I use "OdoBan" in my final rinse. It makes towels, (and all my laundry) smell fresh wonderful. For stubborn musty odors in clothing, I turn off the washer, and let the final rinse soak for thirty minutes or so.
It is inexpensive ($10 for a full gallon jug plus a 24 oz refillable spray bottle). It has too many uses to mention. It is not a masking agent. It eliminates all odors and kills 99.99% of germs. With six dogs, I wouldn't be without it.
By Erika from Tallahassee, FL
This page contains the following solutions.
My child is always leaving towels lying around on the floor, or the furniture. They are never dry when she drops them where she does.
My facecloths were getting to the point of making me want to vomit from the smell they gave off once wet. I found that lots of people are having this problem.
Removing mildew smell from towels: Even, large, dark colored ones that can't be bleached. Soak the towels in 50% diluted tomato juice for two or three hours, run the wash cycle to be sure the towels are completely saturated, then rinse two or three times in cold water.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I remove foul smell from towel ? I want to add fresh smell to the towel.
Sukhwinder
I use my towels only two times (drying thoroughly between uses) before washing them again. Prevention is key when it comes to smelly towels. To remove the stale odor, I would recommend you wash them with a cup of white vinegar (use no detergent) and have them go through the entire wash cycle.
After they've gone through the final spin cycle, wash as you normally would with detergent. If you have a clothes line, let them line dry every so often and fluff them in the dryer when they are completely dry. Hope this helps!
After you wash them in vinegar, hang them out on the line to dry in the sun. If you know it's going to rain you could leave them out to get rained on and then let them dry again. I found that the rain and sun helped to freshen mine!
Wash towels with 2 tablespoons of Pinesol added to the water.
Use baking soda in the wash with the towels. Do not use it with the vinegar, as they will cancel each other out. About a cup per large load of laundry should do it. Ammonia also works, but tends to change the colors of the towels.
When working in the kennels at the vet hospital I learned from a professional cleaner that if you wash anything that has feces or urine on them you need to put 1/4 c. clorine bleach in the washer. I add it to the water and swish it a bit before adding the clothes to be sure it's mixed well. It will disinfect the clothes without bleaching the colors and get rid of any smells. I use this at home also and it does work, even on other smells.
I have struggled with this issue for a while and just recently came up with a solution that works for us. We do not have a dryer, so I line dry everything inside. I have tried the vinegar, baking soda, bleach and non of it worked for very long. The towels would come out smelling fine, but when they were dried and then used the smell came back.
So, I add some Arm & Hammer all natural super washing soda, it's a detergent booster and is not very expensive.
I have been putting my towels in the washing machine as normal, only a couple at a time (because of the limited drying space), adding my normal detergent and softener and then adding the Soda. I probably add a little less than 1/2 cup.
This has worked for me, I hope this was helpful.
What am I doing wrong? My towels smell after washing, when I leave them in the basket down in the cellar. Will those new detergent boosters work? Fabric softener sheets do not seem to work.
By Barbara W. from OH
Vinegar is my solution for smelly towels and I have found that when I bought a front loading washer I was using way too much soap. I have cut way back and use the kind of detergent meant for front load washers but I still run all my washed clothes and towels through an extra rinse.
By the way, do not use dryer sheets or fabric softener on your towels. That may seem odd, but the dryer sheets and fabric softeners make the towels not as absorbent, so they don't dry you off as well. My husband read about this tip in our local paper and I tried it and my towels are much, much more absorbent, yet they still feel soft in spite of not using a dryer sheet in the load!
Why do my towels still smell after washing and drying immediately?
By Electra from Lebanon, OH
Mine did too. Now I wash as usual but in the rinse cycle I put a splash of vinegar (1/4-1/2 cup) and the smell is gone. It removes all smells from the fabric and any leftover detergent. It softens too. The vinegar scent will disappear in the dryer cycle. Sometimes I do a second rinse with my liquid fabric softener.
You can also use baking soda to remove this odor. I suspect it is caused by damp towels not drying out properly in the bathroom. That is what is the problem when my towels get stinky. If they are white towels you could bleach them. But do one or the other. Don't use multiple treatments at the same time. Ammonia will also take out this sour smell, but it will also dull the color of brightly colored towels, so I would not use it on nice bath towels, unless they were already white. Works just fine on kitchen tea towels, too.
