12/21/2014 How to freshen your towels and get rid of that mildew stink ­ Classy Clutter

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HOW TO FRESHEN YOUR TOWELS AND GET RID OF THATMILDEW STINKAPRIL 9, 2013 BY MALLORY & SAVANNAH — 57 COMMENTS

H O M E D I Y T U T O R I A L S R O O M R E V E A L S H O M E D E C O R C R A F T S R E C I P E S C L E A N / O R G A N I Z E L I F E

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Admit it. Your towels have smelled mildewy, moldy, like they sat wet for ever and ever because you

left them in the washer too long. Well, I do it all too often. It happens. You think you’re being

productive because you threw a load of laundry in, then you forgot to toss them into the dryer and

your clothes or towels developed this nasty smelling odor that just lingers and is just plain gross.

Well, evidently it is because dirt, grime and detergent build up gets buried into the fibers of towels and

clothing and when they are left wet, it can create that awful smell. Gross huh? I mean, we’ve all dried

off with one of those towels before and then it’s like “why did I even shower?” You smell worse than

before! Am I right? S.I.C.K.

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Well, don’t fret because it is super duper easy to freshen those towels and get rid of the yuck!

Instructions:

Wash your load of towels on the hot cycle and add 1 cup of vinegar to the load. Do not use detergent

or anything (especially bleach – that can be super dangerous!)… just hot water and the vinegar. Let

the washer do it’s job. Then, if you still smell a little bit, rewash with just hot water and 1/2 cup of

baking soda. I did not need to do this step but if your towels are bad, you might want to. Again, no

detergent, just baking soda and hot water. Got it?

When your towels are done, throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet. I use the Febreeze Bounce

dryer sheets and now my towels come out smelling super clean and fresh!

This also works well on clothing, like stinky wet swimsuits that were left sopping wet out of the pool!

Just be sure to be careful with the hot water and mixing colors. You don’t want the colors to bleed so

do them separately or with very like colors.

You can thank me later,

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COMMENTS

Kelsey Mazzone saysApril 9, 2013 at 11:33 am

Great Post

REPLY

Lori E saysApril 9, 2013 at 2:27 pm

I never used to have that problem but over the last couple years it has started with my towels. Notbecause they have been left wet but after the wash & dry cycles they smell again right away whenused in the bathroom. I will give this a try and worst case scenario I will be craving french fries andvinegar.

REPLY

Kathy (Pearls in Paradise) saysApril 9, 2013 at 5:49 pm

Yet another great use for vinegar. Thanks for the tip!

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REPLY

Danee saysApril 9, 2013 at 10:41 pm

Ahhh but you should NEVER use fabric softener with towels- it makes them less absorbentaccording to Martha Stewart. Great tip with vinegar. I finally started buying all white towelsbecause I use bleach. I shall try the vinegar trick next time.

REPLY

Stephanie Brenner saysMay 20, 2014 at 3:43 pm

I thought the same thing about the fabric softener. I stopped using it and my towels are muchmore absorbent. I will be trying the vinegar and the regular wash cycle for the stuff that sitsall day partially wet from constant swimming all summer. Thanks for the tip!

REPLY

Daisy Rogers saysApril 15, 2013 at 6:15 am

10 DIY ideas for the "Nesting"

mommy to be!

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Well I wash my towel twice a week and it doesn’t smell. Well my thinking is if you have qualityLuxury Towels then there’s no need to have some thing special for it.

REPLY

Kirstin saysMay 2, 2014 at 1:58 pm

Not everyone can afford “Quality Luxury towels”! A simple towel will suffice for me because itonly gets used for 2 mins then tossed in the hamper.

REPLY

Mallory & Savannah saysMay 2, 2014 at 2:04 pm

Absolutely!! That’s why this vinegar tip is so valuable! Thanks for stopping by!!

REPLY

Beverly saysOctober 17, 2014 at 1:20 pm

I do have good quality towels but in the south the water during the summer carries a lot ofmold. That’s why I use the vinegar and baking soda.

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REPLY

Home Coming saysAugust 19, 2013 at 3:10 pm

Such a great tip! I’d love for you to link up to The DIY’ers.http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-diyers-and-our-country-weekend.html

Home Coming recently posted…The DIY’ers and our country weekend

REPLY

Floridamom saysJanuary 16, 2014 at 10:26 pm

Can you do this with an HE washer?

REPLY

Mallory & Savannah saysJanuary 18, 2014 at 8:38 am

Hi! You should be able to do it with any washer as vinegar should be safe for any washingmachine. Check your manual to make sure it doesn’t advise against it. You should be good

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though!

REPLY

Meredith saysJanuary 20, 2014 at 11:07 pm

Anyone try this trick on stinky gym clothes ? My husbands under armour shirts are terrible !

REPLY

Stephanie saysApril 23, 2014 at 9:14 am

Try using powdered Borax. You’ll find it in the detergent aisle. It’s my go-to for smelly clothes,and it helps whiten without using bleach. Safe product.

