How do you wash towels to keep them smelling fresh? Put your towels in the washing machine with a cup of white vinegar instead of washing detergent, then wash on a hot cycle.
Add two cups of distilled white vinegar and add the towels. Do not add detergent or anything else, just the vinegar and towels. Run the wash cycle. When the cycle is complete, leave the towels in the washer and repeat, only this time, use one cup of baking soda and nothing else (use the hottest water setting again).
Hot water wash for towels, and use something like Tide Free or one of the baking soda ones. Hot will kill the stinky bacterias.
``Wash your towels in hot water with a cup of vinegar, and then run again in hot water with a half-cup of baking soda. That will strip your towels from all of that residue and mildew smell and will actually leave them feeling fluffy and smelling fresh.''
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.
The short answer is no. And the long answer goes like this: When used together, baking soda and vinegar will neutralize each other, effectively canceling out the benefits of low pH for vinegar and high pH for baking soda.
Washing at 40 degrees will ensure your towels stay feeling and looking their best for longer, whilst removing most of the germs that breed there. For those using a washer extractor or continuous batch washer, it's important to wash in hot water with detergent before use.
Using vinegar undiluted in your washing machine can potentially cause damage to the appliance. The acidity of vinegar can lead to corrosion and harm the rubber parts of the machine, which may result in leaks.
Wash With Hot Water When You Can
Although there are several fabrics that fare better in cold water washes, you can sort your items by fabric type and care instructions, allowing you to wash items like underwear and undershirts in hot to eliminate odors and stains.
Use a laundry detergent formulated to remove musty odors, such as ARM & HAMMER™ plus OxiClean™ Odor Blasters Fresh Burst.™ Use the correct amount and type of detergent for your machine. Adjust your detergent amount for heavily soiled towels or if you have hard water.
Using vinegar in laundry is simple. You can add it to the fabric softener dispenser in your washing machine or pour it in during the final rinse cycle. When adding vinegar towards the end of the cycle, manually pause your machine right before the final rinse cycle and add a 1/2 cup of diluted white vinegar to the load.
Subtle fragrance enhancements: Some hotels add subtle fragrance enhancements to elevate the pleasant scent of their towels. For example, they may use scented sachets or keep natural essential oils like lavender or eucalyptus in their storage area.
Place the towels in the washing machine and run a cycle using white vinegar instead of detergent. Due to its acidic nature, vinegar helps remove mildew or bacteria that may have accumulated on the fabric.
Wash in hot water
Extra hot water, like that used in a Sanitize cycle, can help eliminate odor-causing bacteria and germs, especially for fabrics that can handle higher temperatures.
Adding vinegar directly to the wash with your laundry detergent may compromise its cleaning performance. Laundry detergents are formulated for specific pH levels, which may be disrupted by the acidity of vinegar, leading to less effective cleaning. It's best to avoid mixing them to ensure optimal results.
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.
Washing Machines
Vinegar is sometimes used as a fabric softener or for getting rid of stains and odors in laundry. But as with dishwashers, it can damage the rubber seals and hoses in some washing machines to the point of causing leaks.
The bulky wash cycle is an ideal washing machine setting for large items such as blankets, comforters, towels, outerwear, small rugs, and pillows.
The most suitable program depends on the fabric of your towels. Most towels are made of cotton, so use the cotton program* and set the wash temperature to at least 40 degrees: 60° is ideal for white towels. 40° is best for darker towels, to prevent them from fading.
Baking Soda and Vinegar Deep Clean
But, in this method, you load the towels with a quarter cup of baking soda first. Then run the washing machine on the hottest cycle possible. Heat is known to kill bad bacteria, so the hot-water wash with the baking soda is sort of like a deep clean on its own.