The city water dept. Told me that august is the time for algae bloom in all public water supplies from lakes especially; that we can expect that swampy odor even when drinking it. Perhaps vinegar kills the odors because the algae are alkaline and the vinegar is slightly acidic? I have noticed, too, that detergents are getting less powerful, not cleansing properly, but that vinegar and twenty mule team borax seems to improve it all? It may be that mfgrs are encouraged to weaken the detergents because of the big global environmental movement? Powders do a lot of harm to the water table, fish, and elements i hear. Liquids are more compatible and break down more naturally and completely in the sewage/water treatment plants.
I just ran across an article about this you might want to check out about smells on towels from using too much detergent and also fabric softeners on towels:
lifehacker.com/
I have an HE machine and my towels kept smelling like mildew after I just washed them. I noticed my washing machine started smelling and so I went back to where I bought it and asked the salesman if he had heard of this problem before. He said that sometimes HE machines get some mildew buildup because the seal around the opening is water tight. He recommended I use a washing machine cleaning product. I found Tide Washing Machine cleaner at Home Depot. I used it and now my towels and machine don't smell anymore!
I am a part-time seamstress and have found a new product (textile) that actually kills, bacteria, mold, mildew, algae, and other odor causing bacteria. I am a sceptic insomuch that I have a B.S. in Microbiology, so I bought a starfish for my kids to play with in the bathtub. I wanted to put it to the test. It has been in my bathroom in the tub for 18 weeks and it doesn't smell. I can hardly believe it. It works. I found the products at www.advancedecotex.com. Good luck. Hope this helps. I'm going to try the kitchen towels next.
I've had this problem and tried bleach, hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, sanitize cycle but nothing seemed to work 100% - maybe just slight improvement at first, but then the problem just seemed to get worse. Yesterday I tried grapefruit seed extract which is anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial. I added some to my rinse cycle and clothes that I could not get the smell out of by using other methods (several times!) came out smelling wonderful!! I then put the grapefruit seed extract in my soap, bleach, and fabric softener dispensers and ran it through an empty cycle, then rinsed a couple times. The washer smells great! Today I washed another load of clothes which have had the stinky smell for a while and put grapefruit seed extract in the soap and rinse cycle and they also came out smelling great.
I have never used fabric softener in this machine, nor do I used the fabric softener sheets and have still had this problem. Not sure if this is a problem for some as suggested on this blog, but it is definitely not the only problem with front loaders and smelly clothes.
I also have the 'stinky towel' syndrome here in Scotland. Have tried all the usual tips to no avail. Our water supply is excellent, so the problem lies within the machine (Zanussi front loader)
I don't know if it's a factor in the problem, but I never had the odor with any other machine in the past, but the difference now is this machine is cold fill only.
As every cycle automatically ends with a cold rinse, and the next load I put in always starts with a cold fill, I suspect bacteria is thriving in the 'innards' of the machine. I cannot afford to replace the machine at present, it's only just over a year old, but when I do purchase a new one I shall insist on hot fill. My towels actually smell ok when they are newly dried, but the second you start to dry yourself, the offending odor starts. I have also noticed same odor when I iron jeans etc. as soon as the steam contacts the fabric.
I am now at the stage where I dread visitors using the bathroom in case they think I'm just re-drying used towels instead of washing them !
@BigChiefm1 you are a genius! I solved my stinky laundry problem by following your directions on how to clean the trap!! OMG, talk about some nasty stuff in there!! Mine had a bra underwire that had lodged in there and had a science project growing around it. Eeewww! I feel so much better knowing that all is clean as a whistle now in there and I didn't have to pay a repairman $200! Thank you, thank you, and God Bless you for posting such a wonderful tip!
I had a similar problem and discovered that I wasn't getting my towels dry enough before taking them out of the dryer. They were getting a musty/mildewy sort of smell folded in the cupboard. Now, I leave them in the dryer (I use the highest heat setting) an extra 10-15 minutes after it says they are dry. The problem is gone.
