Wool is one of the most susceptible materials when it comes to mold. As a result, even if you store your wool items clean and folded in tissue paper, you may encounter some mold issues when you remove them from storage. Fortunately, it is a fairly simple process to remove mold and mildew from wool, but you will need three solid hours and a sunny day.
Things You'll Need
Dryer
Dryer sheets
Nylon brush (soft bristles)
Mild laundry detergent
Color-safe bleach
Plastic tub
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Step 1
Dry your clothes on the air-only cycle for about 10 minutes with a dryer sheet. This will get rid of moldy, musty smells. Sometimes your wool clothing may have just picked up a moldy smell from other items of clothing or storage containers that may have molded, so if you smell mold but cannot see any signs of it, then drying them in this way can get rid of the odor. If you see mold growth on the wool, however, then more extreme action will be necessary.
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Step 2
Brush off any loose mold growth. Use the soft, nylon brush to gently remove as much of the loose growth as possible. Use a light touch so that you do not snag or tear the fabric. Removing excess growth will make stain removal much simpler.
Step 3
Leave the moldy items in the sun for an hour. The rays of the sun and the heat will help kill the mold and dry it out, which makes it easier to remove.
Step 4
Soak the clothes in cold water. Keep them in the cold water for about an hour, after which you can gently rub and scrub them with a few drops of mild detergent to remove any mold remnants. If the stains are completely gone, then you can move on to drying. If they are not, you will need to take some stronger measures.
Step 5
Treat stubborn stains with the color-safe bleach. Use two tablespoons of bleach per each quart of water. Soak the garments in this solution for about 10 minutes before rinsing them out with warm water. At this point, all evidence of mold should have disappeared.
Step 6
Dry the clothes. They need to dry flat in the sun. Keep them in a warm, dry place while they dry. Wool clothes must be laid out to dry or they will lose their shape, so do not hang the clothes but lay them on boards or a table to ensure that they keep their structure.
Warning
Always test detergents and bleaches on a small, unnoticeable part of an item of clothing before treating the entire item to make sure that the cleaners will not adversely affect the look of the fabric.