Smelly towels...is There Any Cure??

I used the method described on this site involving white vinegar to get rid of the "stink" in my kitchen towels. It worked but I did need to repeat about a month and a half later.

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Mildew-Smell-from-Towels

I use a couple of tablespoons of bleach in both my kitchen towel wash loads and baby wash cloths (we don't use disposable wipes at home so I have TONS of baby wash cloths). All my kitchen towels are bright colors, but the bleach doesn't change the color. I think since I am only using 3-4 Tablespoons of bleach and I don't let them soak, it doesn't affect color. I also add a second rinse to any load where I am using bleach. It does wonders for the musty smell.

You may have what is known in cloth diapering circles as "detergent buildup". I have never known this could happen until I used cloth diapers and noticed that our other laundry really stunk.
Anyways, there are a few ways to get rid of it that you can try, it may take a few times:
- add vinegar to the rinse cycle this deodorizes
- use a mix of equal parts borax and baking soda instead to detergent
- oxyclean or another color safe bleach alternative

I have had the best success with using dish soap instead of laundry detergent, do not overload the washer (most common reason that detergent may not dissolve/rinse properly).
Now I occasionally alternate dish soap, borax/baking soda and regular detergent and have no more smelly issues.

One more tip, I know it's not the season, but in the summer nothing beats the smell of line dried laundry.

Have you tried OxyClean? It is mainly Hydrogen Peroxide and if you give the towels an extra rinse it should wash it out. I was a bleach freak before I had my latest son (9mo old) then I figured out oxyClean is a super concentrated peroxide and they use the same type of formula to clean surgical instruments. It will like bleach with out the smell or color loss. I love it and use it on everything, even my dark clothes and it is great. If you have a problems with that you may want to try a cup of white vinegar that should also remove the smell but it is not a "cleaner" per se. Hope this helps!

A few simple things work pretty well: Add borax, or 1 cup white vinegar, or 1/2 cup baking soda to your wash cycle. There's also a commercial washing soda that helps sweeten laundry. All of these products deodorize, and boost the cleaning power of your detergent. Hydrogen peroxide bleach (Oxyclean or Seventh Generation) also kills mildews and bacteria that can linger in fabrics, and it breaks down into nice, clean water and oxygen - no lingering chemical residue.

I've found that adding the baking soda to the rinse cycle is even better. It leaves traces of the soda in the fabric where it can continue to work every time it gets moist.

I'm glad you are willing to avoid chemical "fixes." We are already living in such a complex chemical soup that many kids are becoming sensitized, and life gets much more complicated when you suddenly have to avoid perfumes and ingredients in products found everywhere in public. I've had this problem for almost 20 years, and it keeps becoming more restrictive.

Hi E.. It looks like you have gotten a lot of great advice already but I thought I would add one more thing. I discovered a product called "Bac Out stain and odor eliminator" by Biokleen and it has really made a difference in freshening up my smelly laundry. I also do add vinegar now with every load and that helps too. The bac out doesn't have any chemicals and it uses enzymes to break down the odors and also lime peel. It smells really good. You might want to try soaking the towels in a water & Bac Out mixture and then wash in the machine w/ the vinegar. Also, it could just be your machine. Since we use more natural laundry soaps, we get this sludgy buildup in the machine and it really smells. We try now to run the "tub clean" cycle on the machine once a month w/ baking soda and vinegar and that has seemed to help with the laundry smell as well. Also, we have to leave the door open to the washing machine when not in use because it will get really musty and mildewy if the door remains closed.

What I have found that works every time: put them on the top rack of the dishwasher. They come out smelling clean, clean, clean. Then I can pop them in the washing machine and they still smell clean. I think with the high heat of the dish washer... it kills the yucky smell completely. Give it a try. It works. Gramma C.

