Getting towels clean...

[UKcats06]

Originally Posted by Brenda

I really doubt you wanna come to Evansville, IN just for the towels! lol

Well it says on your location MCO/EVV, I was hoping for the mco haha

[Imachickadee75]

Originally Posted by Kristie

see, i use downy softener now and then a downy sheet in the dryer (it's static time here!) but after one day of using the towel, it's back to it's typical musty smell and i just hate that!!!

i can't imagine it meaning that it's time for new towels ALREADY?!

I'll try the vinegar first and see if it doesn't do the trick...i might check out that moist sheet brenda's talking bout too cuz that sounds like an interesting idea.. every few days, stick the towel and one of those in and see if it doesn't help smooth things over.

Thanks for the replies!!

Hey Kristie
I don't know how bad your towels are but I was having a terrible time with mine a few months ago. They didn't just not smell nice, they smelled BAD after just a use or two.

I do mostly cloth diapers with DS and have learned that detergent and softener build up is usually what causes odors. So, do a load of just towels without any soap on hot. Watch the agitation cycles and see it there are any soap bubbles. I was amazed to see how much was still in my towels. If you get bubbles, you can try adding vinager or a water softener like Calgon or Borax, but really just keep running them through cycles without soap until all the bubbles are gone.

Then dry them outside in the sun. I'm amazed at what the sun does for stains and germ killing. No wonder why people get skin cancer. I'll put a stained diaper outside flat on the grass and stains on the grass side come out too! Kind of scary!

You can dry them in the dryper between non soap washes and sometimes that helps get the gunk off too.

Once you "strip" the towels and the bad smell is gone you can go back to laundering as usual with soap and fabric softener, but make sure once and awhile they get rinsed REALLY well. Watch for those bubbles!

NOTE: Be prepared for some fading with the hot water and sunning.

Hope this helps. Let me know!

Jackie

[Kristie]

Just want to thank Nici for the vinegar idea..I tried that last weekend and i've had an entire week of non-funky smelling towels.. it's been SO nice. granted, they don't have that fresh air scent but they also don't smell like vinegar or funk...so that's all I need.

what i find kind of amusing is that when i did the towels in just vinegar alone, it also apparently cleaned out the smell in the washer at the same time, so i haven't had any strange smells or gunk build up in the past week either.. pretty darn cool!!

Thanks!!!

[hink4687]

Oh yea! I'm glad it worked for you. Vinegar is awesome...we use it for everything!! I also use it as a rinse aid in my dishwasher and really to clean basically everything.

[UKcats06]

Originally Posted by hink4687

Oh yea! I'm glad it worked for you. Vinegar is awesome...we use it for everything!! I also use it as a rinse aid in my dishwasher and really to clean basically everything.

Speaking of rinse aids.. has anyone ever used them? I'm going to have to use vinegar once the thing is empty because it makes the dishwasher STINK. Its a brand new dishwasher, so its not something in it I don't think, the rinse aid is the only thing I can think of! Anyone else have this problem??

[butt3rflie1113]

I just moved home from school for a few months and my mom is going through this with her towels too, I'm wondering about the vinger. Do you use it with the detergent or instead of and how much??

[hink4687]

You use it as a softener in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. You can use it with regular detergent. I use the same amount as I would fabric softener.

As for vinegar in the dishwasher. I've never had problems with smell but I'm sure this will help. If you want to use vinegar on a regular basis as your rinse aid you have to fill up the container much more often then you do with rinse aid. I usually add vinegar like every other cycle or every 3rd cycle.

[av8rwyf]

I am so glad I read this thread. I'm all about vinegar now!!!! Now if I could just figure a way to make me a clothesline so I could dry some stuff in direct sunlight!

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by hink4687

You use it as a softener in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. You can use it with regular detergent. I use the same amount as I would fabric softener.

As for vinegar in the dishwasher. I've never had problems with smell but I'm sure this will help. If you want to use vinegar on a regular basis as your rinse aid you have to fill up the container much more often then you do with rinse aid. I usually add vinegar like every other cycle or every 3rd cycle.

i actually put it in as detergent with nothing else, no chlorox, no downy...just vinegar!

[Kristie]

Originally Posted by UKcats06

Speaking of rinse aids.. has anyone ever used them? I'm going to have to use vinegar once the thing is empty because it makes the dishwasher STINK. Its a brand new dishwasher, so its not something in it I don't think, the rinse aid is the only thing I can think of! Anyone else have this problem??

i've never heard of that.. do you know what type of rinse aid it is? try putting a little jet dry in there and see if that doesn't do the trick...also might be your water line too. something to think about.