Smelly kitchen towels and cloths??

[UptownWorld]

So I wash my kitchen towels and cloths every 1-2 days, i put them in a normal 40 degree wash with unstoppables. However they absolutely stink within a couple of days of sitting in the drawer so I end up rewashing them. They never smell fresh!

The smell after a couple of doors is like mouldy feet or vomit.

I’ve tried washing at a higher temperature and it still happens.

What am I doing wrong?

Couple of days? Not doors *

Are you drying them properly before putting them away?

First get some washing machine cleaner and follow instructions.

Personally I put my cloths - and towels - on a hot wash (90) with bio powder. As soon as it finishes they are put on the airer outside.

Add Napisan to the wash and white vinegar instead of fabric softener. Kills the bacteria. I wouldn't use the Unstoppables, I wouldn't want all this chemicals all over my food stuff.

Unstoppables make everything smell vile and are full of nasty stuff. Not ideal to get all over your plates.
Hot wash them. That is the way to kill the bacteria without using toxic products. Chuck in some Eco bleach if they are whites. Forty degrees is not hot enough.

I wash mine every day at 90 degrees and put on outside line to dry they always smell fresh,some days I use 2 drying cloths.

@JemimaTiggywinkle yes they’re tumbled.

@MrsPear my washing machine is cleaned regularly and I have no issues with any of my clothes etc.

Thanks all - looks like a 90 degree wash is the way to go!

I change dishcloth, tea towel and hand towel at least once a day. Make sure they're dry before you put them in a laundry bin or bag - don't leave damp. Then wash together - if everything is white, they can all go on a hot wash. I don't use any fabric conditioner, but I do put a scoop of soda crystals in every wash because our water is so hard. I've cut back on hot washes of late in fear of another hike in my energy DD, but I do a 90 degree wash every few weeks and that's always a white wash.

What cloth is it that's the problem? A tea towel, or cleaning cloth or hand towel, and are they ever laying around damp before being washed?

You need to kill the bacteria. Wash them at at least 60 degrees, and don't use fabric conditioner or unstoppables. Vinegar is a good substitute.

If you've used lots of products before, you might need to "strip" them - look up how to strip cloth nappies and use this process.

@Cynderella it’s only kitchen towels and kitchen cleaning cloths for washing up. I think it must be bacteria not getting killed as I don’t do them hot enough. It feels mental to do a 90 degree wash but I’ll have to!

I bleach dishcloths. Just leave in bowl with bleach and water.

Check out Nancy Birtwhistle on instagram, great cleaning tips, economical and eco friendly. I soak mine when needed in green bleach, and wash at 20.

I do a 90 degree wash every few weeks because I was told it was good for my machine if i was doing mostly low temp washes. I've read it elsewhere, and my current washing machine is fifteen years old, so I feel it's working!

Also, I use washing powder. I'm going to bet that the cloths are hanging around damp which makes them smell mouldy. I put damp cloths etc on a radiator until dry and crispy before putting them in the laundry bag. In summer, I just leave them hanging somewhere to dry.

Yes, hanging around damp would cause a musty/mouldy smell, but the vomity, feety smell is yeast and it's caused by bacteria.

@BertieBotts That is grim. Believe it or not I actually have ocd and the thought of them being dirty like that has made me throw them all out and order new. Will take better care of the new ones!!

I generally do the dishtowels on a 60degree cycle with towels/bedding.

Cloths for washing up etc I soak in hot water, fairy and bleach every night and then rinse in the morning and they go in the machine on a 60 degree wash every few days.

If they all smell I'd do a very hot wash with a bleach pre-wash as a once off. Then you can get back into a better routine with them.

Personally I put my cloths - and towels - on a hot wash (90) with bio powder

From what I've read, there is zero point in using bio powder on a very hot wash, because the heat immediately kills the biological enzymes which make the powder 'bio' and which are there to get rid of the bacteria. I mean... it doesn't matter, because the heat will also kill the bacteria, but there's no point using bio powder specifically.

I've never had this problem.
Wash everyday on 90 deg with Tide.
No fabric conditioner.
Line dry.

I use dettol laundry stuff with my tea towels and dish clothes. Wash on 30, or 4O if I have bedding/enough 40 stuff to fill the machine. That tends to get the smell out. Some of them I found were too old and just couldn't be saved so I binned them.

I would wash the everything in the drawer then rinse again with a good dose of vinegar. Dry well.

Then I would remove the drawer and scrub it down with vinegar and allow to dry well, preferably on a sunny day with a good breeze.

I have had to google your Unstoppables. Holy God, do you pay money for that stuff? It’s just smelly water. christiangreenliving.com/3-big-problems-with-laundry-scent-boosters-why-you-need-to-stop-using-them/#:~:text=When%20looking%20at%20the%20Unstopables,Perfume%2C%20and%203)%20Dye. Honestly, vinegar in your rinse water and fresh air will do a better job. If you feel the need, leaving your storage drawer cracked open overnight once in a while to air may be a good thing.

If you use a bio washing detergent, then any temperature above 40 degrees kills the enzymes. So pretty pointless going to 90.
I like ironing my tea towels as that high temperature gets rid of any bacteria.

Side note but who are all these people washing their kitchen towels EVERY DAY.

I mean, every day???

I don't wash mine every day but I do change them after 1-2 days and wash when I've built enough up.

I'm no domestic goddess nor germ phobe - but a tea towel or cleaning cloth is small and easy to wash. It seems counterproductive to keep using them transferring dirt from one area to another, letting them sit damp with bacteria multiplying and festering, and then using them to "clean" the next thing. No thanks. Sometimes I go through several in a day, it makes me shudder when I think of how long I used to use disposable items before replacing them!

Enzymes will help to break down biological components of stains or smell, but they don't kill bacteria. Heat does that, maybe antibacterial wash stuff - I'm always a bit sceptical about the ability of antibac stuff to do much when it's diluted in tens of litres of water TBH.

Are you sure they're completely dry when you put them in the drawer? I just wash mine on 30 degrees with the other washing, using ordinary washing powder, then line dry, and they're fine - but they do smell if they're put away slightly damp, so I put them in the airing cupboard or on a radiator airer first.