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I bought a Scrapbooking suitcase at an Estate sale years ago. It got blown into the pool so I made a lowball offer that was accepted. I had kept it zipped up in my second bedroom unfilled, as I was not doing crafts at the time.
Now I am ready to fill it with my Scrapbook tools, pages, etc. and it is mildewy smelling! :-( I have sprayed it down, inside and out, with Lysol disinfectant spray and Febreze. Nope, smells like "sweet" mildew now. So I am leaving it open (all the pockets and zippered areas) to air out and I put a fabric softener sheet inside the main storage area. My next step is to put it in the sun for awhile, although it is now fall, is the temp of the sun in fall hot enough to bake out the mildew smell? I guess I'll find out.
I agree with the others to get new. You have already put in time and effort to get rid of the smell. Luggage is so inexpensive now compared to years ago. And the choices of color and pattern and materials is mind-boggling. Have fun shopping. Chalk it up to a moving expense.
Here's a couple of links you can try~~ I have found in my own experience the many benefits of using Borax to remove stains, odors etc... as a laundry additive. But these links tend to explain other uses that may assist you with your luggage. Best of luck though. Bleach may cause cosmetic changes.. so unless you don't care are what your luggage looks like I'd tend to avoid using it!!
How To Get Mold Out Of Clothes & Fabric & Remove Mildew Smell
Perhaps using washing machine for sometimes ( like duffle bags) and spraying others that can't be washed that way. It sure makes it much easier if you could expose items to the outdoors.. even if not in the sun.
snip~~
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Mold can easily grow on clothes and fabric if you have too much moisture in your home. Clothes made of cotton or other organic materials make great food sources for mold and mildew to live on.
– 2 tablespoons borax
– 1/4 cup vinegar
– 2 cups warm water
…
Instructions:
Mix the borax into warm water until it has completely dissolved. Add in the vinegar and put the mixture into a ordinary spray bottle. Shake to mix thoroughly.
Again.. best of luck. The worst thing that can happen is to have to resort to purchasing new luggage or buy cardboard containers ( like most moving Companies use to pack household items in)
I'd like to stay on topic, but crates, bins, boxes in the car? Nope. Small SUV. In 28+ moves, what works best is to pack into crushable duffel bags... fits in more. I'm an expert packer, at this point. But, I don't want to discuss moving methods, just mildew.
Thank you everyone for methods, ideas & links. Since the majority of my clothing needs dry cleaning or is fragile materials and/or vintage (I don't own much by way of cotton or jeans), I won't take the chance & will just toss the roller bags... I'm grateful that at least my clothing, handbags & shoes weren't outside in the storage closet, just the bags. I can't use bleach as everything is black & I'm assuming they'll discolor... although, if that's the optimal method for killing mildew, I guess I'd rather have discolored duffel bags, if I can salvage more of them. I'll try bleach with 1 of those that still smells after multiple washes in a moment to see what happens. I'll update after it's air dried.
Just thought of something... after washing, can I use one of those foot fungal sprays to spray the inside of the clean bags? I'm assuming mold/fungus & mildew require different chemicals to kill them, but has anyone ever done this with success? Also, would perfume kill any remaining mildew, since it's so high in alcohol, or just mask odor?
Lastly, I'm assuming the plastic storage bins that were locked up tight with all the duffel bags are mildewed, even though I can't see any & none of them smell? I wanted to donate them, but I don't need another cleaning project... I've got 15 of them. So, toss or donate? I'm not cleaning.
That is a bit extreme. Her suitcases have mildew, not anthrax.
Awesome! Now I can toss this...
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My mildew solution has generally been a mild bleach solution, and that works when you can get to the mildew. That can be difficult with a roller-bag, as there may be mildew particles into the seams and behind the lining.
Thanks FB, I'll wash one of the bags that still smells after multiple washes in bleach. It will be discolored, but since it smells, it's a throw away anyway, so worth a shot.
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Do you really want to wash everything at the other end? Your call.
No!
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Moving can be expensive, and nobody needs any more complexity in their life when packing. You could pack things in garbage bags...
Yes, perhaps this is a case of being careful what you ask for. I decided I was going to get rid of everything, save for clothing. It's a time in my life when I have to purge, begin anew. I sold what I could over the past 4-mos & have been donating the rest in regular jaunts to the Goodwill. Just the other day, with my hurt shoulder, headache & aching low back, I was telling my mum I was getting exhausted dragging everything out to the car & going back & forth to the Goodwill. Well, now I only need to begin dragging things to the dumpster.
I'm glad I didn't say I'd rather my bldg burn down than have to pack another bag.
Well, that diving suit certainly qualifies as vintage, if not necessarily a delicate.
Ahahahaha!
I just recalled & no kidding, when I was a kid, my da' had one of those helmets in the cellar. It was authentic, not a toy... no idea where he got it, but it was so heavy, we kids couldn't lift it... of course after being told constantly not to touch it. Oops...
I don't know what they made him do in the Coast Guard when he came to the states, fresh off the boat from Ireland, but, no wonder he had that sour puss on all the time. Probably made him clean the ships of mildew with a toothbrush in that suit.
I'm washing one bag in bleach now... if that doesn't work, I do have extra toothbrushes.
I washed 1 black bag in detergent, OxyClean, baking soda, tea tree oil & a good dose of bleach. It was washed 4 times to the point where the inside vinyl has torn in multiple places... this was the 5th & last wash, cuz I'm just not willing to put any more time into the Great 2017 Mildew Escape. Oddly enough, it still smells slightly mildewy (the same as before the bleach), but the bleach did not remove any of the black coloring... that I didn't expect.
But, I've been going through this nonsense all week & just realized something. Most of the bags, that I'd tossed onto the living room floor to completely dry before folding up & putting away or discarding, smell fine now. There are a few that are still dicey. Basically, 3/4 that smelled before are now fine.
So, I'll leave the bags on the floor for another week, to see what happens. The ones that still have a slightly unpleasant whiff of mildew I'll wash with bleach & leave to dry & air out for the week. I still have a few on the patio that I haven't gotten to yet, but I'll double the bleach to see what happens... maybe I won't need to do more than 1 wash.
I'll still toss the suitcases on rollers. They're not worth my effort.
Moved 28+ times? Holly crap! I don't think I would have stamina to do that.
OP, you said you don't own much of natural fabrics. Bleach is an effective color remover to natural fibers like cotton, linen, and rayon. If the fabric contains polyester, the color may not discharge, since polyester is usually colorfast. Your duffel bags and the luggage is most likely made of polyester or nylon. That stuff will not get discolored by bleach. If you are not sure, apply a drop of bleach solution to a hidden part of the colored item (hems, cuffs, and inside seams work well). Wait 1 minute, then blot dry. No color change means the item can be safely bleached. The correct amount to use for an average load is ¾ cup.
BTW: you said you don't want hard moving boxes because they are not "crushable". What about putting some of your clothes and other items in big trash bags? They are soft and you could easily fill any unused space in your SUV with them. They work probably even better than duffel bags...
THIS!!!! ^^^. Trust me on this. It is very hard, if not impossible to remove mildew and mold.
You may become ill in the process - and still not remove it.
You do not want mold or mildew in your life!
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The worst thing that can happen is to have to resort to purchasing new luggage or buy cardboard containers ( like most moving Companies use to pack household items in)
Awesome! Now I can toss this... 
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