Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning and mildew

Mildew-smelling hip flask - can it be salvaged?

cadge — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:07:17 -0800

The hip flask I haven't used in a year smelled like mildew when I opened it. I last used it to hold a cream-based liqueur. Is it safe to use? How can I clean it properly? I have a small hip flask that I rarely use. I last used it about a year ago to hold a creamy liqueur (Bailey's).

I thought I'd cleaned it out fully and put it away properly, but apparently I didn't. I unscrewed the cap today and there's a mildew smell inside it.

Is this safe to use? I could try vinegar to get rid of just the smell, but I don't know if it's safe to even use it, period.

And how can I clean it properly next time? The only opening is this tiny centimeters-wide hole in the top - I can't see inside it to check if it's empty/not coated in mold. It's smaller than standard hip flasks - 4.5 or 5" tall. Maybe I should avoid putting in creamy liquids.

How do hotels keep their shower curtains mildew-free?

smackfu — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:21:26 -0800

How do hotels keep their shower curtains mildew-free? Is it part of the daily cleaning regimen? Do they replace them often? Do they buy better ones?

I ask because I have an awful time with mildew on my shower curtain, and I assumed it was mainly because I don't have a bathroom window for light and ventilation. But hotel rooms don't either, and yet the hotels seem to have the problem solved (presumably because a mildewed shower curtain would be a deal-killer for most hotel guests.)

Help for killing a mildew odor that I can't smell myself

The Giant Squid — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:14:14 -0800

How do I kill a mildew smell -behind- a sink? My wife can apparently smell mildew coming from the vicinity of our kitchen sink. I can't, so I chock this up to the her pregnancy-induced super-sense-of-smell. We have this sort of bizarre set up, where I ask her if she can smell it, and where she can smell it.

Anyways, the kitchen sink apparently -did- have a leak underneath it, some time ago, although that has been fixed (months and months ago).

There remains a small possibility of some leakage within the wall behind it, but there are no telltale signs, aside from my wife smelling the mildew.

So, assuming there is no further leakage (which would mean ripping the cabinets out of the wall), what can I do to kill the mildew smell?

Why does our kitchen sponge smell like mildew after less than a week?

ezrainch — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:10:38 -0800

Our kitchen sponge starts to smell like mildew after less than a week of normal use. We use a standard "scrubby" sponge that has an abrasive side and an absorbent sponge side. Has anybody else experienced this problem, and if so, what did you do about it, or do you have any general advice about keeping sponges from mildewing quickly? Both my wife and I make a point of always wringing the extra water out after each use, and store the sponge on the edge of our stainless steel sink. We never had this problem before we moved to our current home; sponges would generally take a month or more to get nasty in all our previous residences. We can't figure out what could be causing this premature bacteria growth! Our water (chlorinated municipal water supply!)? Mold spores floating through our house? (We do live in the Pacific Northwest, but keep our house well heated and don't otherwise have a mold problem.)

We've considered keeping the sponge in a dish of dilute bleach water between uses, but would prefer to not have a ubiquitous bleach presence in the kitchen. We've also tried several different brands of sponge, and only use the sponge for washing dishes and wiping the counters down.

Clean and mean here on the Green

oflinkey — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 19:53:35 -0800

What are your favorite heavy-duty cleaning products and super-cleaning secrets? I know about FlyLady. This question is about products and large-scale techniques.

I am moving out of my apartment very soon. I do not relish the apartment-clean that will take place, as we have lived here for 6 years. While I have kept a good house, there are some trouble spots involving recurrent mold/mildew in the bathroom (that will not stay away!), rust stains, and a terrible kitchen floor that I have to make look at least passably good.

I am looking for product recommendations mostly for bath and kitchen, but I welcome all advice. I do not have a ton of money to try out CLR and all that other fancy stuff, so recommendations for excellent products are what I am after. However, if a product really is THAT good, I will spend lots of money on it. I know that sometimes the price is worth the performance (see Anti-Icky Poo versus Nature's Miracle-- only the price is a miracle).

Also, if any of you have clean hacks or other tips/tricks you have learned when it comes to massive, move-out cleaning, please share. While I have plenty of elbow grease myself, I am tackling this alone as DH will be away (lucky bastard).

