?

[cimorene]

We bought a really nice squishy new long rag rug, but unfortunately it has a faint but perceptible mildew stink clinging to it (one I didn't notice until we got it home because it doesn't emerge until my face is right up next to it like lying on the floor close), which maybe I should have expected since it seems to be made of recycled fabric. Mildew seems to be a smell that most people are way less sensitive to than I am - possibly a mild allergy, although it doesn't make my sinuses burn or hurt or anything (YET?). Not fun when frequently attics and basements are full of the smell and nobody else even seems to notice it, but anyway...

I just washed it at 60° with ordinary detergent, which didn't help at all, so I googled it and it seems I should soak it, perhaps as long as overnight, in vinegar water. I have plenty of white vinegar, but we don't own anything big enough to submerge this rug in except the actual washing machine, which is front-loading. So here I go to figure out how to set it to fill and soak things.

Comments

[yvannairie]

Do you use an oxidiser while washing cotton?

[cimorene]

I tried googling this but I'm still not sure if the oxygen bleach I have qualifies as an oxidizer and I didn't want to go look at the package again. So... maybe?

LOL.

I used up the oxygen bleach the first time I washed it though; now I need to buy more.

[yvannairie]

Oh! I mean like an oxygen-based stain remover like Vanish? Like how washing something with baking soda will deodorise it, at least my stain remover does the same, and it's also less harsh on the fabric than colour safe bleach :3c

[phosfate]

Arm & Hammer makes a good laundry soap with baking soda. Comes in big yellow bottles or boxes of powder.

[cimorene]

Oh, yeah. And I could just always dump a bunch of baking soda in with it in the meantime.

[lazaefair]

Try washing it with baking soda? Setting it outside to disinfect in sunlight for a while? Colorfast bleach detergent?

[cimorene]

I will try to dry it on the balcony after this. Hoping that will be enough to remove any lingering vinegar smell, or I may have to do it over with baking soda... !

[isabellerecs]

Depending on your space this might not work, but you can get a plastic kiddie wading pool for less than $15 at Walmart (and possibly other places I just figured that would be the cheapest). Soak your rug, and then donate it or something after your done.

[cimorene]

I will keep this basic idea in mind in future, not least because the mental image is HILARIOUS. 👍

[isabellerecs]

It is indeed a hilarious mental image, as I typed out the suggestion I imagined my spouse coming home to me doing that in the garage and yeah, too funny. :D

[cimorene]

Honestly it made me want to get a kiddie pool even if it's NOT n necessary just to find other weird things to put in it.

[isabellerecs]

LOL. :D What is life without a little whimsy.

[harpers_child]

If it's just lingering smell and not actual mildew present, try a light to medium coat of cheap vodka from a spray bottle. A friend who does theater costuming recommended that to me a while back for some vintage clothes I bought.

[cimorene]

This is fascinating and a little alarming. Wouldn't it smell like vodka then? ... And if the idea is just alcohol wouldn't say, isopropyl be cheaper?

Also since the rag rug is literally woven of tons of different brightly-colored (and different-fibered) fabric scraps smushed together it's hard to say for certain that there isn't some mildew in it, even though there are no visible marks.

[harpers_child]

The few bits I tried it on had no smell after a few minutes. Those were small enough to lay over the back of chairs and lay out on the table. I've tried isopropyl, but it doesn't always work. Not sure why. If you have isopropyl on hand it can't hurt to try.

The theory is that the booze kills any bacteria and mildew still present after cleaning and you can use it on pieces that are tricky to clean between performances.

[cimorene]

Well... I do have vodka, as it happens. But only expensive vodka, because we bought it on sale in a collectible sequined jacket at Christmas years ago and we still haven't used it up because like... we... don't really go through vodka very fast. So I guess it's not like I'd be wasting it per se, but it feels a bit odd to use something so expensive in that way.