Have you ever finished a load of laundry and noticed that your clothes and towels smell worse than they did before? This happens to a lot of people when they leave their load of laundry sitting in the washer for too long after it is washed. The smell comes from a buildup of mildew, which is a direct result of the wet clothes sitting in the moist washer for too long. This smell can be very persistent, so try several of these methods when figuring out how to remove the musty smell from towels or clothing.
– Rewash your load of laundry with hot water and a mixture of detergent and bleach. If your load still smells after a second washing, you might need to run your washer with ONLY one cup of bleach and hot water. The bleach should kill the odor-causing bacteria.
– Use smaller loads. If you have too large of a load, it might not dry everything completely which could result in a musty smell.
– Try using products designed especially for this problem. Pour them into your fabric softener dispenser and use along with your normal detergent.
– Wash thicker clothing by itself. Sometimes clothing or towels made out of thicker material don’t dry entirely if mixed with thinner materials.
– Try using powder detergent instead of liquid soap. In some cases, it might have something to do with the dye in liquid detergent.
– Rewash your load with one to two cups of white vinegar, and then wash again normally. Vinegar has strong odor-killing chemicals, so this should do the trick.
To avoid this problem in the future, set a timer to alert you when it’s time to switch your load. It’s always helpful to be aware of how long your clothes sit in the washer, especially if you have a front-loading washer because of its airtight seal. Nobody wants to dry off after a shower with a foul-smelling towel, so use these tips and tricks to prevent that from happening again.
If there is a still a musty scent lingering in your house, use TalkLocal to find a maid service in your area that can alleviate the stench.
