How do you get the mildew smell out of colored towels that can't be bleached?

Question

I have a front loader washer where the clothes really never get that wet in the washer. I have used the special detergent that costs a small fortune. I have used fabric softner, but I still cannot get the mildew smell out of my towels. Finally I gave up and bleached some of my towels, but now they are discolored. I don't want all of my towels to be a funky pink color. Help!!!

Answer 1

I heard that you should take your pile of towels and sprinkle generous amounts of baking soda on each piece until you are ready to wash them. It apparently has an antiseptic effect and it refreshes them. Then, I would wash all of them with a strong but color-safe detergent in hot, hot water with more baking soda added in the water. Rinse twice. Add a nice smelling fabric softener to the rinse if you wish. Then I would immediately take them out and hang them outside in the hot sun until completely aired and dry.

You may also want to let the towels just soak for a while in the washer with all the baking soda and water before you start the wash cycle. That's just an idea.

If all that doesn't work, it's probably time to clean your washer and buy new towels. Hope it works.

good luck

Answer 2

Ok, I've read all/most of the answers... Gather up all your colored towels and wash them on HOT w/ detergent and add about 1/3 c. of baking soda to the water..

When you buy new colored towels... Give em a wash, by themselves to get rid of excess dye.... Them immeadiately, put them in the dryer. w/o fabric softner... In the future don't let towels sit in the washer for more than a few hours.. Or buy all white towels that can be bleached....

Answer 3

I say baking soda with your laundry detergent and hang them in the sun if you can.
similar question a couple of days ago and a few people suggested 1 cup of vinegar.
since I don't deal with mildew much here where I live, they could be right, seeings how mildew is a fungal type growth vinegar would stop the growth of mildew.so would direct sun light. mildew is very sensitve to ultra violet light.
how about the bleach they make for colored clothing?
id think the key would be to stop the growth of the mildew and then it would wash out of the cloth.
good luck><>

Answer 4

First try not to overload the washer as towels tend to be rather large. Run the rinse cycle with some lemon juice you can get some pretty cheap like at the dollar store and put a good amount in there and then you might want to try and hang them in direct sunlight.

Answer 5

a tiny bit of bleach may kill the mildew without whitening the towels too much. try soaking in one part bleach with 50 parts water for 30 minutes and then wash immediately with lots of detergent. if that doesn't work, you can make some white rags with more bleach.

Answer 6

Try a peroxide cleaner in the wash with a color safe bleach in the warmest water the towels can handle-
I would let it soak for a while before running it thru the final wash

Answer 7

You can't those towels are no longer good I suggest you get somke new ones. When you get mildew on something the chances of it growing back are very high unless you use bleach but sometimes that doesn't always work

Answer 8

Try putting less clothes in the washer, maybe 5 towels and see if this helps?

Answer 9

I would try one of the following:

Color safe bleach
Vinegar (a couple of cups)
Baking soda (not sure how much)

Make sure you use the hottest water setting on your machine. If none of these work, I would suggest tossing the towels and buying some new ones. Good luck!

Answer 10

For that mildew, vinegar kills it. For the running colors, try bleaching them out. Or Rit has a dye kit to take colors out of fabrics.

Peace