Towels smell bad after a few uses

[hmfair54]

Hi people, hoping I'm posting this in the right place and that someone will have some advice.

Basically title says it all. Does anyone have any tips for getting rid of a damp/musty smell on towels that have only been used a few times since washing? I dry my towels on the heated rail after I've showered or over the bannister if there's no room so they don't lie crumpled on the bathroom floor.

I'm wondering if the washing machine's the issue? I clean it fairly regularly with the dettol machine cleaner and calgon so it should be pretty clean inside, and I'm washing the towels on a 2.5 hour bed and bath cycle. The only thing I can think of is that the machine doesn't go above 60 degrees so I can't do a boil wash?

Any advice would be appreciated!

I find that if I dry used towels on a radiator/heated towel rail, they go smelly really quickly. Now I dry them on a rail on the wall away from the radiator they stay fresh much longer.

Agrée with Bernadette, if you have access to an outside washing line, that’s the easiest way to remove odour , although you really need to find out why the towels are smelling in the first place, is it only your towels, or all of your general washing.?
If it’s only the towels then it can’t be the machine at fault.

It's because you aren't tumble drying them , if they dry slowly they go smelly . I would dry them as quickly as possible so buy a heated airer and wash at 60/90

Try switching to bio powder. This made a difference for me.

I use biological washing powder and laundry cleanser on sweaty gym kit/cotton tshirts that've been sat round, and that gets lingering mustiness out in a 30 or 40 wash.

I wash everything at 40, non-bio powder and unscented fabric conditioner. We do not have a tumble dryer. Towels are changed every other week, we each have our own. They do not smell. The only thing we do have is heated towel rails so they dry quickly.

It may well be the gel you're washing them with. I went through a phase of using liquid/gel and my laundry and washing machine starting to smell musty. Ran a hot wash in the machine and switched back to powder, no more problems.

I would suggest:
Don't use gel. Powder is best, without added perfume stuff. Liquid is also OK.
No conditioner -BUT
Before you think about that you need to clean them properly:

Wash on a 60 wash with white vinegar, no detergent. Longest cycle, extra water if you have the option. Then wash again with detergent. You may have to do a couple of vinegar washes. This will also remove some of the build up of detergent which can also make towels nasty.
During the first cycle wait until the water is hot and then press stop. Leave it to soak for half an hour, then press start, let it agitate for a while then stop it again. Then complete the wash.
Ensure they are completely dry before putting them away.
I find that mine are OK apart from Scion towels which seem to always pong, even brand new, but I use the above method to remove detergent build up as the water is so hard it is opaque.

Do not hang them to dry on a heated rail after use, it encourages bacteria growth. They need air so hang them spread out where they can get air.

If it's a recent thing then I'd guess the heating element in your machine has gone and it's not hitting 60.

Else what the others said about not drying fast enough. Do you air the room the towels dry in regularly?

I think you also need to clean your machine.i do this every month, I buy a wash machine cleaner powder from supermarket , put it in empty machine on a 90c wash to flush out all the grot in drum and pipes.
Also take the drawer out an give a good scrub with toothbrush etc

It's a myth that the enzymes in bio powder causes allergies. The allergies are triggered by the perfume in the powder. DD's eczema disappeared when I started using Ariel.

If they aren't smelling bad when they first come out of the machine and are dried then surely the machine isn't the problem- the towels just need washed more often.

I think they aren't getting dry quick enough and if anything washied too often - I wash mine fortnightly but they are stored in the cupboard where the hot tank is so dry out between uses. And dried in a drierafter washing.
So they are damp for a while drying , then used for a day or so then damp either waiting for a wash or drying after a wash.
Wash on a day you can get them outside to dry. I am happy that the fecal matter on my towels is boosting my immunity . Or on the other hand don't scrub your bumhole with your towel.

@midnightstar66 it’s still worth doing a once a month very hot wash to clean through your machine though. Removes soap scum and conditioner build up.

@Gohackyourself I agree but OP says she does that, and they come out smelling fresh and only begin to smell once they have been used a couple of times so o can't see how the machine is responsible.

Those of you advocating line drying obvs don't live in the UK, they'd be out there for months on end and rotten by the time you brought them in

Outside line drying that is

Switch to powder.
I stopped using liquid and gels because eventually started to have this issue even the stuff that was going in the drier.

And because yours doesn’t go over 60, soak the towels with some napisan first frequently.

You should be able to use a towel for about a week or so without it smelling.
Very hot wash with biological detergent. Use sensitive for those that are sensitive, if need be. Use a splash of white vinegar in the drum.
Dry as quickly as possible to avoid moist environment for mould to grow. Line dry, if possible in direct sunlight.

Your post suggests communal towels. Do others hang them up immediately after their showers? Is it someone else creating the problem.

I wash mine with powder and every other day. Leaving them to dry does cause smells.

It's simple - they aren't getting dry between uses.

There's only one reason for a must smell and that's because they are damp and not fully drying.

So you need to put them on a hot radiator.

I throw mine in the tumble dryer after every couple of uses. It freshens them up a bit.

What temperature are you washing them at?

Towels should go on at 90. Preferably with laundry bleach added.

Tumble on hot or line dry.

That will kill the bacteria in your towels which is making them smell.

It's why I only have white ones.

I think they're just not clean enough.
We use small towels and only use once and once a week we wash them all on a 90 wash and tumble dry till bone dry and our towels are really fresh every time.

Just recently as an experiment I hung my towel up on the hook on the back of the (very warm) bathroom door and let it dry and used it again the next morning. The texture was a bit crispier and it categorically did not smell as fresh. There was absolutely NO WAY I would have use that towel a third time.

I have used clean, but less frequently washed towels in other people's houses and they smell ok when the are handed to you dry and unused but the as soon as they get damp from use they have a distinct musty smell.

I found our own towels were getting like that and I hate it, so we switched to small ones washed after every use. Problem solved.