Smelly Wash Rags

It's bacterial growth. Wash them in HOT water with 1 cup of bleach. Should make all the difference :)

Fabric softener can often enhance the mildew smell (or even cause it). I bleach all of mine and then use vinegar in the rinse instead of softener. You can use a dryer sheet in the dryer to make them soft enough to use on his face! : )

My Organic Housekeeping book recommends adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the wash.

Whoops, plenty of folks just said that, didn't they!

In any case, the vinegar recommendation is backed up in my favorite book! This book has helped me clean my house BETTER than before and I only need to buy vinegar, baking soda, borax, and dish soap/soap flakes for just about everything. This way my kids can help me clean and I don't have to worry about them being poisoned.

Let them soak in the wash with a few cups of vinegar added to the water. This works well too, if you leave your clothes in the washer too long and they get that horrible sour smell.

I use a clean one each time too. I let them hang on something overnight to dry before sticking them in dirty laundry just to be sure. It seems like once that stink is there it won't ever go away!

When you wash them, add vinegar to the wash instead of "fabric softener" in the dispenser. I also add a few drops of essential oil, like lavender or lemon, and they always, always come out smelling fresh and clean. You can even hold it right up to your face and take a deep, deep sniff, and not even know it smelled horribly before. And,when they get wet again, the nasty smell doesn't come right back. It works like a charm. I don't recommend bleach as it is horrible for you, but the vinegar is fabulous!

We put a little bleach in our water and leave them soaking between uses until we wash them.

Yes, you need hot water! I wash all towels, rags, and underwear in hot water! I do add vinegar to the wash too, but honestly I don't think that will help that much without the hot water. I don't prewash or pretreat or anything and my used rags (I do the same thing as you) usually sit there at least 5 days before getting washed and some of them do smell kinda gross and I've never had a problem with them still stinking after they come out of the wash.

You can use hot water and bleach, or you can spray them with a stain remover before you toss them...that will help. But I am saying this next bit honestly, because I believe your time is valuable and smelly things stink...literally...

I can't stand the smell of wet rags (even after an hour) and that's why I use sponges for dishes, which I throw out and change very frequently, and paper towels for children's hands and faces. I use rags to clean my counter and table, but that's just to wipe up all the Lysol I spray. I know you are probably using rags versus paper for an ecological reason...but I guess the way I look at it (and please don't everyone hate me for this, it's just my opinion) my time is more valuable than to sit with my laundry and add things, etc. I have an aversion to vinegar, because a lady I used to clean for made me scrub her floors with it and I could never get the smell off my hands. I have a totally different outlook on "saving our environment." I don't believe the world is going to be here forever, I don't believe in global warming because there isn't any real evidence to back it up (they've only been collecting data for about 30 years on it, and they really don't know), and I truly believe God gave us enough resources and the brains to create useful products. Go paper!!! :)

its from bacterial build up-soak in straight vinegar before washing-then only use a vinegar mix in the machine with them-if that doesnt work then their shot-good luck

I dont recall ever having this problem. Wet dish clothes or wet washclothes usually only smell if they've been wadded up wet and left. After using the cloth, rinse it with some hot water, wring it out and let it air dry, that should be all you need to do to keep it from getting stinky. If you are throwing wet clothes into a hamper and not washing them for a few days, they will begin to mildew and reek.
For frequent washing of kids, you are better off using paper towels....thus eliminating that problem altogether.

I prewash my rags in hot water with a detergent cup of bleach to get all food residue and germs off of them and keep them from getting stinky. Then I wash them with detergent to get them really clean and get all bleach out, since I use them on my kids' faces. I also hang them over the edge of the laundry basket at the end of the night so they can air dry completely before I toss them in the basket. That way the wet rags don't get mildewy and smell. Good luck!

sometimes certain towels or washcloths are made with cheaper material. Sometimes they just get worn out. I would replace them honestly b/c I am not sure you will ever get the smell out. You could try white vinegar or baking soda in the wash and then air dry in the sun but having had bath towels that did that over time, I had to replace them.

Add Arm and Hammer "Washing Soda" to every load. It is amazing and helps with odors as well as stains... and it is less than 3 dollars a box. It should be in the laundry isle at Walmart and Cub for sure.

I had this problem when my son was little. It was definitely dairy products that caused the problem. I ended up using paper towels to wipe up milk and yoghurt.

I've got the same problem and what I've found helps is to rinse them in plain water really well after use. This helps get the soap/cleaner and food out of them. Make sure they are dry before you toss them into the laundry hamper too. If they are bunched up and dry like that, it will help with the stink. But even with all that, they'll start to smell after some time so I lay them flat in the kitchen sink and pour vinegar on them just enough so they are covered and let them soak for an hr or so. Pull them out and toss them in the washing machine for a washing on their own and then run them again with the regular towels and they should be good to go for a while again. When the smell keeps coming back frequently, then it's time for new ones.

S.

Vinegar is good for cutting odors. Just add some to your wash machine along with your detergent. You could also try soaking them in vinegar and water in the kitchen sink and see if that helps with the odor until you are ready to wash them.

As others have said it's the bacteria. The only thing I would add is that you can use oxyclean if you want. I usually use a scoop of it in any clothes or stuff that have touched the boys. Don't know why they get worse than the girls.

I agree with Diann. I hang mine over the side of the hamper to dry thoroughly before putting them in the hamper.

A wee bit of bleach will help.

Are you using the same exact rags or are they different rags? i ask b/c I have a ton of different towels and i noticed that some were just DISGUSTING smelling - even after washed and some were not. I chocked it up to the materials they were made from and just threw out all the ones that smelled funny.... I no longer have the problem (.... the remaining towels never started getting smelly... and it's been over a year.)

Try adding white vinegar to the wash.

One word... NORWEX.

Norwex products changed the way I clean so much that I actually became a sales consultant so I could teach others about it (and I am one of those people that thought she could never talk in front of a group).

Norwex cloths are microfiber cloths that have silver embedded in the fibers. "Silver interrupts a cell's ability to form chemical bonds essential to its survival. Bacteria, viruses, and fungi need the bonds for their oxygen metabolism. Essentially the organism suffocates and dies."

I have three young kids (5 y/o twins and a 3 y/o). I use one Norwex baby cloth to clean all of them up (hands and faces) three times a day. I rinse the cloth off well after each meal and hang it up to dry. By doing this, I only have to wash the cloth about every two weeks!! It doesn't get stinky or stiff. I just figure it's probably time to clean it. And, with the silver agent in the cloth, it eliminates cross contamination between my kids. I honestly can not say enough about the Norwex products.

Here are a few links if you're interested in learning more....

my website: http://annettej.norwex.biz/

a youtube video of a demo using a Norwex cloth to clean up raw chicken juice (yuck!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXSGsJOTsnE

We always hang the washcloths we use on the kids after meals on the oven handle/rack to dry. Not super pretty, but they dry and then we throw them in the basket. We have two boys, usually use 3ish washcloths a day. We bought a bunch of dollar store white ones (and white bibs, too) and throw them in the wash with bleach whenever we run out. It's been a good method for us:)

They need to dry before you throw them in the laundry.

I use wipes at the table to wipe the kids' hands and faces. Face clothes from the bathroom get hung up to dry before going in with the dirty laundry. I put in baking soda sometimes with the towels.

Make sure you rinse them WELL between uses throughout the day.

I wash all my towels and wash rags in hot water with a bit of bleach. It kills the bacteria that causes the smells and makes them very fresh smelling. Even if they are dark they can be washed with bleach. Just add it to the water with the laundry soap and let the machine fill some before adding the clothes and towels. I even use bleach on the dark browns and blacks.