I assume it’s because it’s winter right now.
Do I just wash them normally?
And how do I prevent this from happening again?
try adding listerine mouthwash to your detergent and a little bit of Hydrogen Peroxide
Get a dehumidifier and run it day and night.
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Yeah. Mould eats everything in Taiwan.
Some AC units have dehumidifier features too.
Get a dehumidifier.
AC dehumidifier just runs the compressor on Max all the time, makes your room very cold even in the middle of summer and uses gobs of electricity as a result. A dehumidifier uses much less electricity and only slightly warms the room. Great for winter and make sure you set up a drain system so you don’t have to keep emptying the bucket.
Will also allow you to save on the heating bill as it makes you feel much warmer in winter. Really great things these dehumidifiers. Could not live without one
Fire. Fire is the only way to get rid of persistent mold. As an added bonus, it will also warm up the room.
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That’s what AC’s do, remove moisture from the air.
If you have an older model it will literally freeze shut.
Soak the clothes in vinegar and water. And clean the shoes with it - mixed with water. Look it up on youtube.
I second this. Burn your shoes and buy Crocs. And you don’t need shirts anyway. They’re for pussies. Ask any Canadian or Brit.
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For me it’s worse in summer – all my clothes get mildewy after washing. If I forget them in the washer for even an hour after it finishes, they’re terrible.
Have to bring them in and hang them in front of the A/C to rip the water out of them as fast as possible.
Here is what I found on YouTube about this that sounds useful
Here’s a list of the chemicals and cleaning agents mentioned
- Hot water: Used in the washing cycle to kill mildew and its spores.
- Bleach: Utilized for soaking and washing fabrics to kill mildew and fade stains.
- Borax: Employed as an alternative to bleach; effective in killing mildew when added to the washing cycle.
- Vinegar (White vinegar): Acts as a disinfectant and organic cleanser; kills mildew and removes odors.
- Baking soda: Mentioned as a mildew-killing agent.
- Detergent: Used for washing; some detergents may contain bleach or borax, enhancing their mildew-killing properties.
- Lemon juice and salt paste: A natural remedy used for spot cleaning mildew on fabric, especially suitable for upholstery.
This was also helpful
Mildew refers to certain kinds of mold or fungus. The term mildew is often used generically to refer to mold growth, usually with a flat growth habit.
Molds include all species of microscopic fungi that grow in the form of multicellular filaments, called hyphae. Molds can thrive on any organic matter, including clothing
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The best step, in my view, is to stop it from happening in the first place. This means making sure items are completely dry before placing them in any enclosed space—and also investing in and using a dehumidifier. I run mine 24/7 in the capital. Taiwanese typically think this is nuts. I don’t care as I think my place and my stuff is in better shape than a lot of theirs.
EDIT: Hat tip to @rooftopclown for his advice posted above.
Guy
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This is the only real solution.
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Does this mean we need to buy one for every room we have? How many do you have and can you recommend a brand? And do you know/have an estimate on how much they cost when you run them 24/7?
Ac units work as dehumidifier. But cooling an entire house will be expensive.
I mean if you want to dehumidify an entire house, a 1 ton ac unit, with their output ducted to every single room in the house, will do nicely. It will run nonstop, not really cool the place much, but it will suck humidity out.
There are too many variable for me to answer those questions simply. Are you in humid Taipei / Keelung, or in drier Tainan? Do you have nice natural light in your unit, or is it a dark cave? Do you have heaps of space, or is your unit—like mine—compact?
For machines, I favour the Japanese brands for their smaller footprint compared to machines from the US. Prices for these units? You’ll need to shop around. I’ve found some smaller basic Panasonics for just over NT$5000 on sale, ranging up to the high NT$10,000s for more sophisticated machines.
If you can, let us know how things go.
Guy
A dehumidifier is much cheaper to run than ac. One is plenty can always move it around. Also the drier the air the less extreme temps you’ll feel.
Desiccant dehumidifiers extract a lot of water very good.
Dessicants require far more energy to use than dehumidifier.
AC is dehumidifier, depending on the amount of space you want to dehumidify, running a grossly undersized AC unit for the space will accomplish the same thing. Dehumidifier also adds heat to the room, while AC takes it away.