smelly towels soft plush bath towels how to make old towels smell fresh again

How to Freshen Smelly Towels: A Step-by-Step Guide

/Updated /21 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Are your towels smelling less than fresh, even after a wash? You’re not alone! Smelly towels are a common issue caused by detergent and fabric softener buildup. Don’t worry—there’s a simple solution to restore your towels to their former glory. In this guide, I’ll show you how to use white vinegar and baking soda to banish odors and get your towels soft and absorbent again.

smelly towels soft plush bath towels how to make old towels smell fresh again

If my inbox is any indicator of what’s going on in the world, and I believe it is, smelly towels are a growing problem for consumers—and for sure my dear EC readers. And it’s a rather new problem, the result of modern things like front-loading high-efficiency washing machines that use very little water, detergents, fabric softeners, and damp conditions.

If you’ve noticed that your towels, despite appearing clean and dry, have developed a nasty smell and feel oddly stiff or “crunchy,” you’re not alone. This issue is a common result of detergent and softener buildup. But don’t worry! In this guide, I’ll show you how to make old towels smell fresh again and restore their soft, absorbent quality.

Understanding the Smelly Towel Problem

That unpleasant, musty smell coming from your towels? It’s usually due to a combination of detergent and fabric softener build-up that hasn’t been fully rinsed out, coupled with damp conditions. This creates an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive, leading to the dreaded moldy odor. If you’re struggling with how to make old towels smell fresh again, it’s essential to address these issues head-on.

Why Your Towels Are Stiff

Noticing that your towels have become stiff and less absorbent? The culprit is likely the same—detergent and fabric softener build-up. Overusing these products can coat the fibers of your towels, making them less effective at absorbing water and giving them a rough, crunchy texture. In the world of laundry, more is definitely not better.

The Science Behind Towel Freshening

To get your towels smelling fresh and feeling soft again, you’ll need to use white vinegar and baking soda, but not at the same time. Here’s the science behind it:

  • White Vinegar contains acetic acid, which helps break down mineral deposits and dissolve the build-up of detergent and fabric softeners.
  • Baking Soda is an alkaline substance that tackles dirt and grease, and it neutralizes odors.

By using these two ingredients in separate wash cycles, you’ll effectively strip away residues and restore your towels to their clean, fresh state. Follow these steps, and you’ll be saying goodbye to stinky towels for good.

Step-by-Step Guide to Freshen Your Towels

To restore your towels to their fresh, absorbent best, we need to let vinegar and baking soda work their magic separately. This two-step process will strip away residues and help your towels regain their softness and freshness.

Wash #1: Vinegar

  1. Load the Towels: Place your towels loosely into the washing machine. Avoid overloading to ensure a thorough cleaning.
  2. Set the Temperature: Use the hottest water your machine can handle. If your water heater can reach 140°F, great! If not, boil water on the stovetop and carefully add it to the washer to boost the temperature.
  3. Add Vinegar: Pour in 2 cups of white vinegar. This helps break down detergent and fabric softener build-up and kills bacteria.
  4. Run the Cycle: Let the washer complete a long wash cycle. After it’s done, leave the towels in the washer to soak.

Wash #2: Baking Soda

  1. Prepare for the Next Cycle: Fill the washing machine with the hottest water possible once again.
  2. Add Baking Soda: This time, add 1 cup of baking soda to the water. Baking soda will tackle any remaining dirt and neutralize lingering odors.
  3. Run the Cycle: Start and complete a full wash cycle.

Can’t Get Very Hot Water?

If your water heater or high-efficiency washer can’t reach temperatures above 120°F, no worries. You can replicate Wash #1 and Wash #2 in a large bin or bathtub. Boil water on the stovetop and add it to the bin or tub to get the water as close to 140°F as possible.

Dry Completely

  1. Dry Thoroughly: Whether you air-dry your towels outside or use the dryer with wool dryer balls, make sure they are completely dry. This step is crucial to prevent any remaining dampness that could lead to odors.
  2. Check the Freshness: Once dried, give your towels a sniff. If they still don’t smell as fresh as you’d like, repeat Wash #1 and Wash #2. Your investment in these towels is worth the extra effort to keep them in top shape!

