Mould removal from curtains

[nuevoboy]

Advice on the removal of mould stains from curtains please.

It appears the curtains have lain against the damp (with condensation) door pillars over the winter period.

Our dealer has told us not to remove the curtains and wash them, as Autosleeper curtains are notorious for a large amount of shrinkage in the wash. :-S

[fjmike]

First of all try dabbing at the mould with a mild solution of Daisy (buy it in Tescos). Start with a solution of 1:10 and if that doesn't shift it try a slightly stronger solution.

[peterandlinda]

Hi

 

Very generous of your dealer!

 

Could you not ask him (for it will be a him) to resolve the problem?

 

Or does nobody care?

 

P&L

 

p.s. just about to enter Portugal, do not expect riots.

[lennyhb]

Why not just remove the curtains most most Motorhomes don't have curtains, if you have blinds what's the point of them.

[nuevoboy]

Thanks fjmike and Alf (via pm) for your advice.

 

To clarify, our 'van is 5 years old and we've only had it 5 months. The dealer we bought it off gave us (we felt) honest information in telling us not to wash the curtains.

 

The mould is on the privacy curtains which draw around the windscreen.

 

We suspect the mould has formed over the winter when we used the 'van in temperatures down to minus 15 degrees. It was only our second time out in the 'van and we were (are?) still learning about usage. We obviously had quite a bit of condensation in the 'van in those temperatures and when the curtains are folded back during the daytime, they bunch up and lie against the door (B?) pillar, which is just painted metal.

 

Somewhere, we heard that you can buy a dry-cleaning spray, which may do the trick, but we've not been able to track any down yet.

 

Any more ideas gratefully received.

[lennyhb]

My earlier comment was tongue in cheek but you didn't say it was your cab blinds.

 

Realistically if you can not get the curtains wet without them shrinking there is not much hope, we had some curtains in the spare room tried every thing we could lay our hands on and all we achieved was to fade the staining.

 

I think you will have to replace them or buy some external screens or internal screens, external ones will get rid of the condensation when using in the winter. We have Remis blinds in the van but still use external screens in the winter, however we do not use them when wild camping.

[maggyd]

Its probably black mildew isnt it? if the Daisy doesnt work you could try mixing a past of bicarbonate of soda and applying with a toothbrush leave it a while and then try wipping off with cold water. The dry cleaning stuff I did see in Aldi in the last couple of weeks you could try having a look you might be lucky.

[Guest pelmetman]

Are the curtains lined?............If the stain hasn't gone through to the face fabric you could have them relined which means they would still match the rest of the van, as I suspect the best any cleaning will achieve is reduce the stain :-S

[deerhound]

My cab curtains were stained down where the ends touch the floor, tried several products without success, took curtains to Morrisons and had them dry cleaned, cost £18, came up like new, they are original heavy paterned curtains on Swift. (also lined) :D

[nuevoboy]

UPDATE

 

Searched high and low for some dry cleaning spray without success and couldn't find Daisy in our Tesco either.

Morrison's wouldn't dry clean them as we couldn't prove the curtains hadn't been treated with fire retardant (apparently it damages their machines).

Tried dabbing on a solution of bicarb as suggested. This faded the mould slightly but didn't do the trick.

Then tried dabbing on a mild bleach solution, which did work but given the extent, would have taken weeks.

Finally decided to put them in the washing machine and use bleach instead of washing powder.

They came out fairly clean but with a few marks where curtains had been marked by door frame.

So, back in machine using washing powder this time.

 

Result....gleaming curtains and after refitting this afternoon, no apparent shrinkage either.

[mike 202]

Really interested in your achievement, Please what bleach did you use, how much did you use, and what wash programme (ie Temperature) . Also which washing powder, bio ?? etc

 

Thanks in banticipation

 

Mike

[nuevoboy]

Mike, in answer to your questions:

 

We used a cheap bleach we bought from our local shop.

 

Amount used was approx. half a cup, poured in to machine as it filled.

 

Normal 40 degree wash cycle (our old machine ain't got a 30 setting).

 

Washing powder used for final wash was a "Bio" one.

 

This last wash was to remove some marks where we think the curtains had been trapped against the door seal and maybe a bit of grease from the lock.

 

Must admit, we are delighted with the results.

Really clean and as I said, no apparent shrinkage.

Although we don't know if the curtains had been washed previously, there is still plenty of width and length available.