i have a white polo shirt which got wet and i forgot it in a plastic bag (yeah, i know - don't do that ). now it's all mildewy around the collar and up the back. i can only wash it warm (or it'll shrink all up), so i thought i'd just bleach the heck out of it. the thing is, if i dump the half-gallon of bleach in a bucket and stick the shirt in, i figure it'll just sort of disolve, right? how much should i use? should i soak it in bleach water in a bucket? how long? or just put a LOT of bleach in the washing maschine? if there's somebody out there who could help me on this one, i'd really appreciate it, being that i'm not too savvy 'bout these kind of things.

thanks in advance,
mark

Tell me you did not already put it through the wash?Or, Saints forbid, the dryer?
No?Good!
OK, is this shirt cotton or poly/cotton blend?
For 100% cotton, put a 1/4 of a cup of bleach and two tablespoons of laundry soap in a gallon of very warm water, stir it up so it's well mixed, then soak the shirt for half an hour then dump the whole mess, water,soap, bleach and all into the washing machine and run it on warm/normal cycle with the usual amount of soap and a 1/2 cup of bleach... inspect the shirt before you put it in the dryer, wash again if there is still visible mildew. If two wash cycles does not do the trick, try the instructions for:

Poly/Cotton blend...Get a clean white towel, a clean white washcloth and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, lay the shirt on the towel, wet the stains with the peroxide then press (don't rub) the washcloth on the dampened stains, repeat until the stains begin to lighten, after most of the mildew is gone, rinse the shirt then wash as usual in warm/normal cycle, detergent and half a cup of bleach.(be sure to dilute the bleach according to your machine's directions.)

DO NOT PUT IT IN THE DRYER UNTIL IT'S CLEAN!!!!! Drying mildew sets it forever, at which point all you can do is dye the shirt dark gray.