Tips to Maintain Fresh and Absorbent Towels

Keeping your towels fresh and absorbent is all about good practices in washing and drying. Follow these tips to ensure your towels stay in top shape:

Follow the Manufacturer’s Guidelines

Check your washing machine’s owner manual to find the exact amount of detergent recommended. Stick to this amount every time you wash your towels. Overusing detergent, especially in front-loading HE machines that use less water, can lead to detergent build-up and, yes, smelly towels.

Skip the Fabric Softeners

Avoid using liquid fabric softeners or dryer sheets on your towels. These products coat the fibers with a thin layer of chemicals, reducing absorbency and causing build-up. Instead, opt for natural solutions to keep your towels soft and functional.

Use White Vinegar in the Rinse Cycle

To combat detergent residue and keep your towels fluffy, add 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the final rinse cycle. Vinegar helps dissolve any leftover detergent and prevents the build-up that can lead to unpleasant odors and scratchy towels.

Ensure Thorough Drying

Always make sure your towels are completely dry before folding and storing them. Damp towels can develop a musty smell and become breeding grounds for bacteria. Whether you hang them outside to dry or use a dryer with wool dryer balls, complete drying is key to maintaining freshness.

By following these simple steps, you’ll extend the life of your towels and keep them smelling great, soft, and absorbent for every use.

 

Question: What’s your secret to keeping towels fresh and fluffy? Share your best laundry hacks below in the comments.

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21 replies
  1. Carol says:

    Mary, I heard that using vinegar often in the washing machine is detrimental to the machine. I have a top loading speed queen and suffer the crunchy towel problem.
    Could you research this please? Thank you.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      I’ve heard this from quite a number of readers, prompting a good deal of research. I followed it back to an article that ran years ago in a popular consumer magazine. I consider it an opinion piece because it was based on heresay (“according to a plumber”) with no specific research or qualification regarding vinegar—type, quantity, etc.

      I have dismissed the suggestion that vinegar is detrimental to the rubber hoses and gaskets in a washing machine for these reasons:

      1) Over the decades I have owned a number of washing machines—Maytag, KitchenAid, LG, GE, Electrolux. I have used 1/2 to 1 cup of white distilled vinegar in the rinse cycle for many those years. Not once did I ever have a hose blow out or a rubber gasket fail. Other things happened like the water pump dying or a timing clock giving up the ghost.

      2) I have researched owner manuals for washing machines, and I’ve not yet seen a manufacturer’s warning regarding vinegar.

      3) One cup of white distilled vinegar 5% (the kind we find readily in supermarkets and use in our kitchens) is 95% water, 5% acetic acid. Here’s the math: 8 oz. of white distilled 5% acidity vinegar contains 2.4 teaspoons of acetic acid. Adding 2.4 teaspoons of acetic acid to the last rinse cycle in a washing machine dilutes it even further by the number of gallons of water in that rinse cycle.

      Remarkably, that small amount of powerful acetic acid really does help to remove the last amounts of detergent from the load of clothes. But is that sufficient to ruin the machine? I’ll let you be the judge. For me? My opinion: not at all. Now if you were to dump a gallon of 100% acetic acid (that’s difficult to find by the way because undiluted acetic acid is too dangerous for any household use!), maybe you’d have a problem.

      Let me quickly follow with this: Should your Speed Queen top loader (a lovely machine by the way) owner manual caution that should you use any kind of vinegar in it (even that bar mop soaked with vinegar you spilled when making a delicious vinaigrette), it will void your warranty and shorten the life of the machine, by all means don’t do it! Until then—and again, this is my opinion—you have nothing to worry about.

      Reply
  2. georgie says:

    i’m using a 24-year old ge top load washer that is original to my house. cold water, half cup borax, and one tablespoon of mary’s diy liquid detergent. i very rarely dry them, but hang them on a drying rack in the bathroom. i have never had a problem with smelly towels or sheets this gives added humidity in the winter, when it is needed, and in the summer, gives my dehumidifier something to do. i use that water to flush the toilet, so it gets used twice.

    Reply
    • Mary Hunt says:

      No detergent in either step, Kathy. The purpose of these steps is to extract any build-up of detergent from the past and other things like softeners that have not been properly rinsed away, and have become a breeding ground for bacteria, as evidenced by the stink. So just following the steps as written.

