stinky towels!!!!!!!?

Question

ok, i use tide with downy. i also use the dryer sheets. for some reason my towels AND ONLY TOWELS come out of the dryer with an odor, an unpleasant one at that. i think they smell sour but my husband believes they have more or a burnt smell. anyway, it is nasty and even though they are clean we still don't want to touch our clean bodies with them. any answers please!!!!!!

Answer 1

If you do not wash your towels frequently then the water absorbed in the towels with start to mildew and sour. I am a college student so I am lazy about my laundry and it is sometimes two weeks before I get to the towels. Think about it, they sit there and sit there still damp and they just start to sour. There is a cycle on your washing machine that you can use, one that lets them sit and soak in the water. I don't think that the laundry detergent that you use has anything to do with it. The heat on your dryer might be too high also. It wouldn't hurt anything to turn it on a low setting. I hope this helps and curious to know if it works. It does for me.

Answer 2

Well, you're using too much laundry product, in the first place. Use either Downy OR dryer sheets, not both. I think this is building up in your towels, so next time you wash them, don't use ANY fabric softener, and rinse them twice. (You may be putting too many towels into the washer, so they can't move around enough and get properly rinsed.) Then make sure they are completely dry when you take them from the dryer. Using fabric softener on your towels eventually makes them less absorbent, too.

Answer 3

try using the liquid Lysol but only just a very little bit not even a cap full just a few drops and it should take the sour smell away and maybe you are washing to many towels at the time I only wash two towels and five or six face cloths at the time because big towels washed together will have a sour smell.

Answer 4

Check your filter and also you might want to check the back of your dryer to make sure that your vent is clear of lint and anything else that is not suppose to be back there. Always clean the lint filter on your dryer before drying a load of clothes. If the filter is full, it'll take longer to dry your clothes and use more energy. If lint gets stuck on the filter, wash it off with soap and water. If the exhaust hose on your dryer fills up with lint, clean or replace it.
If its just your towels smelling you might want to change detergants.
Or check your owners manual for help.

Answer 5

I get that sometime too. Just wash them again in the hottest water you can, then put them in the dryer right away. I seem to notice that smell if I leave the towels in the washer a while before drying.

Answer 6

try washing them with some Pine-Sol in the water. If they are white use Clorox. If you get a towel or kitchen cloth that has been used to wipe up grease, throw it away. If it gets in the wash with other towels, it messes up the whole wash. ALL the towels will smell like grease. I accidentally put a rag in the wash after cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap, and ruined it all. It even makes it feel nasty, like waxy.

Answer 7

I use cold water Tide my husband says the towels smell sour. I wonder if it is something to do with Tide's formula? I would love to have an outdoor clothes line. I think that would solve the problem.

Answer 8

Try using Oxy Clean. It works, but the drying is where the odor is removed. It's great for mop heads too. They just have to completely dry to notice the odor is removed. If that doesn't work, try bleach and always use very hot water no matter what you use. If all else fails, get new towels

Answer 9

I am a firefighter, trust me this works on all my uniforms and should work perfectly for your towels!
To remove offensive odors from towels: use either one cup of Vinegar or two cups of Vodka in your wash cycle, along with your usual detergent. This will not damage dark colors (my uniforms pants are dark blue), and will actually boost your usual detergent's ability to clean, as well as help remove tough stains!! Both will neutralize any smell!

Hope this helps!

Answer 10

Are you drying towels and only towels at the highest heat setting of your dryer? If so, try turning down the heat. I've smelled this, too, when my towels got over-dried.