Housekeeping, musty sheets

I have undertaken a huge project and that is to wash all the bedding in the house, both in use and spare bedding, because when I store my sheets and pillowcases. they develop a musty, dank smell that drives me around the bend!

I do not put my bedding away dirty! Everything is washed and folded with care, placed in a closet that is open, so lots of circulation, the room is heated so not prone to moisutre and still when I grab a set of sheets...UGH!...what is that stink?

SO now everything is going into the washer with a shot of washing soda and generous glug or two of vinegar and SOAKING like that for an extended period, before finishing the cycle with laundry soap added.

This time I am going to wrap and seal the sheets and such in bags. It goes against the grain. BUt so far, exposing them to 'fresh air' has lead to raunchy musty smell. Maybe sealing OUT the fresh air will make a sifference. I don't know. I'm at a loss. I really hate washing CLEAN bedding because no one can stand the smell of it.

My sheets are 100% cotton. I do nt use very much soap and do not use fabric softener for sheets that will be put in storage.

Anyone have any suggestions? I am at a loss. And this is taking DAYS to get through! Even sheets line dried in the sun have developed a stank. GROSS!

Uno, get a hold of those vacuum storage bags for clothes. They are rectangular, flat, and will fit under a bed. You attach a vacuum nozzle to them and remove every particle of air and then seal them.

You live in a moist area. Even though your sheets are clean, the moist air carries spores of mold that get into your bedding and the warm moist conditions encourages mold to multiply.

Wash and dry normally, but when you dry, really dessicate thse suckers! Get them bone dry! Then, still hot from the dryer, put them in the bags and suck the air out. Seal the bags and you shold be good to go!

I think you can get the bags from Canadian Tire.

Here!

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Though the ones I remember were flat, these are the same thing.

Uno, I can't believe you are airing your dirty laundry in public!

coopslave wrote:Uno, I can't believe you are airing your dirty laundry in public!

Hee hee hee!

apparently these are better and you should be able to find them at Walmart:

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When was the last time you cleaned your washing machine? I know that it happens to me sometimes.

Just a suggestion?

Ha ha, Coopslave, very funny.

Ruffled Feathers, I know for a fact that my washing machine carries an incredible load of gunge. I have seen it when the repair man took the outside of the machine off. I almost died.

Every now and then I do run an empty load through, but that sediment is PACKED in there. Once, and only once, I filled the washer with water, took HUbbies' air compressor hose and pushed it up against one of those little holes in the tub and...let's just say the mess was more than I had bargained for.

Hmm, suck and seal bags...like home canning, but for sheets. I will have to consider these, thanks Sue!

I think the smelly washing machine is more of the issue. Only because the old washer we use does leave the towels especially funny smelling. I talked to the manager at Sears and he said it was such a problem with front loading washers they now sell a detergent to wash the washing machine. They are apparently awful if they are left unused for a week or two particularly. Really. what will they think we need next? That has turned me off front loading machines.

Anyway, our old washer is a top loader and still smells so I think we are just about up for a new one. It's on my list of things to do. Although I hate doing it while it still runs if it is smelly it isn't really doing its job.

Sometimes in damp climates I've seen linens hung in cupboards folded over hangers.

Maybe try lining the closet with aromatic cedar and adding extra shelves so the laundry is not deeply stacked. Rolling towels and linens sometimes helps with air circulation too. If you use a natural soap, not a detergent, the oil residue can be left on your clothes. This build up can go rancid. Hydrogen peroxide or chlorine bleach will help as will a detergent washing one out of a dozen washings. Hanging linens to dry in the sunshine also helps, though the season for that has just passed. My mother hung laundry out year round and would bring in stiff clothing some times. I was too disinterested to pay attention to what happened after that, but the smell of wind blown winter clothes was pretty refreshing all the same.

We seal our extra bedding in plastic bags as well.

Something else you may want to try is a couple charcoal briquettes in your closet. They're fantastic at absorbing moisture.

Some of the early front load washing machine allowed dirty water to gather in the front seal. We actually took our machine apart for a good cleaning as it had been doing 3 or 4 loads per day for a few years. A lot of dirt had settled in the machine. We've found that warm, slightly damp towels is a good place for mould to grow. Typically a load is done in the afternoon, but not taken out until the next day. The towels will look fine, but will smell of mould.

As with most washing machines, if I leave wet laundry in mine overnight, I get a funky smell in the laundry. But that is not the case with the sheets.

They are washed, dried, put away smelling fine and it takes weeks to happen but they just get this weird musty smell. The other objects in the closet do not seem affected. Just the sheets. So this time around I am washign them long and seriously in a vinegar/washing soda mix, and then a small tich of detergent.

I think I am going to seal them in bags and see if it makes a difference in long term smell.

The Fat Ewe...Hubby works at cedar mill. You can be sure that my closets are indeed cedar. As is most of the trim in my house and the siding. ANd the kindling. And the odd chunk of firewood and the flooring in the hen house, and the deck, and the shavings I use for bedding and.....

I'm thinking the problem happens after they've been put away. My wife swears by hanging the laundry outdoors to remove the musty smell (especially the towels after winter).

Oh ya, what a subject and oh ya for sure. Back in the old life when we had 4 foster boys, I did a whole lotta sheet washing. Fortunately, I didn't have any extra sheets that I stored for them, so didn't have extras to wash that smelled musty. We have several sets of sheets for ourselves. Even back on the coast, where the water is soft, that musty stink was prevalent. Blah. I would just wash the sheets that I was going to put on our bed to replace the ones that I was going to wash that day. So I never really would have an issue of having to use a musty smelling sheet. They do smell rather awful don't they? I do wonder though....a thought...what would airing a sheet out on a clothesline do instead of washing the sheet. I do wonder about that for surely. We all know that the stored sheets are not dirty, they are just stinky. Now I wonder if I should wash the extra sheets I have and put them into a clothing bag. I really do wonder about this, as I wonder about this.

Next time I am in Canadian Tire, I am going to get a couple of the clothing bags. And I am going to wash that bedding and I am going to put them into a clothing bag, suck out all the air (might have to find a really big straw) and then store. I think it is worthy of an experiment to see if this will prevent that stinky musty smelling bedding. Winter is coming, so I can't hang out the sheets, for example, to see if air from outside hanging will get rid of that mustiness. Good post Uno, just as always, giving us lots of things to think about. That is a good thing, keeps the mind fresh. Have an awesome day, CynthiaM.

FOwler and CynthiaM, I DO think the power of sun and wind to freshen things is the best cure. But this time of year that is not an option for me, not with wet snow and sludge pelting out of the sky. I don't have an actual laundry line but use the deck rail for drying. Works great! But not in wet weather. ANd typical of the Okanagan, we are in for several mostly sunless months of soul sucking gloom. Stinky sheets and soul sucking gloom...help me, help, someone please help.

CYnthiaM, in my mind, stinky is dirty. As you say, the sheets go into storage CLEAN and thus should not STINK. What is the deal? Thus this post!

My livingroom looks like a laundry truck accident. I have every sheet and pillowcase I own in various stages of wash, unwash, folded, unfolded and labeled.. Since I can look at a sheet and not know what it is, I write on a piece of painter's tape with a Sharpie and stick it to each sheet. King/ Flat/ Cotton/ Good or Queen/ Fitted/ Worn. Helps me know what is what and what goes on what beds or what is used for camping and overnight foamy guests.

My Gordon Uno, you are far to organised.

My wife also swears by vinegar in the wash. I think I posted about it before but I'll ask her how much she uses.