Willing to go rogue- need to make my towels smell nice

[elektra]

So I use Tide Free and Clear as my detergent. And I also don't use strong smelling detergents, cleaners, dryer sheets, etc., because for one, I can't stand strong smells and I also want to use less chemicals in general.
But things have gotta change! My towels do not smell fresh. As I was drying off with a towel this morning straight out of the clean laundry basket, I thought to myself that I would be embarrassed if a guest had to use this towel.
I have run vinegar through the wash, in addition to using the sanitary cycle on occasion.
They still smell a little mildewy and stale (sorry TMI!)


Both the washer and dryer have been serviced within the past year, so I don't think that is the problem.

I suppose I could buy new towels but I would rather not.

I am thinking of trying bleach for the offwhite towels we have.
Oxyclean for the blue ones maybe?

[katydid1971]

Try the vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of the wash.

[Andi98989]

Our towels were smelling funky for a long time and I could not get rid of it - I tried vinegar in the wash, in the rinse, etc... Finally I put some bleach in the wash water, let it dilute down with about half the wash water, and then put the towels in (they're light blue). They didn't stain at all and smell fabulous now.

[pb&j]

A splash of bleach works wonders.

[ThreeofUs]

Try baking soda (about a cup) in a hot wash followed by a white vinegar rinse.

[vtmom]

Do you have a front loading he washer? We do and this smell problem happens to us once in a while. It's usually a sign that I need to wipe down the inside of the washer and/or run a cleaning cycle with bleach (and an empty washer) and then leave the washer open overnight to air dry. That usually clears up the problem! HTH

[Melbel]

I have used this "gentle" bleach on our colored towels to get rid of the occasional mildew smell. It works great!

http://www.clorox.com/products/overv...p?prod_id=ucpb

[SnuggleBuggles]

Do you use hot water and high heat to dry?

Beth

[BabbyO]

If you don't like the bleach method, I have a "natural" detergent that I got at a local farmer's market this summer. Burgie's Organics.
http://http://www.burgiesorganics.com/Products.aspx

I was trying different things because DS' eczema was acting up. The seller was telling me that few people have issues with these detergents and they actually have an unscented version. He also mentioned that they really take care of smelly odors from gym clothes, etc. I just used it on my wash cloths because they had that same smell you're talking about. I soaked the wash cloths for a bit then washed them. No smell whatsoever. So far DS hasn't had any issues with the detergent, either. If you decide to get this detergent you just have to remember to shake the bottle to mix up the detergent. I actually wrote "shake me" on the cap so I don't forget.

Good Luck!

[mommytoC]

I second PPs - increasing your wash temperature should definitely help, as should some dilute bleach. You may also want to try decreasing the amount of detergent you use, or adding additional rinses - as the problem is often a build-up of detergent in clothes. If you're using liquid detergent, you may want to try powder instead; I got this suggestion from the laundry forum on gardenweb, and it made the biggest difference for me (I use Tide Free, too). It seems that the liquid versions don't rinse out quite as well.

Good luck! And definitely consider checking out gardenweb for more (or too much, LOL!) information...