How do you dry bath towels without having them smell??

Question

I always have trouble with bath towels. We do not have the option of drying them in the sun. We dry them indoors. How can we dry them so they do not get smelly within two days of use??

Thanks.

Answer 1

OK, so the problem is a smell from the towel after you've used it to dry yourself once or twice?

Leaving the bathroom door open is a very good idea. I would wonder where your towels are located in the bathroom. A lot of people hang them on the back of the door, which when the door is open will often be close to the shower head or toilet.

You want to hang them as far away from the toilet and shower head as possible, because these are almost always damp, and almost always somewhat smelly. If you can hang them by the air vent, that's a major plus too.

Hanging, of course, is better than folding. A folded up towel will always end up smelling awful if it's damp to start with, because there's not enough surface area for it to dry out.

I usually wipe myself off by hand before using the towel, so that the towel does not get too wet. Less dampness on the towel lets it dry faster, so there's less time for mildew to grow.

If you have two bathrooms, you might do the doo in one, and do the shower in the other, so that the nasty odors in the doo don't get into all the towels so much. Whether that would help at all is questionable. If you have two bathrooms with shower stalls, you might consider using separate ones, so all that moisture in the air from each shower only gets on the towel once a night (assuming there's only two of you...)

As other possibilities, there's a chance that somebody isn't getting clean enough before using the towel... or that there should be more towels per person. My sister lives alone and has like one towel for each day of the month lined up on these massive towel racks... they only get used once, then she washes them all at the end of the month. Pretty insane, but it works. I'd guess one for every other day would be enough myself.

Of course there's also the hypochodriac side of the equation: Do you really want to use those towels twice... to dry your face again after you've wiped off your behind on them once before?

Answer 2

Are you talking about towels that have been used? After 2 uses they will very likely take on a smell. It is best it towels are washed after each use or at the very most 2. Even though we are clean when we dry off we are wiping away dead skin cells and that is what gives towels a sour smell. If your skin can tolerate it and you want a nice scent choose a nice smelling detergent. Dryer sheets can be nice to, but don't use liquid fabric softeners. They make towels less absorbent.

Answer 3

To avoid that musty smell you want to dry them as quickly as possible after each use. If necessary find a place outside the bathroom to hang them until they dry, ideally near a heat/air conditioning register. The less folds the more quickly they will dry. If all else fails try a folding drying rack that you can keep in the back of a closet.

It's also recommended that if you have an exhaust fan in the bathroom that you run it for a minimum of 20 minutes after a shower to help get all of the excess humidity out of the room. That alone could make a huge difference.

Answer 4

How To Hang Bathroom Towels

Answer 5

I presume you don't have a dryer. I put laundry borax in the water when I am washing my clothes this takes odors out the clothing. If you do have a dryer and don't want the smell of fabric softener then I found on the shopping channel in Canada here there are plastic dryer balls pink for delicate clothes and blue for other clothes. Just place these balls in the dryer and they will plump up the clothing without the smell of softeners. They also come with laundry soda so you don't even need detergent for washing.

Answer 6

Use a bit of bleach in the washer and use warm water to wash. If you have a dryer, use "Bounce" which is a dryer fabric softener with a scent. Then make sure when you use the towel you hang it so that all parts of it can dry easily.

Answer 7

If you have central heating, I would move the towel bar right over the blowing vent. During the winter time when the heat blows the towels with get dry.

Spread them over the shower curtain bar and leave the window open and keep the door to the washroom closed.

Answer 8

I was my towels in the hottest water possible to kill germs. I also put vinegar into my rinse cycle. It will remove any excess soap build up and it's a great deodorizer.

Towels will get smelly within a few days no matter what you do really....I usually wash ours every 3-4 days.

Answer 9

Ahhhh.. the musty towel smell... Personally, I make sure that I leave the bathroom door open unless it is occupied. The smell is mildew, and air is the best cure for that. Aside from that one, try febreeze.

Answer 10

Maybe add some light fragrance to the rinse water in the washer, or spray them with a light fragrance when you lay them out to dry.