Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I washed my clothes and later used a hand towel to clean my face with. It had a bad sour smell to it. I had a cut so I used a towel again and poured hydrogen peroxide on it and noticed it started bubbling. Doesn't that only happen if there is bacteria present?
I would rewash them and in the rinse cycle add a cup of white vinegar. No fabric softener. It will fix it.
This happens to me especially in summer. If I don't put the clothes in the dryer soon enough also. I found that washing the load again on hot with an oxyclean type powder added will kill the sour smell present in the clothing and towels. I also periodically wash my towels on hot with this same thing added to prevent whatever buildup happens over time. I normally wash on cold with liquid detergent. I wonder if this happens to people who consistently wash on hot?
This happened to me and it was because I was using too much laundry detergent and putting too many clothes in the wash. Cut back on the clothes and the laundry detergent
I have well water and all the laundry after a wash and dry is fine, but if it ever gets damp again from sweating or anything it then has a very rotten spoiled smell to the clothing. My husband's shirts after work smell like rot, what can I put in the wash to keep this from happening?
By Stephanie
Try adding vinegar to the rinse cycle of the washing machine. When the clothes dry you won't smell the vinegar and it keeps bacteria levels down and works to soften the clothes.
I would try some baking soda in with the wash cycle and vinegar in with the rinse cycle. There is also a new product you add to the rinse that stays active for a long time. It is new but I cant recall the name of it.
Oh boy did I have a problem with that! I tried borax, baking soda, biz, pine sol and anything else I could think of. I wanted to use bleach but my husbands work clothes were navy blue. Then one day I washed them with just tide and some cheap lemon ammonia that I bought at Big Lots. After that everything seemed fresh again! So far so good. Trust me when I say I tried Everything! Good Luck.
My work clothes get washed regularly by themselves. The smells don't go even after they've been washed. Shall I hand wash it? Any recommendations would be helpful.
By F. C.
Some times I use All liquid detergent and baking soda. I used this even after a fire for the soot smell. Thought this might help. J
I live in a rental unit. The laundry room is shared with 2 other families. Most of the time after washing and drying my clothes they smell like they where washed with sewer water. The clothes are apparently stain free and washed with good detergent. I never let the clothes sit in the machine after washing, they go in the dryer. The clothes after being dried feel greasy and have a bad sewer smell to it.
I go to bed and if my sheets have that smell I do not sleep properly and often have headaches. We exposed the situation to my landlord and he doesn't care. My question is, is it possible my clothes are washed with sewer water some how? and can that be the cause of my headaches?
Thank you!
It could either be the water itself or a dirty machine. I would buy a gallon of vinegar and do a wash with that and no clothes in it.
Recently I discovered my clothes have started to smell sour like vinegar. I use Gain detergent and fabric softener along with baking soda. What else can I do?
By Laken M
1. Run your washer with bleach to kill bacteria in your washer.
2. Use white vinegar or Borax in your wash instead of baking soda. Don't overload your washer and put clothes in the dryer right away. Don't let them sit.
This sounds a little weird, but every time I do my laundry, afterwards they end up smelling bad. The weird part is that I know what I smell like after I've been sweating. When I take them out of the washer, they seem to smell clean and fine.
It's when I take them out of the dryer that I notice the smell. It's not super strong, but strong enough to notice. I end up covering myself with perfume to try and at least mask it. But it's become a problem that is bothering me.Do you know what sort of smell it is? If it's something like a musty smell or a moldy smell, then most likely your dryer is not working adequately, your clothes are not getting dry enough and then that smell ensues (especially in the warmer seasons)
Or else, are you using some weird fabric softener? Maybe you should stop using any kind of chemically detergent or fabric softener
You might try sun drying your clothes, or air drying them to see fi the problem dissipates. UIf it does, there's an issue with your machine.
One day I was going to school and I realized that people were covering their noses and sniffing when I walked past them. I didn't really think about. Once I went home I took a sniff of my clothes and they smelled horrible. I used vinegar, baking, and borax. I still to this day don't know why my clothes smell even though I put them in the laundry.
Please does someone have some advice on what to do. Also when I put my clothes in the washer and then I put them in the dryer, my dryer smells weird. Is it my dryer that needs a fix?
If it is body odor than detergent should take it out. Make sure you are showering daily and washing clothing that touches your skin every wearing.
Hi,
It is probably your dryer. I would wipe the inside of the dryer down, with apple cider vinegar, then let dry.
I would also vacuum out the lint filter to make sure there is not a restriction of air flow there.
As a last resort, I would have a repairman come out and try to find the source of the odor.