REPLY

Tyeshya Williams saysAugust 29, 2014 at 11:01 am

I tried borax and it doesn’t work.. Will be trying this method.

REPLY

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Jaime Nelson saysAugust 21, 2014 at 12:54 pm

I do it with my workout clothes, it works great

REPLY

Geraldine gill saysJanuary 31, 2014 at 4:03 am

Any idea on how to remove this same smell from my tumble dryer as it has been in storage for overa year .

REPLY

blakely golden saysMarch 7, 2014 at 4:23 pm

I am trying it now because all my dish cloths and towels smell like this and i appreciate this as iSee On

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could find nothing useful out to help. thanks so much!

REPLY

Alyse saysMarch 9, 2014 at 4:19 am

I’ve got some towels that won’t stop smelling mildewy no matter what we try. Definitely giving thisa try this weekend! Thanks!

Alyse recently posted…A First-Timer’s Freezer Meal Experience – Part 1

REPLY

Lorna saysMarch 12, 2014 at 11:45 pm

I put vinegar in the towels every time I wash them. I use cold water and detergent with it and itworks just as good.

REPLY

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Tracie saysApril 22, 2014 at 12:45 pm

Used cloth diapers for both my daughters (oh those many years ago!) and always rinsed themtwice with a cup of vinegar in second rinse. This did double duty, removed the excess soap to keepthem soft on baby’s bottom and they always smelled fresh! Use it on my towels still! Gotta lovevinegar!

REPLY

Laundry Cleaning Chemicals by Custom Chemicals International saysApril 28, 2014 at 12:26 am

The vinegar looks very effective to clean clothes. Thanks for sharing the instructions for usingvinegar.

REPLY

denise saysMay 20, 2014 at 12:17 pm

what if you have hard water and cant use hot water…I have a softener but cant use hot water towash in…will the vinegar still work and not leave rust stains…hate to ruin my towels or clothes…

REPLY

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Tera saysMay 28, 2014 at 7:20 am

Front loaders are notorious for this and typy don’t even have to leave them very long lol. I can wahearly am and if they aren’t transferred by afternoon then it already starts by dinner. Vinegar to therescue lol again! To the dryer girl with the smell, try drying a damp vinegar towel maybe! Doublebonus, vinegar softens your clothes and doesn’t lead to fabric softener buildup that affects towelabsorbency. Smell goes away!

REPLY

Tera saysMay 28, 2014 at 7:21 am

Love that I’ve just found your site! Will try and visit often. Sorry for typos, dang phones give you aweird comment screen to work with lol!

REPLY

Caroline Beaudette saysMay 28, 2014 at 10:49 am

I was wondering, do you think this trick would work using a large plastic tub and soaking lifejackets that have gotten that mildewy smell from storage and usage?

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REPLY

Mallory & Savannah saysMay 28, 2014 at 11:00 am

That’s SUCH a great idea!!! It works well on swimsuits so I imagine it reduces or removesodors from most fabrics. I have had such good luck with it! It wouldn’t hurt to try, that’s forsure!!! Good luck and let us know!!

REPLY

christa sherman saysJune 4, 2014 at 4:53 am

Very interesting! I have horrible issues with my towels no matter if I get them straight out of thewasher and into the dryer…it Still happens! I Hate that smell…eeek! Thanks so much for the tip asI will Definitely be trying this.

REPLY

Denise saysJune 18, 2014 at 12:29 am

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Found you through pinterest, love the way you wrote this and like to see I’m not the only one being“productive” New follower here!

REPLY

Rose saysJune 18, 2014 at 8:59 pm

When you pour the white vinegar into front loader will it hit the towels and leave like bleach spots?

REPLY

Shirley saysOctober 14, 2014 at 11:15 pm

I pour the vinegar into the softener dispenser.No problems.

REPLY

Sara saysJune 28, 2014 at 4:54 pm

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This popped up on Pinterest right after I left towels in the washer overnight. Perfect solution, thankyou!

REPLY

Gliced saysJuly 9, 2014 at 1:42 am

If you only Using vinegar how is that cleaning your towels I know is talking the smell but is notwashing

REPLY

Mallory & Savannah saysJuly 9, 2014 at 10:02 am

Hi there! You will still want to wash your towels normally but this can be done before or after(preferably after a wash) if the towels smell when removing them from the washer. Thanks!

REPLY

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Mary saysJuly 11, 2014 at 12:58 am

Great tip! I stopped using fabric softener on my towels a couple of years ago and use vinegarinstead. I just pour it into the softener dispenser when I start a load. I also do the same if I have aload of stinky clothes.