How do you clean the trap
What can I put in the washing machine when washing towels and washcloths to eliminate a strange odor that occurs when using them. I have tried baking soda, Biz, vinegar, and cannot get them to smell nice and fresh.
By Sharon
I would just use one of the new popular laundry detergents with the all the cool colors on the bottle and fancy named sent. They all smell wonderful. It's amazing how presentation and colors of something lures in consumers. Are you sure you are not letting your towels sit in the washer for a while when they are done? That could cause them to spoil and smell bad. I know. I'm guilty of doing it myself.
If they are white, you can use chlorine bleach. It will take the smell out. If you are not concerned about the color of your towels, you can bleach them. They will fade, but they will smell fine. Ammonia also works, although I didn't find that it worked as well, and it also faded my dark green towels.
Hanging the towels outside in the sun and wind should also help, after using one of the less drastic products. Towels and washcloths get this smell when they don't dry thoroughly after you use them. It is a tough smell to eradicate. I am battling the same problem at the moment, and have not yet solved it, as I am not ready to "fade" out my towels! And, I haven't tried the sunlight, as I have no clothes line.
I have always used only about 1/3 cup of Clorox bleach and hot water to wash my colored towels. It doesn't take a whole cup or more to sanitize towels like it says on the label. That's just nuts! Not only is it bad for your towels, it's also bad for the environment. The germs are killed just fine by using a small amount of bleach and I have nice fresh towels. However, I do rinse twice using a few glugs of white vinegar in the first rinse. My towels stay nice and colorful for years, and they are never smelly.
I have a typo. I DON'T use 1/3 cup of bleach, I use 1/4 cup! Sheesh...learn to type! *LOL*
Use HOT water and don't wash too many towels together, they need room to "dance" in the washer. I have used vinegar or bleach and it works fine if you do not overload the washer.
I once had problems removing the odor or residue on used towels. I then decided to use Simple Green, since the label on the bottle indicated that it was also a "degreaser." I then decided to wash my towels in hot water, add some Simple Green and a little baking soda, and that solved my problem. Depending on how soiled the towels are, you might want to soak them first, then wash them through a complete cycle. I also use the same technique to take out the black oil out of my towels which I use to wash my car.
I wiped something up with a towel and did not realize it was garlic and washed it with the other towels now I can't get the smell out. What do I use to get it out?
By nastassja
Have you tried putting a cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle of the washing machine and then rinsing again?
Blessings, Robyn
First wash with a good soap, not detergent which tends to leave residue, you can also add some borax or washing soda to it for added benefits, then use vinegar in the rinse cycle when you would usually use fabric softener and just a tip, never use regular fabric softener on towels because it prevents them from being absorbent.
The softener actually coats the surface of the fabric which is what makes it feel soft. White vinegar is an excellent fabric softener and rinses clean away while also getting rid of any remaining scents. Hanging your towels outside in the sun also removes odors quickly and it's free.
Vinegar would probably take the smell out. I would use it during the rinse cycle. The vinegar smell won't last. It evaporates. Good luck:)
Tracking down the cause of a stinky metallic smell in bath towels fresh from the wash can be a bit of a mystery. Possible causes can be your plumbing, water supply, or even the water heater. Persistence and a process of elimination my be required.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
How can I get my bath and kitchen towels to smell fresh? These items get used VERY frequently in my house (we have 3 boys) and never have a chance to sit around and get musty. Bath towels are always air dried before being put into the hamper so they are not getting sour.
I have a problem with my water, I think. I wash a load of towels or dishrags, and they don't smell very good coming out of the dryer. Then when they get wet, they stink.
My bath towels have developed a very bad odor! I've allowed them to dry before placing them in the hamper and they still have an awful odor in them.
I don't have a problem with my washer making my towels and dishrags smell. It is the men in my house. If you use a towel, it is wet or damp and then leave it in a lump on the floor or bed, it will start smelling.
I have a top load washing machine, nothing new and fancy. my towels come out of the wash with this smell and when they get wet again, it's worse.
My towels always smell stale even after they have been washed. I tried baking soda in the washing machine but that didn't work.
I need help getting that Funky smell out of towels. No detergent seems to do it.It seems like as soon as they get wet they smell dirty.
