My Towels Stink-update..not anymore!

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I wash them and put them in the dryer and they stink..mildew type of smell.

Help!!!

I've cleaned the lint trap, I used one of those snakes in the hose to get exra lint out. I stopped using dryer sheets on them...they still stink.

Maybe my dryer is done? Maybe I'm not washing them thoroughly enough..maybe not enough detergent..maybe too much?

Message edited 6/2/2007 12:42:01 PM.

Re: My Towels Stink

How old are the towels? We had that problem awhile ago. Nothing I did got rid of the mildewy smell. We just ended up using them as rags and buying new towels.

Re: My Towels Stink

ewww

do your clothes smell too or just the towels? if it's just the towels, i would throw them out and buy new ones

Re: My Towels Stink

I would rewash them in a hot cycle with bleach and make sure they are completely dry coming out of the dryer. If you still have the smell then I would buy new ones.

Re: My Towels Stink

Only the towels or the rest also.

If it's just the towels, try a little bit of bleach. Otherwise, toss them and get new ones.

Re: My Towels Stink

It's some of my clothes as well but not as bad.

Bleach in the towels? Also, some of my towels are brand new. I got rid of some of the old ones for that reason.

I do use hot water. Maybe I need to use more detergent or a different one?

UGH!!

Re: My Towels Stink

Re: My Towels Stink

This happens to me too all the time! I think I figured it out though. Do you havre an extra rinse on yoru washer? Use that and also immediately switch from the washer to the dryer

Re: My Towels Stink

This has happened to me if I didn't put them in the dryer soon after the wash was done.

Re: My Towels Stink

Re: My Towels Stink

Re: My Towels Stink

add some white vinegar to the water - it will eliminate any smell.

Re: My Towels Stink

We moved into our house almost a year ago. I had your exact problem. Some times stuff would come out of the washing machine and just smell like mildew. It was so gross. We could not figure out what the problem was for months. Then, one day, I figured it out! The old washing machine wasn't spinning properly and the water was stagnant in the bottom and the drain. We had to buy a new washing machine and no more mildew smell!

I don't know if this is what is happening with you, but just thought I'd share in case. It was a stinky mystery at my house for months!

Re: My Towels Stink

I had the same problem, tried vinegar once and ammonia another time. I think the ammonia kind of helped, but it didn't remove it completely.

I think this comes from not washing the towels frequently enough, DH is pretty bad about changing his towel, and I don't always do it for him right away.

Re: My Towels Stink

Re: My Towels Stink

No, we can't (we're trying to sell our co-op, so they are folded neatly). You may be right, this could be the problem. Thye don't dry as quickly this way.

Re: My Towels Stink

It may be your washing machine. Do a cycle without clothes using hot water and bleach. That will kill the bacteria causing the smell. Good luck!

Re: My Towels Stink

this worked for me- try adding baking soda to your laundry with your detergent! you'll be surprised!

Re: My Towels Stink

Posted by melijane

Posted by Blu-ize

Posted by checka

This has happened to me if I didn't put them in the dryer soon after the wash was done.

I think you're both right. I don't do a switch right away sometimes. That's why sometimes they smell and sometimes they don't. I am an intermittent laundry fairy. I throw a load in and then switch it later.

I have to cut that out..I'll give it a try and pay more attention to my laundry.

If you forget just wash again-although that is a waste of water

Re: My Towels Stink

Maybe too many at once. I know if I put too much clothing in it almost smells burnt.

Re: My Towels Stink

I have the same problem...only with towels...not anything else.

Re: My Towels Stink

after living here for three years I finally figured out that I need to use liquid fabric softener, our water is hard. before I figured it out I would use vinegar/pine-sol/bleach/baking soda but whatever I used would only last one load or so.
Now with just a drop of downy the problem is gone.

Re: My Towels Stink

Do you have a front loader? They tend to accumulate mildew in the plastic around the door/tub. You can try to clean it but you may need a new machine if it is really bad.

Re: My Towels Stink

Our towels smell sometimes too. Our clothes are fine, so I don't think it's the washer.

We recently bought all new towels, just not as thick (or nice). I thought maybe the thicker towels were holding on to the moisture too long and took longer to air-dry after each use. It seems to have helped...although the wet wash cloths still stink. Even if DH uses a new wash cloth each day, the old one still needs to dry out, and that's when it starts to smell.

Re: My Towels Stink

We had the someone come to repair it and they said the problem with both our washer, and our dishwasher (dishes were coming out streaky) is that we have hard water so I use a lot of detergent, liquid fabric softner, and immediately switch from washer to dryer, and throw in dryer sheets....