How to get rid of mould on fabric
Put on protection, do not dry-brush, decide whether to keep or bin the piece, wash what can take a wash, dab-treat what you are keeping, then dry it fully in sun or moving air. First Light is the treatment for fabric you can safely dab. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact.
This is the fabric and soft-furnishings guide. Mould in a closed wardrobe is a different job, and it lives on mould in the wardrobe and on clothes.
Keep it, wash it, or throw it
Heavily eaten, crumbling, or still wet-through porous pieces go. Washable cotton and synthetics can often be saved if the cloth is still sound. Soft toys, pillows, couches and rugs have their own guides; use those pages rather than stretching this one.
Washable fabric: the method
Bag the piece to the laundry so you do not spread spores through the house. Wash as the care label allows. Treat remaining marks with First Light on a cloth, after a spot-test for colour and finish. Dry the piece fully. Do not put it away damp.
Treat the fabric you are keeping
First Light on a cloth, after a spot-test. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact. If the room itself stays shut and humid, add the Protection Kit. Free standard shipping. 60-day money-back.
Shop First Light, from A$39.99 Shop the Protection Kit, from A$79.98
Upholstery, curtains and pieces you cannot machine-wash
Dab, do not soak a sofa. When the foam is wet through, stop and decide whether a cleaner can save it, or whether the piece has to go. Mould on a couch and mould on a rug cover those jobs in full.
Dry it so the mark cannot come back
Sun, moving air, and a dehumidifier as support. See do dehumidifiers stop mould. If the fabric lives in a wardrobe, stop here and use the wardrobe guide. Vinegar as a laundry method lives on vinegar for mould, not as a second recipe on this page.
Questions people ask
Can you get mould out of fabric, or do you have to bin it?
You can often save washable cotton and synthetics if the cloth is still sound. Heavily eaten, crumbling or still wet-through pieces should go. Do not dry-brush the spores around the house.
Can I use bleach on mouldy fabric?
Bleach can wreck colour and some fibres, and it is the wrong first tool on fabric. Use a treatment you can spot-test. First Light is the one we use. Lab tested: 99.2% on direct contact.
What about mould on clothes in a wardrobe?
That is a different job: the closed cabinet, the still air, the wall behind the hanging rail. Use our wardrobe guide.
Aurala is a Gold Coast business. Shop First Light or shop the Protection Kit.
