Smelly Towels - New Iberia,LA

I am really bad about leaving clothes in the washer. I discovered that washing them with ammonia completely gets rid of the smell. I don't even use detergent, just about 1/2 - 1 cup of ammonia with a short cycle, and it's gone.

It's great for grease stains too...My grandmother used to put ammonia in with my granfather's work clothes to get grease out - he was the only machinist with clean uniforms!

I prefer white or off-white towels so I can bleach them, so it's not usually a problem with my towels. Just remember, mixing bleach and ammonia makes deadly fumes!

I hope this helps,
~K.

This has happened to me buy a color safe bleach washing powder and fill the machine,put the soap let it run 2 or 3 min. Then open the lid let it soak for 30 min then wash and put blue downey in for the rinse.

I had the same problem before, and I rewashed the load of clothes or towels and the smell was gone . I used tide and oxiclean powder for my regular wash loads.
W. B Marrero La.

Try rewashing them and using 2 cap fulls of peroxide in the wash. Make sure they are relatively small/medium loads.

I am not sure if this would work, but it takes the smell out of everything I have used it on.

You will have to soak them in it though and then wash them,
and for that size you would just have to play with the amounts.
You take Ivory dish soap, in a normal bowl it was what you would use to wash dishes, Pure Vanilla Extract about a table spoon for a normal bowl and at that to a bowel of water.
For your problem it may be enough or you may need a little more.

I used it on animal smells in carpet, but the recipe came from a mortician to get the smell of dead people out of things.

Good luck

you can take about 1/2 cup of plain vanilla flovoring an let them soak for about half an hour then wash an the smell should be all gone

My friend swears by some liquid Febreeze stuff they sell in the laundry section and you put it in with your laundry. I've never tried it, but she says it keeps her towels from smelling sour

You might try OdoBan, it's the only thing I've found to get the smell out of the diaper pail, I've also used it to get the urine smell out of my dd's mattress and put it in the wash with the sheets and mattress pad that she peed on. It works very well. It's about $9 at Sam's for a gallon of concentrate plus a bottle of ready to use spray. I originally got it for the diaper pail, but have found many uses for it!

The only things that sometimes helps when it's 'set in' like that is to do this:

Run a load of the sour towels in hot water.
Add laundry detergent and plenty of white vinegar.
LEAVE THE LID UP.
Preferrably, you want to do this over night.
(It takes a while to get the smell out.)

In the morning, add a little extra detergent, and
shut the lid to wash. This shoud so the trick.
...Betwixt the 7 of us, we have soured many towels!! lol

Blessings,
H.

There is a product called Odo Ban you can purchase it at Sam's club that will get the odor out of the towels. It won't bleach the color out of them. It comes as a concentrate and you can dilute it down to put in a spray bottle and use it on furniture, carpets, etc. or you can pour a small amount straight into your laundry and it will get it out. It's not very expensive either maybe $10 for a gallon bottle and it lasts forever.

Ammonia. I only use the clear cheap Ammonia from Walmart. I've found that works the best. Alone- the smell is awful. Add 1/2 cup to wash (with the detergent, I use Tide) before you add your laundry.
Use Bounce fabric sheets in the dryer. The results are awesome. This is also great for the liquid fabric softener build up on the laundry. I heard about this a little over a year ago and have done it ever since. I wash our bedding, towels, my husbands sweaty work clothes (lawncare), shoes, pillows... anything I can find. They smell so good when your done.
Good Luck!

My husband bleaches our color towles all the time. They have faded some but not bad. I have started buying just white towles now.

Hope this helps.

You can get the smell out by soaking them in vinegar for 10-15 minutes before you wash them. Just put 1/2 cup of vinegar in water and soak towels, rinse, then wash and dry normally.

I agree with Win's response. Our clothes often sour in the laundry, as we're on the go so much that we tend to start laundry, then stop. The Febreeze for laundry works wonders and has never failed me for any smell - no soaking, waiting, or re-washing required. The problem is it is ridiculously expensive, at around $9 a bottle! And the lid leaks! So make sure it doesn't tip over on the way home, or half of that $9 will be gone (been there, done that!).

Hi S.,

I have found that the only solution to that problem is to bleach them every time you wash the towels. I think we have all at some point experienced this problem with the towels, especially the older the towels get. I buy expensive detergent and fabric softener and you're right, nothing seems to get the sour smell out. Bleach them and they'll be like new; well maybe a little faded, but they'll smell great! If it will make you feel better, the towels normally fade over time anyway.

A word from the wise.....buy bleachable towels from now on! LOL :o)

S., I have done this also. The only thing I could do was to hang them out in the sun for about 4 days. The fresh air and sunshine finally took the smell away and it's not damaging to your towels. This will work.

Looks like you have gotten alot of good advice. My hubby is a truck driver and brings home clothes that were soaking wet with sweat, and then shoved into his laundry bag to bring home. Now, honey that's an odor. This is what i do...

Borax instead of detergent. Dawn dish washing liquid (takes the grease, body oil out), spray down the stains with greased lightening (general dollar store) and then i pour about a cup of Mr. Clean in, hot water.

Before i figured all this out i wouldn't even hang my clothes in the same closet with his. Now we happily share a walk-in....Good luck.

stick 'em in the washing machine with, oh, about half a cup of vinegar. Good as new!

- OH. I just read that you already tried vinegar. It's always worked for me. Maybe you need to add a LOT of vinegar? Are you using white distilled vinegar? Try that. Say, 2 cups.
And really let them soak.

i would try oxy-clean. It is used mostly for stains, but it is worth a shot!!

