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?

[quote UptownWorld]@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![/quote]
Gather every cloth in the house and put them all though at the same time. Less wasteful on energy that way.

@D0lphine

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

I mean, every day???

Well, I don't do a white wash every day, but yes, I chuck the tea towel, dishcloth and hand towels in for washing every day.

Have to admit to not doing this with handtowels when they were a dark colour rather than white. But now, it's very obvious that they have been well used. I use small towels as hand towels - they're about two or three times the size of a face cloth.

Just put through on a wash when I make up a full load with white T shirts, sheets, pillow cases etc.

If it smells, there is bacteria there that you aren’t getting rid of.

We use 40 degree wash of hand towels / tea towels and disposable clithes for wiping up.

My mum used to boil kitchen cloths for 3 min on the hob, or soak em in bleach. Try that.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t do a 90 degree wash every day!

I don't go as high as 90 usually. Cotton tea towels on about 60-70 is fine for me, but some kitchens are busier than others.

Are you sure it's not your drawer that smells and making the towels smell?

I Put cloths in a basket with ventilation holes (curver brand fake rattan plastic) if wet I hang over side til dry.

I Put on a 40 degree wash with biological and a scoop of vanish. Then put through on a 60 degree wash either with nothing, or sometimes a capful or two of zoflora or dettol. I know this is a lot of energy so I at least dont spin the first wash.

Lately I have been trying eco wash on my machine as it does 40-60 within a cycle. I figure this gives them a bit of time for enzymes to work before 60 kicks in, and cuts from two loads to one. They don’t come out quite as well as the 2 washes though.

Nobody is doing a 90 degree wash every day unless it's an industrial setting - medical, restaurant etc.

When people say they wash every day they just mean they change the cloths every day.

Jars I'm a bit confused by your method - why not just do a single 60 wash? The enzymes aren't really needed at the higher temps anyway, they are there to make up for a lack of heat, so it doesn't matter. A lot more energy is used in heating than spinning, so you may as well do the first wash with cold water if it's really important for you to use enzymes and heat separately, but saving energy is your aim.

before I wash mine I just put them in the washing up bowl and chuck a kettle of boiling water over them and leave them 20 minutes.

Let them dry properly after washing and after use.

never had a problem!

I feel they get cleaner with 40 degrees with enzymes than just a 60 degree wash (I previously did a 60 degree wash only)

Id rather have the results than save the energy but aware I should.
The eco wash on my new machine which does 40 and 60 within the same (very long) cycle is getting good results though.

It does seem wasteful to wash a load twice - as pp said, if you're washing at 60deg, most things should come out clean. For most of my washing, I just use a mix of grated soap and soda crystals and 30deg or 40deg. All comes out clean. For white loads, I do add some bio washing powder even on a hot wash because the whiteners and brighteners kick in even if the enzymes won't do much good.

@abigailsnan

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.

Oh aye.

My tea towels, kitchen hand towels and dish cloths happily do 4 or 5 days and have never smelt of vomit. They go on a 60 deg wash with sheets and towels. Funny that OP has such an unlikely problem.

@BertieBotts

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.

Agree. I use 4-5 per day.

I use dettol laundry cleanser on our tea towels