How can I get a musty odor from my Bath towels and wash clothes?

Question

I think the cause is my front load washing machine has left soap residue in them. I've tried washing them reapeatedly with/without detergent,but there still is a musty smell.. When they come out of the drier they smell great but as soon as you get them wet the smell returns. They are high quality towels and I have brand new Maytag front load washer and drier.

Answer 1

You'll want to use one cup of bleach and run a cycle without any clothing. Do this with cold or hot water, won't matter. Then, take a dry towel and dry the "boot" you know the rubber part that is part of the seal. Leave the front load door open and let the machine completely dry before you do any laundry. There is another tub around the outside of the tub your clothes go into. This is where this bio-film goes and as long as it's there, it will stink. IT's caused by the wrong laundry detergents, softners. ALSO - if you are using the wrong type of detergent this film is more apparent in smell. You should always be using a high effeciency laundry detergent for a couple of really good reasons - 1) The machine uses less than 16 gallons of water for any laundry load - so it needs a low sudsing detergent. Regular laundry detergent will over sud and cause a degeneration in performance of your machine and will slow the cycles down. 2) If you are using a highly concentrated detergent (not HE) you will find this problem. You can't get enough water to rinse them properly so your rinsing and rinsing and rewashing and that defeats the purpose of the having a high efficiency washer. Last your clothing will stink.
Make a regular practice out of running a cycle with bleach and no clothes. Leave the door open so the machine can fully dry. If you have any further questions please feel free to email me directly at your earliest convenience and I would be happy to address your other concerns at that time. That's all. Good luck.

Answer 2

sounds ike you have really hard water. Try this... add 1 cup of baking soda to the water. That will make your cleaners work better by binding up some of the minerals in the water and 'getting them out of the way' so that your detergents can work better. At the same time, add 1 cup of white vinegar to the wash or rinse cycle. This should get rid of the musty smell. The musty smell might actually be from the iron in the water. If that's the case, I would use 1/2 cup of baking soda in every wash.

Answer 3

It isn't your machines.

If they are bleachable lighter colors, you don't have to do anything but bleach them with chlorine bleach. (You need to make sure that you believe you can use chlorine bleach on them. I can't know the details of all your washable garments & stuff.)

If they aren't bleachable, try T detergent (Are we allowed to say?) with non-chlorine bleach already added to the laundry soap. (It works for me.)

I had the same problem. They turned out looking clean but, they didn't smell good even though I used the ok detergent. So I figured out that they wouldn't smell bad if they weren't "harboring bacteria". So I used bleach & presto, the smell was gone!!

I found that I didn't have to add bleach everytime that I washed my towels, maybe sheets, or kitchen linens, whatever doesn't smell good, but only once in a while, as necessary.

Our bodies, if you truly knew how many thousands & thousands of (microscopic) dead skin cells that are sloughed off of our bodies onto our bathtowels, ESPECIALLY. Also, our sheets & clothing- you would be truly shocked.

Even kitchen washcloths get to smelling bad if you don't wash them & get a new one daily. Sponges, because of the way that they are made, can possibly poison us. You have to go to extra trouble to disinfect those. I don't use them generally

I hope this helps.

Answer 4

try cleaning your washer with bleach water. run a cycle with nothing but bleach and hot water. in the middle of the wash cycle stop the washer and scrub everything in the washers bin with a good brush. make sure you get in all the areas with the brush. after the washer is done leave the door open to air dry. also you should leave the door open to air dry after you are done washing. in most cases the musty smell is from a washer that stays damp inside causing it to create mold.

don't leave any wet clothes in the washer but take them out as soon as they are done washing and put into the drier.

Answer 5

It sounds like mold. Add 1/4 cup-1/2 cup vinegar to the wash. It kills mold/mildew, acts as a fabric softener and deodorizes. Also it is better to use vinegar as a fabric softener on towels, because commercial fabric softeners (liquid and sheets) coat the fabric making them less absorbant. Make sure the towels are all the way dry.

Answer 6

The vinegar is an excellent suggestion... you might even try Apple Cider Vinegar since it leaves behind a fresh, apple scent. If vinegar does not work I would try baking soda, since it is another great odor remover. Use 1/2 cup for a regular size load.

Answer 7

use shampoo or dish detergent in the wash. I have even used perfume in the wash to get rid of musty odors then put in dryer with a dryer sheet and they come out smelling beautifully clean

Answer 8

It's actually probably mold. If I have mold in cloth, I heat them in boiling water for an hour and then use a bleach or bleach alternative to wash them seperately. Also MAKE SURE THEY ARE DRY. Always hang them up.

Answer 9

try running some bleach through a cycle with no clothes ,some pine sol.or white cap,any type of distinfectant before your next wash.it worked for me

Answer 10

go to sam's wholesale and get some odo-ban. it is $10 for a gallon. it is highly concentrated and will last forever. if u put just a drop or two in your wash, i promise it will take all smells out and leave a fresh, aloe clean smell. i have used it for everything for 6 yrs now.