Mould in wardrobes and on clothes: how to save your clothing

Can clothes from a mouldy wardrobe be saved?

Most of them can, as long as you deal with them quickly. Mould on fabric starts as growth on the surface, and washable clothes usually come clean in an ordinary wash. The longer they stay in a damp wardrobe, though, the more likely you are to be left with stains and a smell that won't shift. So the first job is to get everything out.

Open the window, put on gloves and a mask, and carry the clothes outside or into a well-aired room rather than shaking them out over the bedroom floor. Sort them into three piles: things you can wash, things that need a dry cleaner or specialist, and anything too far gone to bother with.

Washing, cleaning and letting go

Brush loose growth off the washables outdoors with a soft brush, then wash them at the warmest temperature the care label allows, separately from the rest of your laundry. If a faint smell remains, a second wash often clears it. Dry everything completely, ideally outside on a dry day, before it goes anywhere near a wardrobe again.

Wool, silk, suits and anything labelled dry clean only are better handed to a dry cleaner; tell them about the mould. Shoes, handbags and belts need gentler handling, and our guide to cleaning leather and upholstery covers them. Be realistic about cheap items that are heavily stained or still smell after two washes: replacing them costs less than the effort, and keeping them can carry spores back into a clean wardrobe.

Cleaning the wardrobe itself

With the wardrobe empty, wipe every inside surface with a damp cloth and a mould cleaner, paying most attention to the back panel, the base and the corners. Don't dry-brush, and don't mix cleaning products. Leave the doors open until the inside is fully dry, which can take a day or more in winter. Check the back panel as you go: chipboard that has swollen or gone crumbly has soaked up water and is unlikely to stay clean.

Then pull the wardrobe away from the wall and look behind it. If the wall has a dark patch or feels damp, cleaning the wardrobe alone won't solve anything.

Why wardrobes go mouldy

A wardrobe is a closed cupboard full of fabric, often standing against an outside wall. That wall stays colder than the room, the air in the gap behind barely moves, and moisture from the room condenses on the cold surface. Clothes put away slightly damp, or straight from the iron, add more water to a space that has no way to lose it.

Several Cyprus habits make this worse. Built-in wardrobes are often fitted along the outside walls of bedrooms. In winter the room is shut and warmed with a portable gas heater or the air-conditioner, then left to cool overnight. Washing dried on an airer in the bedroom puts a lot of water into the air (see the hidden cost of drying laundry indoors). And in a home left shut for months, the wardrobes are often where a closed-up holiday home's damp shows first.

Keeping your clothes dry from now on

• Leave a gap of a few centimetres between a freestanding wardrobe and an outside wall.
• Don't pack it tight; space between hangers lets air move.
• Only put clothes away when they are completely dry and cool.
• Open the wardrobe doors for a while each day when you air the bedroom.
• Keep spare bedding and out-of-season clothes in breathable bags rather than sealed plastic, and check them every few weeks.

Moisture absorbers inside the wardrobe help a little, but they treat the symptom. If the containers fill quickly, the room itself is too damp. A lingering odour after cleaning is another clue, and getting rid of a musty smell for good means removing the damp behind it.

When the wall behind is the real problem

If mould returns within weeks of a thorough clean, or the wall behind the wardrobe is damp to the touch, the moisture is coming from the building, not the clothes. Until the moisture source is known, any clean-up is temporary, so that is where the work starts. A moisture check of the wall behind your wardrobe includes readings in every affected room and a written report with the quote, and every inspection ends with a room-by-room moisture map sent to your phone. Clearing the growth from that wall is usually one visit with no building work.

Clothes and wardrobe going mouldy? book an inspection from €75 or call +357 99 759144.