Moldy-smelling yarn - please help!

[SockInHand]

We had a mold problem in our house and my stash of yarns smells slightly moldy. I am hoping that I don't have to wash all balls in order to get rid of the mold. Please send suggestions ASAP! Many thanks.

[GrumpyGramma]

All I can think of is to air it out as best you can. Others will probably know more, but it might be helpful to know the fiber content, wook, synthetic, mixed?

[Jan in CA]

Oh dear. I'm not sure airing it out will work, but it's worth a try.

[Rie]

This is a link to a blog post about how to remove mold from clothing. You should be able to apply some of this to yarn. I have washed and dried yarn in the skein and it was fine once dry. If there are no actual spores living in your stash then I think airing them out in the sun(you may have to do this several days in a row) will help. I'm basing this off my own experience of living through hurricanes. However, if you really had a problem then you probably should act as though you do have spores. Moisture control is going be important for you and there are little packets you can buy at hardware stores for this. Get big ziploc bags and store your aired out yarn in these with the moisture control stuff.
I'm sure it will be fine!

[Becky Morgan]

Cheapest way to get drying agent: buy a large container of crystal cat litter. At 8 lbs. for $10 it's way cheaper than little packets or the small jars for flower drying, and the unscented will do the job very well. If you don't mind the scented, it could help mask any remaining mold odor.

I've had moldy yarn because of a roof leak and because I had some in my old car and the window was partly open during a rainstorm. If you hang it out in the sun and air, most of the smell will leave. If it's actually moldy (like, you can see mold on it or it makes you sneeze) do wash it before you use it, and if it's not delicate yarn you might consider soaking it in white vinegar and then washing it. Vinegar will kill most mold without removing color, and the smell will go away when you air-dry it.

[SockInHand]

Thank you very much, everyone! All the suggestions were very good - and I hadn't thought before that the yarn may not actually BE moldy, may just smell that way. I see no damage to any of the yarn and it doesn't make me sneeze . . . It sounds like I can just air the yarns out and then store them in a large plastic bag with a drying agent - like cat litter or DampRid or the packets of crystals. I will do those things! I hope this thank-you goes out to everyone - I'm new at forums.

[Rie]

I hope it works out for you! *crossed fingers*
Ziploc bags are my friends because they're a great long term solution for another yarn problem - moths. *shudders*