Fresh Smelling Towels

By Sonia (Guest Post)

We just recently moved into a house with hard water, but we have a water softener.. since we've moved here we've had this issue with our towels. sometimes they smell kind of metallic , other times very musty ( sometimes like old French fries) I don't know what it is, any ideas?

By Connie from Canada (Guest Post)

I have found that using half the amount of soap that you usually use is good for everything. I've never had a problem with bad smelling towels or clothes not being clean. You can also add an extra rinse cycle. Good Luck.

By

Cougar1

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.

By

hildalove

I use baking soda in the wash with detergent, hot water, then two rinses. I put fabric softener in the final rinse. I would use vinegar but my DH wants the towels to smell flowery. He doesn't care about the absorbency as long as they smell like a mountain breeze or a summer bouquet!! I also dry them in the dryer and put extra time because I have problems with them smelling if they are the least bit damp when I put them away.

By

louel53

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. If the towels are white, you can just bleach them, but if they are colored you have to use other methods.

By

Mallory Marie

Wash towels with 2 tablespoons of Pinesol added to the water.

By Mandalyn (Guest Post)

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!

By

luvmygingerkids

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!