Baking soda, baking soda, baking soda!!! You might have to play around with the measurment a little but i've used it to get all kinds of smells out of the laundry! Hope this helps

I use oxyclean with all my items...specially my husbands workout clothes and it really gets the smell out.

try using less laundry detergent and less fabric softener soap residue will cause your clothes to stink if they get wet. many people use WAY too much soap especially if they have High Efficiency front load washers. If you have one of these you need to be using HE approved detergent and use about HALF of what you would normally. Also using an enzyme type product like Oxyclean will help.

put vinegar into your wash... a cup per load.
really.

this will work for a while, but eventually the stink comes back and then you HAVE to throw them out.

the other thing is i switch my rags every day. sometimes twice (this helps too).

Hi E.,

I was having that same problem about a year ago and tried everything from Arm & Hammer, OxiClean, Vineger, bleach and anything else that was recommended. I didn't like the smell of these products and I found that most of them did not work and would leave fillers in the basket in my washing machine. I started using Shaklee after it was shown on the Oprah show. Now I don't have that problem. I started using the laundry powder concentrate and add the nature bright laundry and stain booster to all my clothes, whites and color, even my husbands older t-shirts are whiter and also use the dryer sheets in the dryer. I also use the dish wash concentrate at my sink and my dish cloths don't sour even if I leave them overnight. Now I use all Shaklee products for everything I clean. Basic H2 cleans everything from windows, floors, cabinets, in carpet shampooers as well as 1000 other uses and I can still breath when I'm done cleaning. Shaklee won't hurt you or your kids. Since I started using Shaklee I don't use any bleach, window cleaner or any other kind of cleaner that can bought at the store. Shaklee products don't leave a residue on your clothes and are non-toxic and biodegradable and anyone who has alergies or has asthema can still breath when using these products.
If you want to know more about Shaklee give me a call at ###-###-#### or you can go to my website at www.landofand.com/ilenelockhart and review a video on the Shaklee Get Clean products.
I hope this helps,
Take care,
I.

HI,
I've had similar problems with my towels. I could not get the smell out so I decided to just buy white or cream colored towels and wash rags, so then I could bleach them! I don't ever smell that smell anymore.
Take care,
A.

I use Shaklee's Nature Bright, which is a natural enzyme brightener. I just put the towels in and soak them for a day or two, and they throw them in the laundry with Shaklee's laundry liquid. It leaves no residue, takes out the mold/mildew stuff and all the stains, and they looks as bright as new. (Works amazingly well on underwear too! Turns them from grey to white again, and doesn't hurt colors either.)

I have some extra on hand...if you're local, let me know and I can get it to you.

Add white vinegar to the wash. I know it sounds weird, but it really works!

Vinegar works wonders. Put a cup into the rinse cycle and it will help get rid of the smells.

Add a cup of Cider Vinagar to the wash and it will take the smell out of your clothes and towels. It seems you have received alot of responses to your questions. I find that the Cider Vinagar works the best because of the acid in the vinagar. Good luck

I see you've gotten a lot of suggestions, but let me just add one more. I use generic Listerine, an idea I heard on TV years ago from a cleaning expert. The big bottles are pretty cheap at Walmart. For a stubborn smell, soak for an hour or two with some all fabric bleach and Listerine before washing as usual. To retain the pleasant smell, add about 1/4 cup of Listerine every time you wash towels. Has worked great for us for many years!

When I have smelly towels or clothes I use white vinegar in the wash with my soap. I usually pour in about 1/2 cup and let the washer run normally. I also wash towels & sheets in hot water. You should notice a difference and not smell the vinegar once they are done. Hope this helps

I always, always, ALWAYS, bleach my towels... all of them. I have colored towels too and yes, some of them do fade, but suprisingly, most of them hold their color. But if you are willing to throw them all out and buy new... it wouldn't hurt to send them through with bleach. Also, when I have needed to buy new towels for the kitchen, I buy white. That way, I can see anything on there. Also, when I buy the new white towels for the kitchen, I take the pile of clean 'old' towels and a sharpie and write "R A G" on all of them. That way, if someone is grabbing a towel to clean up beet juice or spaghetti sauce, they don't grab my bran new white ones. I keep the 'RAG's in the front of the drawer where they are easiest to grab, and my new white dish towels in the back. I have not had a problem with smelly towels since I have been using bleach with the loads, and I have been doing it this way for at least 8 years. I have a separet laundry 'bin' just for towels. Go ahead and grab all your towels (even if they are clean) and go and try a load with bleach. You can make up a song as you go... "No more smelly towels..." Okay, now I am being silly. Let me know how it works out for you!

