Can You Get Mildew Out of Hard Plastic?

Mold and mildew tend to grow in places where moisture doesn't get cleaned up soon enough and it's allowed to host spores. If left unchecked mildew can begin to rot wood or cloth. It will even damage plastic, stone and concrete if it's left alone long enough. There are a variety of tools for getting rid of mildew and mold, but you should carefully evaluate what the mildew is growing on before you choose just how you're going to get rid of it.

Initial Cleaning

• Mildew often grows on hard plastic items if they're left alone in the damp long enough. This is especially true of items in dank garages, damp basements, and in areas where the ocean or a lake is close by such as docks and water front property. The first thing you need to do is to dry off the mildewed item and get it out into the open air. Brushing away the dry mildew should be done once the item has dried off. You'll have to scrub it with a brush until no more mildew flakes off of it. Once that's done, it's time to use something a little harsher to clean out the rest of the mildew.

Bleach

• While vinegar and ammonia are effective at removing mildew and mildew stains on other types of materials, bleach is the chemical of choice for removing mildew from hard plastic. The size of the item and the type of plastic that it's made from though will determine just how much bleach you'll need to use. For items that are small you'll need to mix roughly 1/8 of a cup of bleach into a gallon of water and allow the item to soak. The bleach will destroy the mildew and any remaining spores that might be in the plastic. It may be a good idea to wear some heavy rubber gloves and to scrub the hard plastic while it soaks. Once the item has soaked enough and is clean, it should be removed from the solution and washed with clean water. If the hard plastic item is used for containing any sort of food or drink, though, it's a better idea to simply throw it away as the bleach could be damaging to people who use the item in the future.