Baking soda or vinegar will do the trick. BAKING SODA: Adding baking soda to your towel wash helps remove soap and chemical residue that can end up covering your towels.
The vinegar helps dissolve any soap buildup, remove odors, and soften the material, while baking soda helps scrub the remaining bits of gunk away and also softens the material. Once the cycle is complete, your towels will be fluffed and renewed—after a spin in the dryer, of course.
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.
If a towel continues to have a smell, it means that bacteria are still in your machine or on your towel.
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.
Once the washer is filled, before the wash cycle starts, drop in a cup of vinegar. Let it dilute for a moment, then add a half of a cup of baking soda. Run the washer, and dry as normal. Your towels will be recharged and like new, or better than ever!
High-end hotels prefer to use Egyptian cotton, which is softer, fluffier, and cozier than regular cotton. Such that, even Mizu Towels use this fabric to make their luxury towels. Although it is lighter than Egyptian cotton, some hotels also use Turkish cotton in their towels.
For a bathtub, we recommend ¼ cup borax, ¼ cub washing soda, and ½ cup detergent. Stir to dissolve. Completely submerge your towels in the mixture and soak until the water has cooled, which usually takes four to five hours. Stir occasionally to help coax out all the buildup in the towels.
Throw Tennis Balls in The Dryer
If you have a few clean, unused tennis balls lying around like I do, try throwing them in the dryer along with your towels. As the balls bounce around, they help remove lumps and increase softness.
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.
1. Wash your towels with hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar, (don't use any detergents or fabric softeners). 2. Run the towels through a second wash with 1/2 cup baking soda and hot water, (again, no detergent or fabric softener).
Since vinegar has a low pH and baking soda high pH, they will neutralize each other when used together. What you want to do instead is to use baking soda first mixed with water to do your laundry. You can pour vinegar into the mix once the baking soda has gotten around your clothes and made its effect.
Use Vinegar
Use about half the recommended amount of detergent while washing and add ½ to 1 cup of white vinegar to the water during the rinse cycle. The vinegar helps set the colors and removes excess detergent residue.
Wash New Towels First
For the first wash, add half a cup of white vinegar to the wash water, along with about half the recommended amount of laundry detergent. Washing towels with vinegar will help set the colors and remove any residue on the towels.
A. Generally, it is best not to mix the bathroom cleaning cloths with those used to clean food preparation surfaces or dishes. Bathroom cleaning cloths could carry a risk of contamination with fecal, skin-borne or other pathogens.
Put your towels in the washing machine with a cup of white vinegar instead of washing detergent, then wash on a hot cycle. When you hit the rinse cycle, add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda, and run as normal. Remove your towels, and dry thoroughly on the line or in the dryer.
Ultimately, though, when a towel's threads begin to pull—or you notice a lingering odor, despite a careful wash—it's time to toss it; you can expect body and hand towels to last between two to five years depending on their quality. Wash cloths, on the other hand, should be replaced every one or two years, notes Winch.