TLDR - You can reply to any of the questions below that you have a citation or knowledge about please and thanks. But basically I hang dry my clothjng and have had a problem with them getting that mildewy smell . Please help

1. Im talking about a whole 2 cups of citirc acid per a load of clothing. What notablw effects on the clothing wll this amount have? Also I plan on leaving the citric acid solution on the clothing after rinsing away as much detergent as possible. Bad idea? Should I do a 24 or 8 hour citric acid soak? Nope ?yes?

2. Also it should be noted that most of the clothing is heavy cotton as in 325 GSM or more cotton. Only like 1 or 2 of those peices of clothing are made of wool or polyester or spandex.

3. Also citirc acid may lighten the clothing no? Or will the citric acid only lighten the clothing if it clothing is out in the Sun for too long, right?

4. Will the citric acid impart its own smell to the clothing? Will it destroy it?

5. Can I combine this solution with placing the citirc acid solution on the clothing and l then once its hang dried a bit I can then use a drying machine to dry it even more thoroughly to ensure that rhe mildew is like double dead? Also I cant dry my clothing when its wet as Im super skinny and that would make my clothing stretch far too much.

6. Could the problem be that Im using too much detergent?

7. Ive tried to look for other solutions to this and apparently drying the clothing after the mildew is already there will not have a drastic enough effect to get rid of it. Is this true please.?

8. Should I just dump boiling water onto the clothing after it has washed or will this make it stretch?

Ive found I have this problem when I hand wash the clothing or machie wash it but surprisingly hand washing and then hand wringing it makes the smell of mildew less prominent.

Also I live in an apartment that has a public laundromat and the cleaning of the machines' filters is a sporadic frequency as of now so....

And yes I do now know about mangles to wring dry clothing. I live in canada so if anyine knows any brands that arent absolute garbo please do link

Ive deided to not use the washing machines until. the maytag mechanics fix the problem of to dirty filter and the mildew. I live in an apartment with a public laundromat and the maytag mechanics for the machine come in sporadically

Thanks to all who answer.

Vinegar can likely help, and exposure to sunlight. Those have been the two most effective methods for me at least.

Simple cup or so (more if really big load, little less in small washers) of white vinegar added to a load will do the job. Buy just regular everyday old white vinegar, it's fine. I also ran out of white vinegar and used some apple cider vinegar once, also worked fine. It also gets rid of cat pee and stored in a basement for years stank. If it comes out with just a touch more smell, rerun with about 1/4 cup baking soda. The baking soda will absorb odors (not kill mildew) and neutralize vinegar. Don't use them together in one load, it will cancel them out and do nothing. Both are safe for natural and synthetic clothing. Your laundry won't smell like vinegar. Citric acid will lighten dark colors and damage some fibers, it is what's in vinegar, just too powerful and undiluted. I recycle from free piles and thrift stores expensive fiber (merino wool, cashmere, mohair) sweaters into "new" yarn I use to make wonderful stuff for myself and friends. Also, just as an aside, nicotine and tar can be removed from damn near anything that will tolerate soaking or wiping in 70% rubbing alcohol. I hope this helps!

I hang dry my clothing and I'm going to leave answers about getting rid of the existing mildewy smell to others here and instead ask about your hang drying technique.

1. Indoors or outdoors?
2. If indoors, what's your indoor humidity like? If you live in a humid place, do you run a humidifier?
3. Most importantly, what's the air flow situation like for your clothes? Is there room for air to flow in between them? Are they getting folded in on themselves anywhere? Unless they're hanging somewhere SUPER humid, then IME mildew when hang drying clothing typically means they're not getting enough air flow because you've crowded them too much or they're getting folded on themselves and leaving wet areas where the air can't reach.
4. Also, when you're machine washing them, what's your spin cycle like? If hand washing and hand wringing is better reducing the mildewy effect, then you might consider a higher spin cycle if your clothes can handle it to get them drier before hanging.

So how will I get rid of the vinegar smell after the use of vinegar please?

Also do I add vinger before, during, or after the time when Im cleaning the clothing with detergent?

Thanks

...I thought acetic acid was whats in vinegar.... no?

Also that seems like alot of loads. Like first I gotta do a detergent load....then a vinegsr load....then a baking soda load?! SO many loads!

1. Mostly indoors . There is very little space to hang them on the balcony :(
2. Its so humid and anti-windy youd think youre in a rainforest when someone nooils water. There is only 1 vent and 3 windows for the whole apartment . One time we burned something 10 minutes ago and the smoke alarm went off AGAIn cause the leftover smoke 😐

3.Ihang them on hangers on a rope and try not to compact them or fold them over themselves

1. Ive deided to not use the washing machines until. the maytah mechanics fix the problem of to dirty filter and the mildew.

You are correct! I got them mixed up! But still don't use the citric acid 😁

Nah, one load usually. Add clothes, add detergent of choice, and start load. Wait until after the first spin is over then add vinegar. Let the load finish. If it still comes out with some smell, at least the mildew is now dead. You have multiple options if that's the case. You can rewash with the baking soda but I would Hang dry in direct sunlight, good old UV radiation is gonna make it all better. That's generally good for everything but dark dyed natural fibers. The sun will fade those. Hanging clothes inside is a question of quickness, mildew spores are everywhere, and how quick you get your laundry dry is important. I have a unit in my apartment that cools, dehumidifies(sp) and heats. If you don't have that, put a fan on it, and try to do laundry on less humid days. If your laundry is spotted with mildew, then go whole hog and soak the clothing in vinegar for a half hour, hand wring, then just wash how you would normally.