I just read through some of the other responses and I'm still sticking with my bleach. It's fast and easy and I have never had a problem with it. And yes, I am a 'towel freak'. I had a friend in 8th grade who would come to school with the 'smelly towel' smell. I'm sure his mom would say, "Just a minute, come back here. You have a little something on your face" and then wash his whole face with her kitchen rag. I also have my FAVORITE 'peacock blue' bath towels that get the bleach too but hold there color great. Not so much luck with the navy colered towels though. Good luck with what ever you decide to try!

I wash mine with white vinegar. About a 1/4 cup with a full load, I also put soap in with the load. By the time the towels come out of the dryer they are smelling fresh and clean, and they don't stink when you reuse them. I use them on my little guy and they seem to be just fine. Good Luck!

White vinegar really works best. I do it with my towels every month or two. Use 1 cup (2 cups if it's a really large load) instead of laundry detergent, and wash. Then, wash again using your regular detergent. That will keep them fresh for quite awhile.

Also, I change out my kitchen towels every morning, and let them hang to dry completely before putting them in the hamper. This helped with the smell, too.

Add baking soda to the wash...as other Moms have said :o)

I used to have this problem, it was because I had a major lint build up in my dryer hose. I cleaned out the hose and the smell was gone.

I asked my mom about this as I really havent a clue! 30 years old and still taking stained clothes to her! :) She wonders if you have hard water. She said hers ogt that way a lot when we lived somewhere with hard water. She said to add a 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your wash. She also said you could try adding baking soda to the load or leave a box of it in the linen closet. Hope you find the solution for you. I hate smelly towels! Mine get that way when I leave them in the wash too long, yuck!

Place a cup of white wine vinegar in the wash with them, I use it on my cloth diapers end kitchen towels, works great!

I use a little baking soda...I just add about two tablespoons to a sink full of warm water, add towels and let them soak for a minite and then throw everything into the wash (my littlest one is a drooler so the neck of all his shirts are stinky, this works on getting rid of that smell too). I tried adding it to the washing machine but it just was not as effective.

Have a good one, and good luck!
*K

The biggest cause of this is sitting in the washer too long before getting dried. Once that happens, you have to fully dry them and then wash them again to get that smell out. If you say that you always transfer them right away, then they shouldn't do that. Try washing with vinegar in the prewash compartment and color-safe bleach in the bleach part as well as the normal detergent. I always wash mine in hot with color-safe bleach and detergent. If they get bad, I run them through with vinegar too. Also, be sure that your towels are dry before throwing them in the dirty clothes hamper. Hang up towels and lay out washcloths. They will grow bacteria and possibly even mold your clothes if you bundle them up while wet.

Give up on the commercial detergents and buy Ecover. It is organic takes stains out and leaves the clothing in good condition. It is sold in many supermarkets and health food stores. Buy the one without any perfume.
Put vineager in the wash water as that kills mildew. Your towels were once mildewed and now the smell stays.
I NEVER use bleach as Clorox and others have chemicals that destroy the skin's ability to keep bacterium out. I also do not use fabric softener. I devised these methods of keeping clothes clean because I have sensitive skin. If anyone in your house has allergies or asthma do not use the commercial chemical additives in your wash.
Place fresh rosemary in your towel drawer. If it has any mildew the rosemary will absorb it and leave it smelling clean.

Do not use anything in the dryer but three clean washed tennis balls which will keep your clothes from wrinklng.

I put dirty laundry in wicker baskets as that allows them to dry if they are damp and clean clothing goes in plastic laundry baskets to be emptied into the closets and drawers quickly.

I had some slightly smelly clothes once (that storage smell). The smell didn't come out when I washed them only with detergent, so I washed them again with a cup or 2 of baking soda and more detergetn, and the smell came right out. That might work for you??