REPLY

Stephanie saysAugust 7, 2014 at 4:51 am

I’m housesitting for a friend, and the first thing I noticed was a dreadful mildew stink in her front-loading washing machine. I’m an avid white vinegar user, so the first thing I did was run a full loadof hot water with some vinegar. This helped somewhat, but the real cause of the stink is the awfulblack mold that builds up on the rubber gasket at the front of the machine! I ran a vinegar-dampened towel around the inside of that gasket, and was appalled at the black goo that cameout. I recommend leaving the washer door open at night to air out the machine, and try to neverleave wet laundry sitting there for too long.

REPLY

The Sisko saysSeptember 9, 2014 at 10:12 am

The front loading HE washers are notorious for this. I think it’s a design flaw. We kept gettinga mildew smell from ours and couldn’t figure out the source until my wife pulled back thegasket one day. *GACK* Black mold everywhere.

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White vinegar is OK for mildew smell sometimes. However for stubborn cases I use Oxyclean.It works every time.

REPLY

Elisabeth saysOctober 14, 2014 at 7:36 pm

I put baking soda and lemon juice in my washer at least once a month to get rid of the smelland clean my front load washing machine.

REPLY

Lydia saysSeptember 19, 2014 at 12:01 pm

I just tried this trick last night and it worked. Didn’t use any detergent, and only used vinegar andwater. Does this mean the towels are clean now or do I need to wash them again but this time withdetergent?

REPLY

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Shirley saysOctober 6, 2014 at 7:45 pm

I use vinegar for fabric softener in my front loader……then later I noticed there is no longer anysmell in my front loader. The vinegar takes care of it I guess. I have several items that startedsaying “no fabric softener.” I didn’t want to wash them separately. So I started using vinegar for thesoftener. It does a good job controlling the static. Occasionally there is an item or 2 that hasstatic….and I just give it a shake and don’t worry about it. Certainly saves me money too.

REPLY

LC saysOctober 8, 2014 at 10:05 pm

Bleach Super Dangerous? Cmon…what are we 12 years old? Pour Bleach right into a filled washerw/ water inside and youll be fine.

REPLY

NANNIE saysOctober 12, 2014 at 4:46 pm

LC, it’s what you mix with bleach that can result in noxious fumes. Notoriously, bleach andammonia together do so.

REPLY

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Adam saysOctober 28, 2014 at 3:01 pm

We hang our towels after every use……and typically get 2 uses out of them, and never had aproblem with the mildew smell…..but I’ve always added a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycletoo……I’m sure that helps keep them good….It’s funny cause when I first met my GF she didn’twant me doing laundry, she’s like ewww vinegar, it’s gonna make me smell……but after the dryingcycle, you don’t even SMELL the vinegar………

REPLY

Lainie saysOctober 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

I am absolutely going to try this NOW. Where does the vinegar go? In the drum or through thedetergent dispenser? I have a front loader.

REPLY

Mallory & Savannah saysOctober 29, 2014 at 3:01 pm

I have a top loading machine but I think either way. Maybe google it!

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REPLY

Shirley saysOctober 29, 2014 at 3:49 pm

I put about 1/3 cup vinegar in the softener dispenser. Sometimes I pour about 1/3 cup into thedetergent dispenser also if I want to boost the power of my laundry soap. Right now I’m usingthe ‘pods’ that you put in with your clothes. If I had regular laundry soap, I would put thevinegar in the bleach dispenser .

If I’m putting bleach in a load of whites, I only use vinegar as the softener.

I’m glad I have changed to vinegar for softening. It is cheaper and the surprise bonus is thatthere is NO more smell from my front loader. It works plenty well enough. Sometimes I have 1or 2 items that I need to shake because of static cling. That doesn’t bother me, though. I dohave a synthetic blanket that I will try to remember to use a dryer sheet when I dry it.

REPLY

Maria saysNovember 4, 2014 at 7:45 am

For cleaning towels,hot water is the best option,use hot water that removes all dirtiness on theclothes and its clean properly..

Maria recently posted…Tips On Cleaning Front Load Washer

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REPLY

Barbara saysNovember 9, 2014 at 12:15 pm

Love the healthy idea for using vinegar and, if needed, adding baking soda.

Dryer sheets, however, are unhealthy. Perhaps, if not fragranced they are O.K., but I’m not sure. Iheard that using tin foil instead of dryer sheets works well. I also heard that vinegar is a naturalsubstitute for dryer sheets.

Have you ever heard this about dryer sheets?

REPLY

Khulan saysNovember 12, 2014 at 2:31 pm

Wow!!! It really works! Thanks for saving everything. I still can’t believe it worked lol. Veryimpressed.

REPLY

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Jessica saysDecember 5, 2014 at 12:08 am

Can I use apple cider vinegar and get the same effect? If so, should I put more than a cup in theload?

REPLY

Shirley saysDecember 9, 2014 at 9:11 pm

I think apple cider vinegar would work, but plain white vinegar is so much cheaper. I use someACV for eating/cooking, but buy the white vinegar by the gallons for laundry and cleaning. (2gallon box at Sam’s Club for about $3.50.)

REPLY

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