# Sour Towels?



## twospirit (May 25, 2010)

Okay, I have tried everything I can imagine and this problem is just not going anywhere.

The problem is specifically with towels. No matter how many times I wash them, they have a slightly off/sour smell to them. I've used Gain detergent and homemade detergent. Fabric softener and vinegar, added Borax to the load. The only towels that don't go sour are the white ones that are bleached.

Does anyone have any insight that might help or do I just need to go buy some new towels? FYI, these were Better Homes & Gardens towels purchased new from Walmart.

Thanks,
Michael


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## dragonchick (Oct 10, 2007)

Add a cup of baking soda to the wash and a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycles. Hang the towels in the sun until dry and the sour smell should be gone. If the towels are non white you can hang them in the shade. As long as its outside in the fresh air it should still work without the bleaching effect the sun has. The vinegar will kill the sour smell and the sun/fresh air will kill the vinegar smell. 


Some dyes just smell icky for the first couple washes.


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## twospirit (May 25, 2010)

I've washed these towels no less than a dozen times and I use vinegar in every load (in a Downy ball).


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## jennytw (Aug 7, 2009)

You should be able to put a 'little' bit of bleach in the water. Try just a little bit, bleach is so strong that you should not have to use much.


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## Cinelu (Jan 1, 2009)

Never leave them in the washer. Remove and dry them as soon as they are finished washing. That seems to keep mine from smelling sour.


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

I'm stumped!

First, I wondered if perhaps the towels weren't rinsed enough and some detergent residue was causing the odor, but you said it was only the white ones, so that isn't it.

My only suggestion is to wash the white towels separately with bleach every time OR without bleach but still separate from the other ones.


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## GrayDay (Apr 6, 2010)

My grandma taught me to add amonia to towels to "sweeten" the load.


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## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

jennytw said:


> You should be able to put a 'little' bit of bleach in the water. Try just a little bit, bleach is so strong that you should not have to use much.


This is what I do with ours. I just add the smallest amount of bleach to any of my towel loads, whether it's kitchen or bath. I also make sure that I run them through the dryer.

Kayleigh


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## NEfarmgirl (Jan 27, 2009)

I add bleach too; usually about 1 to 2 TBSP per full load and that seems to take care of it. It has never lightened the color of my dark blue towels. The only thing is to make sure the washer is full and you agitate it before putting the towels in to make sure the bleach is totally mixed in. I do have a blue towel with pink dots in the corner when I didn't agitate the water first.


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