I have a walk in bedroom closet approx 4'x10' that is pretty well packed with "stuff".

About 2yrs ago, a great aunt passed away and the family gave me an antique suitcase containing mementos, papers and old photos. Some of the contents was close to a hundred years old. Great aunt had lived alone in a log cabin built in the late 1800's.

As I went through the suitcase, I noticed an earthy musty smell. There was even a bible in there that mice had obviously virtually destroyed. I tossed the bible and stored the suitcase and most of the contents in the bedroom closet. I figured the odors were simply age.

I THINK that antique suitcase and contents is where the white mold came from. The mold infestation seems to be mostly in the area where the suitcase was stored in the closet. Thing is, I'd passed on the suitcase and contents to a cousin a few months ago.

Anyway, last night I was rummaging through the closet and noticed the white mold. I tossed a BUNCH of clothes and shoes. Currently I'm about half way through the closet but think I've gotten most of the obviously moldy things out of there. My trash cans are full and won't be picked up until next Thursday and that's when I'll finish cleaning out the closet. In the mean time, I've left the light on in the closet because I read online that mold won't grow in well lit areas.

I've never dealt with anything like this in my life. I'm going to crawl around under the house to see if there is any moisture in the crawl space. There is no apparent moisture or discoloration of walls or ceiling in the closet. But obviously there was some humidity enough to grow mold. The closet isn't ventilated and is bordered by an outside wall. It gets hotter and colder in the closet than anywhere else indoors because of no ventilation. I've lived here 14yrs and not had this problem before.

Anyone else ever dealt with a white mold issue?

You’re probably right, the mold spores came along and got transferred from the suitcase to the items in the closet.

I’d remove everything and use a bleach solution to wipe the entire place down....

Run a box fan in the closet to dry it out and then GTG.

Try vinegar instead of bleach to kill that mold. We found it to be more effective.

Hi, I used to work for a cleanup / restoration company. Here is what I told people to do if they wanted to handle on their own. Put the contaminated items in plastic bags and take out to the garage. Mix up a solution of 1 part bleach to 4 parts water. More bleach is not better. Get some rags and wet wipe everything down in the closet with the solution. Start with the ceiling. The bleach will kill the color, but as soon as humidity is reintroduced, it will come back. You need to scrub it off. Let it dry on its own, using a fan could spread any spores you didn’t wipe up around your bedroom. Then I would suggest getting a primer like Kilz and paint the closet. This will seal anything into the drywall and keep any moisture from reactivating the mold.

Thanks guys. Abatement in progress.