My Towels and Wash Cloths Smell like Dead Fish!

www.smellywasher.com
Try Smelly Washer. All you have to do is add 1 cap of Smelly Washer to the load and let it sit in a hot soak. This takes away the smell. Works great!! I have cleaned my husbands hockey uniform (which is harsh so I agitate the washer for a few minutes, then let it sit over night) and it takes the smell away.

I have the same problem but don't know what it is either. It isn't a fish smell but can't describe it. I read to use hot water only, wash them with no detergent, then rewash them. I also heard not to use fabric softner in the dryer. It is a short fix, I buy new towels and it happens again!

Soak them in Oxiclean and then add more to the wash load. try using Oxiclean in every wash load. It is a great addition to the wash and gives all clothes a boost.

Try buying some tea tree oil from Walgreens (near the vitamins) or check the organic section at Jewel or Dominick's....put maybe 10 to 15 drops of the oil in with your towels when you wash them. It is a natural anti-fungal and while I think the tea tree oil smells when you put it in the wash, the towels come out smelling very fresh and it will help to inhibit any type of maybe smell that would come back

Sounds like the washer and dryer are fine. The problem is after use of the linens. Someone in your house must not be washing well enough and the odors are sticking to the linens. Or, an animal could be getting at the items and wiping their own scent on the linens. Put linens directly into wash machine when used. Do not let dry. Let them soak in the soapy water until you get everyones towels in the tub.

Try adding vinegar in the wash with your towels (about 1/2 cup) and make sure they towels dry completely in the dryer. Your laundry room will smell like vinegar, but your towels will not.
That works for me.
Good luck.

I have that same experience from time to time in the last two months.I concluded it is the water. I called city services to complain, and after talking to the water dept.(who said it has occurred in many communities). For three weeks I washed towels every day ,I couldn't stand the smell. So far the smell hasn't surfaced in several weeks and I am not washing everyday. G. E. Higgins

Hi there, we had a similar problem - and we figured out there isn't good air circulation in that bathroom and so our towels could never completely dry which leds to growth of bacteria, mold etc, which SMELLS! We went to Bed Bath and Beyond, got a towel warmer($30 or so) - just plug in and set the towels on. It dries the towels, keeps them warm and ready for next use - WITH NO SMELL! Good luck.

I too have had this..even in my clothes! I bought a washing machine cleaner - you can find it in the laundry detergent aisle and only a few dollars. It helped but I also switched to Tide for those items that always got that smell. I just took a chance on a detergent from Sam's club called Ecos. It's environmentally friendly and less expensive than Tide and it's working wonderful also. I think it really makes a difference to pay the extra money for the higher quality detergents. Hope this helps.

Hi D. Throw the towels away if they stink!!! It could be the material they are made of.

Try washing in hot water with detergent and vinegar. Yes vinegar for whatever reason takes out the smell in clothes. I wash my husband's workout clothes with vinegar. The vinegar does NOT leave the vinegar smell and it's suppose to soften and fluff you towels, I would still add softener. And just to be on the safe side use the dryer to dry the towels and make sure they are throughly dried. You only need to use 1 cup in the washing cycle maybe for the first time go ahead and use 2 cups just to make sure it will work. However if you towels are white just use bleach, the bleach should eliminate the smell as well.

You said they are recently new. Perhaps you could call where you got them. It might be only you. Or the company that manufactured them. Sometimes they use chemicals for things that can react. Just a thought. I couldn't figure anything else out but remember some thing like that when we used well water.

Maybe some molds are in there- try drying them in the sun or adding some Arm and Hammer Baking Powder to the washing water. Good luck...

S. Botana
http://sbotana.aupairnews.com

I have the same problem, and don't know what to do. I just keep buying dish towels.

I know this sounds weird, but add a cup of white vinegar to your wash.
I've tried it and it works. : )

we had a similiar problem.. I wouldn't say they smelled like dead fish, but more like mildew-y..

First, which I didn't know, but you aren't supposed to use liquid fabric softener or dryer sheets with towels. It builds up on this and can trap in odors....

