Please help! I have some dollar bills that smell of mold. Does anyone know how to get rid of the smell? If you put this money in with other money, the smell transfers. Thanks so much for your help.
I think the best thing to do is to wash them. Put them in a bowl with a little laundry detergent and a tiny bit of bleach. Swish them around for a while, then rinse them well. That should remove the moldy smell, then dry them by hanging on a line or spreading them on a towel.
- Susan
I wouldn't worry about removing the moldy smell at all. You can just exchange the bills at the bank. I work at a bank, and we've had people bring in money in all kinds of condition! The bank will just send it back to the Federal Reserve to be destroyed.
Theresa in California
Either spend it, thereby passing it on, or take it to a bank and trade it for non-smelly money.
Syd
Wash them with water, then iron them. They will be very stiff and almost like new!
try dampening the dollar bill with a little bit of water, probably like a mist spray bottle if available. then microwave the damp dollar for, i dunno, 30 seconds to a minute? i'm just making a guess here. try it on one dollar first and see how it turns out.
Susan, that sounds like money laundering to me
Hmmmm : )
Susan
thats not true my bank refused to accept my moldy smelly money and now I m stuck with it
Thank you Susan
You can purchase Silica packets and put them in with the money, this will remove the moisture and mold. I've been doing to research. Check Amazon, they have these packets.
the bank would not let me trade it in went to 4 banks and they said I have to send it in how ridiculous !
You could try spraying the bills with isopropyl alcohol. That should kill the mold and not damage the bill, I think.
Do not dry notes in the microwave, any metallic strip will get hot instantly and burn the dollars.
This isn't the case at my bank, they would not accept it. I was referred to the FED website for the proper way to package bills that are deemed a health hazard. The process is quite laborious, and if it doesn't meet the FED's requirements they ship it back. I am going to try to wash them then take them to the bank.
Not true, just got turned away from Bank of America.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How can I get mold out of paper money?
DB from MI
why do you say it is mold?? the money is supposed to be green. if you really think it is dirty and whatever take it to a bank and redeem it.
Wash the money in the washer. I have wash bills in the washer, put in a little Joy dish soap.
Shonda from Western Ky
The correct way to handle money that is in any way damaged is to take it to a bank and TELL the teller or customer service rep. about it. They will gladly give you 'fresh or clean' money then they will send it back to the Federal Reserve Bank for reimbursement to the bank. If you don't let them know about the nasty stuff on the money it will just get back in circulation again.
if you are collecting old paper money then you should contact someone that knows what will or will not affect the value.
if you are not collecting old money then just run it through the wash in your laundry. i've done that countless times by accident. it fades a little but its clean.
