Getting mildew out of an antique sofa

March 29, 2004 8:55 AM

How do you get mildew out of furniture? [more inside]

We recently came into posession of an antique-repoduction of a sofa. The problem is that the sofa sat in a barn for something like eight years and is now pretty icky. It looks just fine. A little dusty - which a damp cloth seemed to deal with just fine. But, it's got this awful mildew smell that just won't go away. One friend recommended steam cleaning it, but we're not sure that the fabric will withstand that kind of stress or that steam cleaning will fix the problem.

Any ideas?

posted by jaded to home & garden (4 comments total)

A previous Ask MetaFilter thread on removing persistent odors led to recommendations of ExStink. You may want to give it a try.
posted by Danelope at 9:31 AM on March 29, 2004

And I'll even come back and say it again: ExStink is the king of all odor removal products, and it's especially suited for something you can just sprinkle and leave alone for a few days, like a piece of furniture.
posted by majick at 4:02 PM on March 29, 2004

I am not sure how practical it would be, but leaving something mildewy out in the bright sun, especially during low humidity, seams to work pretty well. I am not sure how well it would work with something having the thickness, as opposed to a sheet of fabric, of upholstery. The main advantage is that this is all natural, no chemicals and pretty easy on the fabric, as long as it isn't for too long and of course it doesn't rain.
posted by caddis at 7:35 PM on March 29, 2004

ExStink is the king of all odor removal products

That stuff is, from what I was able to divine, basically crystallized volcanic ash. Their claims for it remind me of perpetual motion. Are you saying it actually works?
posted by kindall at 12:21 AM on March 30, 2004