Can mycotoxins be washed out of clothes?

Why washing works when sprays don’t

Laundering is removal, not treatment. Water loosens particles, detergent lifts them off the fibers, agitation shakes them free, and the rinse carries them down the drain. Since most of the toxin on a shirt or sheet is riding on dust and mold fragments, getting rid of that material is what counts. Sprays and fresheners leave it in place.

To be straightforward: research specifically on washing mycotoxins out of household fabric is limited. The approach below is built on how particle removal works and on what we see in homes. Repeated washing and your own nose are reasonable guides. If anyone in the home is especially sensitive, it’s fair to be more conservative about what you keep.

A laundry routine that gives you the best odds

1. Sort by condition. Separate anything that got wet or shows mold growth from items that were only dusty. They may need different decisions.
2. Shake out or HEPA vacuum first. Do it outdoors, away from open windows and doors, so less dust goes into the washer.
3. Use smaller loads. Clothes need room for water to move through them.
4. Go as warm as the label allows. Choose a longer cycle and add an extra rinse if your machine offers one.
5. Wash more than once. Items from the rooms closest to the source often get two or three cycles.
6. Dry right away and completely. Damp laundry left in a washer is an easy place for new growth.
7. Clean the machine. Run an empty hot cycle when you’re done, and wipe the door gasket on front-loaders.

What about additives?

Bleach can whiten cotton, but it’s rough on fabrics, and as we explain on whether bleach kills mycotoxins, it doesn’t reliably break them down. Vinegar, baking soda and borax can help with musty odor. None of them are proven to neutralize mycotoxins. Products sold as mycotoxin laundry treatments vary, and independent testing on them is thin. If you use one, treat it as an extra step, not a replacement for a thorough wash.

Items that need a different plan

• Dry-clean-only clothing: tell the cleaner the items came from a home with mold, or use a contents-cleaning service that handles mold jobs.
• Leather, suede and structured items: HEPA vacuum and wipe the surface. Pieces with visible growth are hard to save.
• Shoes and bags: wash what’s washable. Porous insoles and linings that smell musty are usually replaced.
• Stuffed toys and pillows: wash if the label allows. Otherwise, replacement is often simpler.
• Mattresses: they can’t go in a washer. See whether to throw away a mattress after mold exposure.

Once clothes are clean, store them in new sealed bags or bins until the house is cleaned, so they don’t pick up dust again. Our guide to mycotoxins on belongings covers everything else in the house.

When to call a professional

If freshly washed clothes pick up a musty smell again in the closet, the problem isn’t the laundry. Something in the house is still producing or shedding contaminated dust, and it’s worth finding. We test, locate the moisture source and remove it, then clean the dust from the house so your clothes stay clean.

We remove mold and mycotoxins from buildings and belongings. We don’t diagnose or treat medical conditions, and laundry advice isn’t medical advice. If someone in your home has symptoms, please work with a doctor on how cautious to be.