If your towels have a musty odor even after they've been washed, it's time to take some additional cleaning steps. Smelly towels can be harboring mildew and other pathogens that could have adverse affects on one's health.
All you'll need is one cup of white vinegar and one cup of baking soda. You'll be using these two ingredients separately, as using them together will only cancel out the effectiveness of each one, during two washes on the same load of towels.
If a towel continues to have a smell, it means that bacteria are still in your machine or on your towel. Run the washing machine again with bleach, or wash the towel a second time to remove the stubborn bacteria.
In most cases, bacteria, mold and mildew are the primary causes of odors. White vinegar is a safe, powerful and easy to use neutralizing agent for mold and mildew that many of us already have in our homes. Put your towels in the washing machine with your regular detergent and a warm or hot-water wash setting.
Remove Stains From Clothes
Hydrogen peroxide is a very effective stain remover for protein- and plant-based stains. And it works well in treating mildew, blood, fruit and vegetable, and dye-transfer stains.
Benefits of using baking soda or vinegar in laundry
Baking soda also helps brighten faded clothing, while the acetic acid in vinegar Is strong enough to dissolve soap and detergent residues which can leave clothes feeling softer—but don't worry, it's still mild enough that it won't harm your fabrics.
Using vinegar in your washing machine can cause serious damage. Vinegar is acidic and can corrode the internal parts. It can also dissolve the protective coating on many materials, including the rubber seals and gaskets found inside the washer.
To use vinegar as a fabric softener and static reducer: Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar to the final rinse cycle of your washing machine. If you are washing blankets and comforters, add two cups of vinegar to the final rinse.
Simply add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser or to a fabric softener ball. The white vinegar will act as a fabric softener AND it will keep your washing machine smelling fresh and clean!
Adding vinegar to your laundry routines will whiten, brighten, reduce odors, and soften clothes without harsh chemicals. Vinegar is inexpensive, and safe to use in standard and high-efficiency washers. When buying vinegar for laundry, choose distilled white vinegar.
The Benefits of Using Vinegar in Laundry
To use it, soak the stained item for at least 30 minutes up to overnight in a solution of white vinegar and 1 Tbsp. liquid laundry detergent before laundering. Mold and Mildew Removal: Distilled white vinegar is powerful for removing mold or mildew from fabrics.
If you've found that regular laundry detergent isn't doing the trick when it comes to cleaning your clothes, we have a solution: white vinegar. The product can brighten clothes, remove stains, eliminate odors, and even act as a natural fabric softener.
Hydrogen peroxide
Time for a little science lesson. OxiClean contains several ingredients, but the important one for boosting and brightening laundry is sodium percarbonate — basically, dry hydrogen peroxide plus washing soda (also called sodium carbonate, which is very similar to but not exactly baking soda).
Don't mix hydrogen peroxide with vinegar
Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar can be used on the same surface as long as it dries in between applications but they should never be mixed. When the two are mixed, it creates peracetic acid, which can harm the skin, eyes, throat, nose and lungs.