Second, and what seemed to work for ours is to wash the towels in hot water and put 1/2 cup of vinegar in the fabric sofenener spout. I did this and all of our towels smell much better! This was happening with my kitchen towels too.

Hope that helps! Good luck.

My wash clothes and dishtowels smell mildewy. I think it's the same smell you are referring to. They smell fine until they get wet, and then - YUCK! Your hands will even smell just from using them.

Bleach!! You can use bleach on colors, you just have to do it right. Let the washer fill up with water all the way and add a splash or two of bleach as it's filling. Then put your towels in. It's not enough bleach to do damage, but it'll get the smell out. I do it all the time.

I've never tried Tea Tree Oil, but I know a lot about it - give it a try, it might do the trick. Vinegar does not work on this problem and neither will Odoban.

Hi D.,

You might want to try a few drops of essential oil. Just add it to the machine when you wash the towels. Tea tree oil has natural antimicrobial properties.

Best,
R.

Since it is only the towels and not your other clothes, I do not think it is your washer or dryer.

Where and how are you drying the towels? If your bathroom doesn't have excellent ventilation, an open window, etc. they might just not be getting dry enough, especially if you are folding them over a towel bar in a bathroom that is humid from showers or baths. If you don't have a window or a fan in your bathroom, I would suggest getting a little folding rack and try drying the towels in a bigger, better ventilated room. Or possibly hang them on an outside clothesline where they'll be blown dry by the fresh air?

It might be a pain- so would throwing them back into the dryer each time you use them!- but it sounds to me like the towels are just staying damp too long and getting a little mildewy.

It may be lingering food bacteria. I have solved this by only using white towels that can be BLEACHED, plus I only use them for 1 day. Every wash they get detergent and bleach and we rarely get any smells, maybe just when we forget and use for several days

I've noticed with so much rain and humidity this summer my towels do not totally dry after use or take too long to dry and get a gross sour odor to them-something I never have a problem with in the winter. Lately I have been bringing them out of the bathroom into my bedroom and hanging them up in front of the fan, this helps alot.

Try putting Lemon oil/extract in the wash cycle, it will take the damp musty smell out.
Also, essential oil of lavender has antiseptic properties and can be used in the wash cycle.
I have used both at times.

Soak them in vinegar & then wash them again. If they still smell after that, throw them away.

I wash my towels in hot water and have never had this problem since I've started doing that. I have always had to use a little bit of bleach with my kitchen towels.

I had that problem. I tried Vinegar, I tried Bleach which I am totally against even having in my home. ( I used these in empty machine). Neither worked.

The machine appeared to be working...... I finally couldn't take it anymore. Got a new washing machine and voila, problem is fixed. I believe as I look back, the washing machine wasn't working properly, even though I had the repair man out 3 times in 4 months. He told me it was on it's last leg and I think the belt wasn't working well.
Sad part, the machine was only 1o yrs old, but now I have a new one and the problem is gone. Probally not the answer you wanted to hear. Sorry.....

NOTHING gets rid of odors like good old borax. Also, you need to "strip" the towels to remove the odors.
Soak the towels in the hottest water you can manage and pour on some borax. Let it soak, then drain and spin. Next, do a hot wash with a few squirts of Original Palmolive dish soap. It has to be the original green one. Follow that up with a warm water rinse with a cup of vinegar (which is a natural fabric softener also). I would then dry them on the hottest setting until bone dry.
BTW: Essential oils can be wonderful for killing germs and bacteria BUT one must use caution when using them in the wash. They are oils and can leave an invisible film on your clothes/items and over time can actually CAUSE odors to build up. Things like palmolive, vinegar and borax will strip them away.
I know these things from experience bc I do cloth diapering and odors are something I deal with regularly!
Follow my simple advice and let me know what happens.

This has happened to me before because our bathroom doesn't get a ton of ventilation, and in the humid months, wet items can mildew quickly. What you need to do is either throw away the offending towels and start fresh, or if your washer has a super long and powerful rinse and wash cycle, then use that one with HOT water. Make sure to remove the towels and dry them as soon as they are finished so they don't have a chance to sit around while wet. Then be sure to wash the towels after every use, don't let them hang to dry in the bathroom while it's still summer or they will likely mildew again. But you need to get that super powerful long rinse and wash cycle done first, or they will still smell even after you wash them on a regular wash cycle. Good luck!

