Tulsa Dry Cleaner Washes Nonprofit’s Donated Clothes For Free After Mold Issue Discovered

A Tulsa nonprofit that gives away food, clothes and medical supplies recently found mold in its building in the rooms where clothing is stored.

But a Tulsa dry cleaning service is stepping up and cleaning all the clothes that can be saved for free.

Inside Christ for Humanity's building near 15th and Sheridan, thousands of empty hangers sit on metal racks, that used to hold donated clothing.

"One of our volunteers from the women’s' clothing pantry came up and said, 'I hate to tell you this, but there's a bit of a problem,’” Chief Operating Officer and volunteer Coy Hays said.

Hays said they tried to save money this summer by turning up the A/C temperature when no one was there.

He thinks that, combined with the carpet on the walls, is the reason a remediation service is needed now.

"As a result of not running the air conditioner enough, the humidity in the air began to condense out, and started growing green mold,” he said.

About two thirds of the clothes they had stored needed to be thrown away. The rest are at Phoenix Cleaners downtown.

"I don't know how many items. It's about a thousand pounds,” Phoenix Cleaners Owner Todd Robinson said.

Robinson said it is a job that would usually cost about $2,000. But he and his team are cleaning it all for free.

"I don't know, it makes me happy,” he said. “So when I got the call I knew that they didn't have a chance in getting somebody to do it on that scale. We had the capacity, and I knew that."

“It's a real blessing to us and it will be to the people that are needing clothing,” Hays said.

Christ for Humanity volunteers had considered doing all the laundry themselves at home.

Robinson estimated this amount of laundry would have taken about 16 days to complete (at 8 hours a day) so the group really needed some help.

All of that laundry should be done by Tuesday.

Robinson said because the clothes were exposed to mold, they will take extra steps in sanitizing them.

"We'll use an enzyme detergent. We'll actually bring it up to temperature, a higher temperature than what we would normally. And then we'll dry it high and I also have an additive that we'll put in with the wash that kills the bacteria."

Christ for Humanity said if anyone would like help with donations, please wait about a week before bringing it by, and try to call ahead to make sure volunteers are available.

Robinson said they are looking for men’s and women’s clothes of all sizes, coats, blankets, pillows and towels.