Have you washed them HOT water using lemon juice? Fill up the washer with hot water and add a small jar of lemon juice and add your towels and let them soak for about 1 hour then add your detergent and wash and dry. This worked for me when a similar thing happend to a load of towels!
Hope it works for you....:)

Try Odo-Ban. It is at Sams, and it works great! Also, how much vinegar are you putting into the towels when washing them? I used like half the jug once, a gallon size, and it did the trick. Good luck!

If none of these suggestions work I suggest you just hang them outside in the sun until the odor leaves.

If u hv no place to hang them just lay them on top of the grass.

Good Luck God Bless

This may seem a little bit odd, but it works. I had a Cat that sprayed. The one thing that did remove the smell, was pet odor carpet shampoo. That dont smell the best either, so, I presoaked with a spot of Dawn, after that wash, then re-washed with regular soaps, and vinegar in the rinse cycle compartment, and dry. Smell was gone. Another good scent additive is Avon Bubble Bath. 2 capfulls of that may do the trick if you have it on hand instead. Hope this helps you. God Bless

I use Oxyclean, my husband has done the same thing and a few scoops and some hot water will take out that musty smell.

Bleach should do the trick! I used to always wonder why my mom's towels smelled fresh and stayed smelling fresh even after they got wet. I discovered she used bleach. So now I use bleach in every load of towels...about 1/2 cup. I'm sure it fades them somewhat and wears them down a little, but I've been doing it for about 5 years and have yet to buy new towels. If you want to be really safe about the color, I would fill the washer with water and 1/2 cup bleach, then let it agitate for a minute or so before adding the towels. I, however, just pour the bleach in the little dispenser once I start the washer (with the towels already in there) and they are fine. My towels can be used more than twice without getting smelly too. Once you do this, you will probably continue...it makes such a difference! I'll be curious to know if it works for you. Good Luck!

Use just a small amount of bleach. i use about a quarter of the amount I usually use, and you don't even notice the fading. Also, if it isn't too cold where you are, hang them out to dry, the fresh air will help get rid of the smell.

just wanna see other responses!

S.,

What works for me and loads of yucky diapers is Febreeze Laundry Odor Eliminator. We used to get really stinky towels at our other house, every summer. We blamed it on "bad water". Another thing that really helps is to line dry them.

K.

I've had this problem too, and discovered that our dryer vent needed to be cleaned out. After my husband gave that a good cleaning and I washed the towels again, with baking soda and detergent and dried them, they were fine. I know your frustration - - - that's an awful smell! Good luck.

If you're worried about color - you can use Clorox2 for colors now to help keep them from bleaching out badly. Just a hint, if I find towels like that, I always run them again with more soap and bleach, so that the smell doesn't get dried into them. And my mom is really big on the white distilled vinegar, too. :)

Go to the vet supply store and get Natures Miracle and pour some in the wash with the towels, sometimes it takes 2-3 washes but usually gets the smell out.

S., I have been in that place. When my DH does this to me, I discovered using Mr. Clean disenfectant. We found one @ Target with an apple smell. There is another that we use that is a light blue color that works well. We just poor it on the towels or clothes when we wash them it works great. about a cup is all you need.

I have had that happen when my girls do laundry! Quite often in fact. I've learned that if I put about 4 scoops of OxyClean in the wash with soured laundry, it helps to get that smell out. Sometimes I've had to wash them twice, and always with a second rinse cycle. But it works pretty well. You have to use the actual brand OxyClean. The off-brands don't work anything like it.
I have had to add some color-safe bleach once or twice, if it was really being stubborn.
I hope this helps!
~M.

Dear S.,

Usually the smell will go away with the next wash. I usually wash them immediately using my detergent, Borax and my Downey Ball. That Downey really helps with odors. Hopefully this will help you get rid of the "smelly towels". I do believe there is a new detergent out there that claims to take away odors. I can't remember the name, but you might check it out.

Unfortunately, when you place something in the dryer, it sets in stains and sometimes smells. If all else fails my dear, you get to purchase new towels. Isn't that every girls dream?

Hang them in sunshine either on a hot warm day or a cold day all day the sun will help get rid of the smell, but wash them first so they are wet and if they are stiff after they dry toss them in the dryer for alittle while

Have you tried Febreeze? I've had awesome luck with it.

I am a Melaleuca customer and I've used a capful of Sol-U-Mel when I rewash. I've also put it on the corner of a towel or dishcloth in the dryer and it's worked beautifully. They have kind of an antiseptic smell but that sure beats the sour. Melaleuca has other "green" cleaning products and organic vitamins and supplements. I don't push being a preferred customer but If you're interested let me know.

When I wash towels, I always pour some salt in with them. It works every time! I just use the plain old iodized salt. It is supposed to let the fabric breathe a little bit so it doesn't hold in the smell. Good luck! I hope this works for you!

I found the smell was actually coming from the washer. It started the same as your story, with towels left in the wash. But the nasty smell started to show up in socks, tee shirts, etc. I ran the wash with a whole bottle of vinegar on hot and the smell completely disappeared. After that, I just washed the towels normally and the smell was gone.

I usually use vinegar, but if that doesn't work, another natural solution is Bi-O-Kleen Bac-Out (http://audreysallnaturalshoppe.com/store/WsDefault.asp?On.... My sister & I won't be without it!

A. :)

You have to wash the towels in the hottest temp cycle.