Maybe soak the towels with detergent and oxyclean or
clorox for colors. If it is the washer, I would use hotter water when washing clothes.

Hi D.,

We were plagued with the same problem, but thanks to my wise mother, we've overcome it. Add a few tablespoons of baking soda to the clothes washer while it is filling. The baking soda will draw the foul odor out of the fabric. I doubted that it would work, but it does! I now have fresh smelling clothes and towels!

By the way -- the same trick also works to get rid of the mildew smell if you just so happen to forget to put the clothes in the dryer for a day or so.

CHEAP AND MAGICAL BAKING SODA!!

I would hit this in several ways. 1st run the washing machine thu a complete cycle totally empty. put a couple cups of bleach in and run it thru. then run it thru again just empty (no clothing etc) to make sure all the bleach is gone

you can get a product called calgon it comes in powder or liquid put a cap of that in each load of laundry. that may help if it is a chance its the water. but i also second the other poster. make sure they are being totally dried. we had a problem with blue jeans doing something similar to what you described.

Have you ever heard of Sol-u-mel from Melaleuca? It is amazing for killing bacteria & odors in the laundry & household. Safe, nontoxic, earth friendly (green)
www.SaferForYourHome.com
email me for the website at ____@____.com

Call your water company or talk to your neighbors to see if they noticed the same thing. Also when you use them rinse them him antibacterial soap so the next time you use them they dont stink. Change them daily. Mine usually sink the day later.

My mom always put new things especially towels in a wash or "Soak" cycle of Vinegar like a cup in the tub. Then she added a cup of baking soda to the wash and regular detergent. I also like clorox 2, on a regular basis. Best of luck 2 ya!

I encountered this same problem with my towels. They would smell fresh out of the dryer and even while in the linen closet. However, after one use, they would smell stinky, as it the towel had been in use for several days and that was not the case. My mother suggested that I fill with hot water, then add a capful of bleach, as this small amount would lessen the chances of bleaching or staining the colored towels. Then add the detergent and let it all mix around and then add the towels. This helped.

Also, do not wash kitchen dish towels with your bath towels. Kithen dish towels hold a tremendous amount of germs and smells that are so much more intense than bath towels. Separating these should also help reduce the transfer of odors and bacteria to the other towels, which could also be a culprit for the smwell.

I am assuming you are using your towel more than once. We wash in hot water, dry in a hot dryer and use a bath towel only once and paper towel in the bathroom for hands. Sounds expensive and does add a little to our budget, but no smell ever. Good luck :-)

Hi, D.,

Add 20 Mule Team Borax to each load. Also, try all-fabric bleach for colored things and chlorine bleach for whites. That odor is stubborn and you need additives!

Good luck!
Mama S.

I can tell you exactly what it is as I had the same problem for the last couple of months. And tried most of the below issues. It is the dryer vent!!! I just got it cleaned out and the problem is GONE....My Drier vent guy explained when it is clogged it shuts alot of the heat from the drier..What your smelling is mildew!!! We even noticed on some of the clothes...Hope this helps would be happy to pass my vent cleaners # to you. Be careful because you could start a fire in the vent. Good Luck!!! Hope this helps..

Try using arm and hammer laundry detergent and let the towels cool down before folding, i had the same problem. Someone told me putting the hold folded towels away in the linen closet with little or no room for air circulation is causing the smell. The warm folded towels are causing moisture and has nowhere to go. Hope it works.

If you have an HE washer, make sure you clean it (by running it) with super hot water and a half-cup of Cascade Plus, no other clothing, once a month. You can add a cup or two of bleach into the washer itself before you begin. Leave the washer door ajar between loads. Look at the underside of the soap dispenser, any mold there? HOw about the rubber ring around the rim? Use an HE detergent, and only a little of it; wash towels in hot water, put white vinegar in the softnener dispenser and bleach dispenser. Skip Downy.

It's possible that you might not be drying them long enough. Add another 30 minutes to your drying time and see if that helps.

wash them in hot water and vinegar

try bleach, baking soda, or vinegar