how to get the damp smell out of clothes that have been stored?

[bluebell]

i have a bag of old baby clothes that were in a shed and have a very damp smell. i have washed them with biological powder and then given them a second wash with non biological powder both washes in 60. but they still smell damp, they don't have any visable mold on them so i was hoping to either use them or pass them onto a friend, but if they smell like this then i can't use them.
is there anyway i can get rid of this damp smell? and if they still smell damp after 2 washes does that mean they are moldy and no good anyway?
any ideas? thanks,

[just_lily]

Whenever my towels start to smell funky I put them in the wash with detergent and a whole cup of baking soda (is that the same as biological powder?), and then run them through again with detergent and a full cup of vinegar. They come out smelling very fresh. So maybe you just need to strip them with vinegar.

[bluebell]

Originally Posted by just_lily

Whenever my towels start to smell funky I put them in the wash with detergent and a whole cup of baking soda (is that the same as biological powder?), and then run them through again with detergent and a full cup of vinegar. They come out smelling very fresh. So maybe you just need to strip them with vinegar.

ok thanks for the tip, i've not use baking soda or vinegar before, biological powder is washing powder but with more enzymes and something else in that i can't remember - its basically a stronger washing powder than non biological which dosn't have enzymes in and so its gentler on the skin but not as effective at washing! thanks for your repliy. anyone else got tips?

[Jackies Ladybug]

i know this sounds aweful, but the only thing that has gotten that musty smell out of my storage stuff was tide. i got the fragrance free, but i still had to run them through a few cycles of vinegar before the chemical smell came out.
so if nothing else works, tide and then vinegar definitly will.

[RiverSky]

I also think this is an awful suggestion, but if we get a mildewy/moldy situation in clothing, I put one teaspoon or capful of bleach in my washer, along with detergent, and do a wash with hot water. I have tried other things (we live in a humid climate and have a pool, and wet stuff persists all over) and this is the only thing that works.

If the vinegar-related suggestion doesn't work, it might be better to use that tiny bit of bleach, rather than throw the clothing out.

[luv-my-boys]

we lived in a very damp area and I had stored some baby items that I was planning on using again. But they had a odor, moist weird odor. I filled the washer with the hottest setting possible (in fact DH raised the water heater temp.) and placed a good amount of baking soda in it. I let the clothes soak overnight and ran in the morning thru a full wash with detergent. I repeated again but this time with a tiny bit of vinegar(make sure to not get directly on clothing as it can stain it) and re fill with hot water. Let soak overnight and ran thru another cycle. The last cycle I ran thru a normal cycle with detergent. I was able to get the smell out, it took 3 cycles of washing but it got it out.

[bluebell]

thanks everyone, so it looks like vinegar is the way to go.
so how much do i use and i have a typical english machine which is front loading so do i put the vinegar and baking soda straight into the drum or do i put it into the detergent drawer?

also does the damp smell mean that the clothes are contaminated with molds and mildew or is it just a damp smell? i can't see any mold spots on the clothes and they are all white clothes, but i'm worried that they still are moldy, i'm just wondering becasue if they are contaminated with molds then i suppose that they wouldn't be safe or healthy for my baby to wear.

[LaughingHyena]

I put the bicarb straight in the drum with the clothes. You can put it in the powder draw but I never find there is usually quite a bit that gets left in there.

I find soaking overnight in a bucket of HOT (as hot as I can get from the tap, and for non delicate things I'll add a kettle full of boiling water too) and Vanish Oxy Action is pretty good at reviving things.

If you can't see any mold spots I would be fine using them.

[SuzyLee]

The only thing that has ever worked for me is bleach

Vinegar, etc, helps a tiny bit, but the smell comes right back. Bleach is better than throwing away the whole bag of clothes though. Mix the bleach in to the washing machine water before you add the clothes, and the colors will probably be fine.