Reasonable. The humid and still air is very likely a major factor; if you're able to, I'd suggest a dehumidifier and a fan to breeze air in the general direction of your laundry.

I also live in apartments with a shared laundry. I have an compressor-based dehumidifier, just putting it on in the same room where I hang the laundry makes it dry in a few hours without getting mildewy. It uses about 250W of power (which is free during the day where I am due to excess of solar). An aircon might have a dehumidifier option which has the same effect. If you're in a humid region, a dehumidifier can make a big difference to indoor comfort too.

I think the drying is where you should look at rather than how you clean it.

Does it sit in the machine for a long time before you hang it up. Is it sat indoors in a humid room without anything to compensate for that, such as ventilation or a dehumidifier.

As we are moving into colder and wetter months we are going to be drying clothes inside more often and we hang everything. We just do a low temperature wash with the cheapest powder detergent Aldi has in stock. Maybe run an extra spin cycle if we can be bothered.

Then if its raining hang it up inside and stick the dehumidifier on if its too cold outside to comfortably open the windows.

I add about 100 to 150ml of white vinegar to the water before starting the final rinse cycle. The slight vinegar smell remaining once the machine is done is completely gone by the time my clothes finish air drying.

Laundry soap/detergent is basic and vinegar is acidic, so if added together will just react and make your detergent less affective. Adding the vinegar to the rinse cycle works as it helps remove more of the dirty soap suds from the items being washed.

If you can afford one I recommend a dehumidifier but get one that's capable of removing a good amount of moisture from the air like 16l per day or more.

From your original post and comments it really sounds like humidity is your biggest enemy followed by airflow. If the clothes can't dry quick enough it's allowing the mildew enough time to develop and grow as fabric is an ideal environment for it given the temperature and moisture.
If you can't get a dehumidifier then a fan blowing over the clothes in the direction of a window will help

In addition to a dehumidifier (or if you're lucky you can find one with it built-in)

A "negative ion generator" / Ozone generating Air purifier with a HEPA filter will do wonders, both for your clothes drying and for the air quality in the apartment.

It effectively creates a static charge in the air that can rip apart microorganisms, statically clings dust/pollen to the filter medium, and produces trace quantities of ozone which can throw oxygen molecules at anything smaller, breaking down things like volatile chemicals.

Leaving one running in a closed room does create the risk of a 'bleachy' smell from the trace Ozone, but that dissipates as soon as you open the door to the rest of the house.

My method is to mix some high concentration cleaning vinegar with water in a bucket with the clothes. After it soaks for at least an hour I wash the clothes normally. The vinegar smell should be gone after they are washed and dried.

is it possible to for a person to suffocate from one of those negative ion genrrators or ozone generating air purifiers?? Like the air flow in here is so bad Im actually worried we could suffocate if we keep it runnimg. We almost suffocated from carbon monoxide after burning something lol

ALsao thanks! I never knew they existed until now.

You can't suffocate, but it is possible to create an actually hazardous atmosphere by using one built for an office, or if you tried to DIY one with an ebay module that's designed for a laboratory or industrial building.

An air purifier from someone like Phillips (I think their range was called puremate) will never produce enough ozone to harm you, and as far as I can tell none of the other byproducts are dangerous.

Ozone does break down quite quickly, also if the air is very humid the generators themselves become less efficient.

If you do however get one and it makes you feel weird when you enter the room it was running in, for example if the air smells like bleach or electricity (if it feels spicy in your lungs and eyes then there's a LOT of it in the room, very surviveable, but you might damage your lungs if you went for a nap) switch off the unit for a day and let the place ventilate, the air from the rest of the house will break down the rest of the ozone, if it's the whole house then open two windows as far apart as you can and use a fan to cycle some air around.

(Holiday timer plugs work wonders for simple cycles of on 6h/off 18h. That or find one with a timer function)

I think this is fantastic advice for OP

Ozone breaks down all organic matter and will destroy all your belongings if you use it regularly.

Very true, if you run one powerful enough you can keep the atmosphere saturated beyond what can break down and it will do some damage

That's why I'm suggesting they pick up one that's premade, it'll have a much lower production and remain safe even if run continuously

Recommending lung damage to reduce the smell of mildew seems seems a bit aggressive.

Please read and do not use an ozone generator:

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

This is dangerous advise.

https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/ozone-generators-are-sold-air-cleaners

1. Citric acid is a fabric softener that will also damage some fibers over time.

2. Wool is the main concern.

3. Only if you use excessive amounts.

4. No.

5. It has no bearing on drying. One or more of three things is true: you are not properly spacing your clothes when drying; your apartment is generally too humid; your apartment becomes too humid because the volume of water you are bringing to put in the air saturates the volume of air while being airtight.

6. You could be, but it doesn't lead to mildew. Are you using the spin cycle on its highest setting? That helps the most.

7. Yes with oxiclean or citric acid in the fabric softener dispenser.

8. No.

I hang dry in Florida. Humidity outside is 70-95%. I have never had an issue. The reason is spin at max speed, only hang dry for up to 8 hours outside, then bring the clothes indoors to finish and my air conditioning keeps the house under 60% humidity.

That's fair, I was basing it on my own knowledge, a negative ion generating filter (not an ozone generator, I was incorrectly using the terms interchangeably) that I built, has been running for the past five years without any impact on my health.

To OP;

Apparently a standard HEPA air filter does the job just as well without the risk to health, so disregard recommendations of any ion generators and get yourself a decent quality one with washable filters then run that instead