I wish you the best on getting your dryer smelling fresh and clean again:)
Did you leave your clothes in the washer or dryer for an extended time and not remove them before they dried? Clothing mildews/molds quickly and it gives off a very bad smell. You may or may not see spots, but there is a smell. It is very hard to remove once this happens.
You said you tried this already, but you may want to try it again in the following order:
Soak everything you wore (one bucket for each piece of clothing) (all undergarments can go together in 1 bucket since they are small).
In the bucket put a cup of vinegar and a cup of baking soda and warm water (hot if the items won't shrink). The vinegar and baking soda will foam up. When it stops foaming add the water just enough to cover the clothing item.
Let it soak for a few hours then wash on cold, remove promptly from the washer and hang everything to dry outside. This is the key--the soak and outside drying.
To be safe you may want to wipe out the washer first with whatever your washer allows you to clean it with (inside), like I wipe mine out with a white rag soaked in vinegar periodically.
Before you use the dryer do the same. HOWEVER....Do not dry the clothes again in the dryer until the smell is gone. The sun drying and fresh air will help get the smell out.
Best wishes to you that this works for you!
Sounds like the washer is causing the odor, like wet towels that are forgotten to go in the dryer. I leave the lid up so the washer doesn't get that moldy smell, it's so hard to get rid of.
if the weather permits or you have heating, you should just do without the dryer for a while, and see if that makes any difference
if you are able to launder the clothes and then dry them without the dryer and you lose the smell, then you need a new dryer
it is possible that the dryer is just not that powerful and not drying the clothes correctly and the smell is a musty one. When clothes don't dry properly they get a smell.
Hello,
Did you get this sorted out? Am in the same situation and desperate for help. Kindly let me know if you have any suggestions to eradicate the bad smell.
Hello,
Did you get this sorted out? Am in the same situation and desperate for help. Kindly let me know if you have any suggestions to eradicate the bad smell.
I am in Phoenix AZ where temps reach over 100 consecutively. My husband works outside, so sometimes when he gets home his shirt smells sour. I thought it was from sweating and the shirt drying slowly. Anyway, I noticed that sometimes after a few hours my clothes smell sour.
I always check them before I put them on, but they start stinking. I am not sweating. I am wondering if there could be something wrong with the washer. This is maddening. I really hate that smell.Sounds-or should I say smells- like your washer needs a cleaning. Run the machine on a complete cycle..use the smallest load setting to save water, and add either 2 cups of bleach OR use 2 cups of white vinegar in the wash water on HOT. Let the machine run through the whole wash and rinse till done. Also, never close the door tight on the washer. Always leave the lid or door open at least a little, so moisture can escape to dry the inside. You can also add some vinegar to each load of laundry to cut any smell on the clothes.
Many newer machines these days have a clean cycle on them afer you wash so many loads. This normally takes over 3 hours to complete. Furthermore, after washing clothes they do not want you to close the door on the machine it is to remain open. This keeps out the smells in the machine and allows them to completely dry out.
If you have an older machine you will need to do a deep cleaning on this machine. This is normally done with very hot water and you can add some cleaning agents like bleach or even vinegar in the water to clean the inside of the machine. My grandma always added a small amount of Lysol in her clothes no matter what she was washing to keep them smelling fresh all the time.
Check the drying process, making sure clothes are completely dry!
You do not say if you have a top load or front load (HE) washer and this might make a difference in what will work in your washer.
If you have an HE then you might check with the brand company and see if they have some suggestions.
You might try soaking (pre-wash) your clothes in hot water with a cup of baking soda for light color clothes and 2 cups of vinegar for dark clothes. Soak for a couple of hours and maybe turn agitator on for a few minutes while soaking.
Rinse with one cup vinegar in all colors.
If at all possible hanging your clothes outside to dry may help to solve your problem. Bring them in while still slightly damp and finish drying in dryer to remove any wrinkles and soften the fabric.
It may be a good idea to clean your machine once a month but Google your brand with maintenance and see what they say about cleaning so you will have the correct way for your machine.
Clean your washer with vinegar and leave the door open between uses.
It also could be the drying process if your clothes are not completely dry when you put them away.
Sometimes you can break the cycle with the smell by washing the clothing with vinegar, then line drying them outside in the sun.
I had this problem with my front loader and solved it by switching over to powdered detergent. The liquid detergent was getting caught in the washer's filter and leaving a reservoir of smelly water. I just buy the big container from Costco, which saves me a lot of money too.
I would also wash the clothes in the hottest water they can handle, to ensure that any mold or mildew is gone. Now, my clothes only smell sour if someone forgets to move them to the dryer in a timely fashion. As I have two teen boys, this happens more than I would like.