      Reply
      • Kathy says:

        Thank you so much!…so guessing we are starting with a “clean” load….i never received notification that this was answered…so happy to see the answer

    • Mary Hunt says:

      Hi Kathy … General Rule of Thumb: You can substitute baking soda for Washing Soda, but not the other way. For sure NEVER use washing soda in baking. Never! Back to the towels … the baking soda in this process is to tackle the odor and eliminate it. That is not washing soda’s best attribute. A better substitute would be borax, which is fabulous for treating odors. Better still: Get some baking soda!

      Reply
      • Kathy says:

        Awesome!….cuz I didn’t have washing soda…like I thought I did…I had borax….but I just used the tiny bit of baking soda I had for the time being…will get more baking soda!
        thank you so much!

  5. Nancy says:

    I have a laundry sink right next to the washer. I use the faucet (that is on a long hose) to shoot water directly into the washer. Having the extra weight of the wet laundry vs dry laundry tricks the machine into using more water. It’s ridiculous how little water the machine tries to use to wash even a large load of dirty jeans.

    Reply
  6. Lisa says:

    Also, if you leave your washing machine door open between loads, it helps dry it out = less moisture = less habitable environment for bacteria to grow!!

    Reply
    • Pat Goff says:

      Great advice. I leave my lid open all the time to air it out. I also leave the dryer open to cool it off when we do use it. We usually dry our clothes outside on the line or on laundry racks on the deck just like our mother did. LOL

      Reply
  7. Anita Esser says:

    I always use a cup of vinegar in my last rinse for my towels, I don’t have any problem, but I leave the dryer balls in the dryer when they are drying, should I take the dryer balls out for towels?

    Reply
  8. Orville Boston says:

    I used to have the gross smelly towel problem. After showering I now put the towel in the dryer on high for 8-10 minutes. Coming out it smells fresh for the next day. Not once have I had a smelly towel since starting that. It keeps mold and whatever from getting started, and takes very little effort.

    Reply
  9. Mrs. S. says:

    Ever since we got our front load machine (which I regret buying), I have only used vinegar as fabric softener. But our clothes, especially darks, were progressively developing a terrible smell that I could not get rid of. I only have white towels and sheets. They don’t smell because I wash them with bleach and hot water, and the vinegar rinse. To freshen the washer and get the smell out of the clothing, I poured liquid Rid-X, and Lysol Laundry Sanitizer directly into the machine (in the silver tub, not the soap dispensing drawer). I wiped the build up trapped in the rubber ring of the washer as best I could, and let the Rid-X/Lysol mixture sit in the washer for several hours. Then I put a small amount of detergent in the machine, and the Lysol Laundry Sanitizer in the bleach and softener sections of the dispenser. I washed a load of old towels in hot water. The machine smelled better, and was visibly cleaner inside. I now use the Lysol Laundry Sanitizer with every load. It has helped tremendously. The product is a bleach free solution that kills bacteria, which was clearly what the problem was with my, and probably develops in all, front load washers.

    Reply
  10. Kim Domingue says:

    I quit using store bought detergent some years back and began making my own using a recipe a cousin gave me. About a year ago I switched to a liquid recipe the same cousin gave me. Oddly enough, it’s the same recipe that Mary posted a couple of days ago. It’s effective, easy to make and inexpensive. I haven’t used fabric softener or dryer sheets in at least three decades. I’ve used white vinegar with a couple of drops of an essential oil in the rinse cycle instead and dryer balls in the dryer. The vinegar was recommended to me by an older gentleman who had an appliance repair business many, many years ago. He said the biggest cause of problems with both washers and dryers was fabric softener residue building up inside the machines. He said if I quit using fabric softeners and switched to vinegar that it would greatly extend the life of my machines and my clothing and linens as well. I will have been married 40 years in December and am only on my second washing machine. It would appear that my older gentleman knew what he was talking about! I bought a Speed Queen washer to replace my old Whirlpool about six years ago. For anyone looking for a simple, top loading machine, I can’t recommend the Speed Queen highly enough. It’s a tank!

    Reply
  11. Susan says:

    Hi – I have a question – I have a front loading washing machine. When I add the baking soda, do I put it in the detergent cup or straight into the washer with the towels?

    Thanks

    Reply
    • peggy says:

      i add it right on the laundry. i also have been using vinegar for prox 25 yrs. no problems, with machines, or laundry.

      Reply
  12. ros says:

    I have found that ammonia in the wash really kills everything including mold and mildew. Also if you want to know how much soap is left after doing a load, just wash it a second time without adding anything and see how much soap shows up as suds.

    Reply

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