Washing Towels--any Secrets?

I use some bleach in each and every load. I start the water and then add the a good splash of bleach, then add the laundry soap, then wait a minute or two until there's enough water so the bleach won't dye anything.

I don't use any fabric softener in towels. It coats the fibers and makes them not absorb liquids. It may make them soft and snugly but it's just not good for the drying part of towels.

Vinegar! We add it to every load because it pulls out every smell and makes everything smell fresh. No vinegar smell at all. The vinegar cleans your machine too. We also use homemade laundry soap.

Athlete from an athletic family...

2 towel sets:
- "Whatever" (cheap/replaced fairly regularly) whites that go to sports stuff ((that I'll call gym towels from now on just for space, even though the gym may be the cleanest place those towels go.))

- Good cream towels (that be come white with washing... The trick to snowy white towels is to buy creamy ones, that bleach to snowy white... Instead of crisp white that bleach and stain kind of bluish grey or dingy yellow)

Both sets are washed & dried on hot with detergent & bleach
Gym towels are periodically left to soak overnight in detergent & bleach
Gym towels are replaced as they wear out, & are cut up for rags

The bleach is the key with athletes. Our body oils trap dirt/skin in the fabrics. True for normal people, too, but athletes are constantly wiping their sweat (and oils) on towels, and bathe more (getting even more oils into the fabric). Degreasers like dawn can help with colors... But nothing works as well as bleach at denaturing oils & skin cells.

The sour smell & funky texture in towels are decomposing body oils and skin cells trapped in the fabric.

Similarly...
- Good towels = wash weekly (at least)
- Gym towels = wash after every use, bleach overnight monthly

Vinegar. Gets a lot of stink out. Just put it right in the water. I just eyeball a cup or two. I also use Seventh Gen. Eucalyptus and Lavender and it seems to get DH's stinky gym clothes clean. He usually washes his gym clothes on hot.

Along with using only 1/2 the recommended Tide, and adding vinegar in the wash, try putting only half as many towels in a full wash for a few weeks. Towels need lots of room to move in the wash.

White vinegar. Add 1/2 cup to your rinse cycle. There will be no smell after the towels are dried, they'll smell great and be soft and fluffy.

ETA: The tennis balls, or wool balls if you aren't allergic, help keep the static down. They also help to sort of fluff the clothes out so they dry faster. Basically they replace fabric softener and shorten dry time. I really do notice a difference from when I use them or don't. One thing, I do not recommend those plastic dryer balls, the As Seen on TV ones. I had some and they ended up sort of melting and cracking after a while. I have one left and I just use it to prop open my washer door so it can dry out but not be open all the way.
Several things to look at. Using more detergent to get things cleaner isn't going to work, in fact it makes things worse because it doesn't all rinse out. I use about a quarter the amount the instructions call for. Don't use any fabric softeners or dryer sheets, they leave a sort of plastic coating on the towels so they never get really clean. I don't like to use bleach on anything if I can help it because it's so toxic and eats away at the fibers of the fabric so things don't last as long.
When I wash towels I wash them in hot water, put a small amount of detergent in and put white vinegar in the fabric softener space on my washer. I have a front loader, if you have a top loader you just put it in. When I put them in the dryer I dry them on high heat with a few tennis balls.
To start with I would wash the towels with no soap and just white vinegar. You might need to do it a couple times until you get a load that doesn't make sudsy water which is a sign that there is a lot of soap buildup in the towels.

Okay, I get the white vinegar thing - have used it for years.

But I've never heard ot the tennis balls in the dryer with the towels. What is the reason for it, Katrina. Maybe I'll do it too.

I never knew that Katrina. Thanks! I'm going to do this. I'm taking it you mean to use the balls with any clothes not just towels. I've never used the dryer balls as advertised

I always wash in cold, and my towels always come out smelling great :) I also use the Bounce dryer bar, which produces a little stronger of a fabric softening smell.

I've also never had an issue with using fabric softener in my towels.

Is it white vinegar?