Mamma Mia! Massive Mold! Mediation Mandated!

pjern — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 20:24:49 -0800

How to best mitigate a *severe* mold/mildew problem? We had a bit of a rot problem on the eaves, but that has been repaired (we had a new roof put on this summer due to hailstorm damage). We started smelling a mildewed odor in the office near where the roof had been repaired, and it eventually got strong enough that I started investigating. Last night I pulled down the bookcases that I had sort of "built-in" to the wall in that area, and found the entire area behind the bookcases completely black with mold and/or mildew... about 60 square feet of it. I suspect I'll have to replace the entire wall and ceiling in that area, but what should I do immediately to mitigate? I started by spraying it with Clorox cleaner to get some bleachish stuff on it, but I'm wondering if I should evacuate the house and call in a napalm strike or something. It's really bad. What would be your immediate action?

Factors to consider: One 5 year old, four adults and two cats live here. The area can be closed off, although ventilation is problematical due to outdoor winter temps.

Environmenally friendly bathroom cleaning products?

occhiblu — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 10:14:25 -0800

Are there environmentally friendly ways of cleaning the bathroom, especially to remove mildew from the grout around the shower? I've been switching over to more environmentally safe ways of cleaning the apartment, which at this point are basically hot water, Dr Bronner's soap, and Simple Green. While I'm fine cleaning the bathroom sink and floor with castille soap, I'm still using bleach to get rid of the nastiest mildew on the shower tiles, and bleach-infused commercial products to scrub the tub, and I'd like to find an alternative.

I'm not at all well-versed in the household chemistry that many eco-cleaning sites seem to require (hard vs. soft water, for example) and words like "Borax" freak me out a bit, so be gentle and go slow.

If it matters, my main concern is not breathing in toxic fumes, and a huge secondary concern is not dumping toxic chemicals into the environment. I'm willing to pay for ready-made products, but I'd prefer not to spend $20 on a froofy toilet cleaner with imported Castilian bergomat.

Is there a way to remove mildew off of a painted wall without bleaching/stripping the paint?

spiderskull — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 13:18:16 -0800

MildewFilter: Is there a way to remove mildew off of a painted indoor wall without bleaching/stripping the paint? We have old windows in our apartment which allows moisture to build up around the edges, and mildew to thrive. I've tried using Lysol and a mildew remover from Zep, but both stripped off some of the paint.

A wet cloth gets some of the mildew off, but leaves me feeling a bit unsettled about whether or not the area is really sanitized.

I've found a few resources, but none of them guarantee that the paint will not lose its color (and I have every intention of keeping my security deposit).

I'd appreciate any homebrew solutions (no pun intended)!

Limited liability?

-harlequin- — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 20:53:04 -0800

ApartmentFilter: Is it financially safe to not clean up impeccably when moving out of an apartment, or will a landlord normally go after you for money over and above the security deposit, if they think enough work was involved? WA. USA.
The rather exuberant hourly rates listed in the move-out contract for any cleanup you allegedly didn't do "properly" when moving out seem like they could easily exceed the bond even for a pretty thoroughly cleaned place.
Is this likely to result in me being hounded for money in addition to the security deposit? It gets potentially a little worse:

There is a mildew problem in one room that for all I know about mildew (nothing) might need some solid work, so I don't know if it could blow things way over the security deposit.

What normally happens? Do landlords cut their losses at the limit of the deposit, or try to bill you? And if they try to bill you, how much "over" is enough to make it worth the effort?

Should I try to negotiate the cleanup rates in my next contract renewal?

(The landlord runs several apartments, but probably less than a dozen. I am quite happy to lose the security deposit in exchange for less clean-up work when moving out, but I don't want to screw my landlord, and I don't want him to screw me. Or more to the point, I'm ok with being screwed up to the level of the deposit already paid, just not more than that :-). My contract isn't specific about this, it mainly just lists hourly rates and fees (eg $X if the blinds are dusty)).

How much over and above the security deposit (in the landlord's view) is enough to taint referrals? (I imagine it depends on the landlord and how much over, but experiences are welcome)