Try this all-natural alternative in this tutorial on how to get fresh smelling towels. Hard water and fragrances can make your towels smell like mildew.
Fresh, clean laundry is one of my all-time favorite things. Especially fresh-smelling towels.
However, clean towels aren’t always fresh-smelling towels. What, you ask? If towels are clean they should smell clean, right? Actually, no. It’s not always true.
Lately, I’ve noticed that my clean towels don’t smell clean. They have a bad, mildew smell…right out of the dryer.
The culprits? Fabric detergent and fabric softener. Fabric softener leaves a residue on towels that actually reduces their water absorbancy.
When you go to wash them, the detergent cannot properly clean them because of the residue of the fabric softener. This build up is what makes towels, even freshly washed ones, smell like mildew.
Also, not properly hanging towels will lead to this problem. If towels are left in a heap on the floor, you’ll have mold and mildew bacteria multiplying. Gross, right?
Before moving to the South I didn’t have this problem as the water wasn’t as hard as it is here. We have lots of minerals in our water, and it builds up in the thicker fabric of towels. Combined with the fragrances of detergents and fabric softeners, that build-up eventually takes a toll on those linens and you end up with foul-smelling, clean towels straight out of the dryer.
How to Get Fresh-Smelling Towels
After working wonders on set-in oil stains, I decided to try baking soda for our towels.
What You’ll Need
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
- hot water
Directions
Note: this is the method I use on my HE washer, so it should be safe for yours as well!
In place of laundry detergent, use baking soda to wash the towels. I usually sprinkle it right in the drum of my front-loader before adding the towels.
(Sometimes I use the detergent dispenser, but since I have to remove a piece when using powder detergent, I usually opt to just put it directly in the tub.) If you have a top-loading washer, you can add the baking soda before the washer fills with water.
If the thought of skipping laundry detergent makes you uneasy, I recommend this laundry detergent that’s free of dyes, fragrances, or other filler ingredients that can lead to the mildew smell.
Other safer laundry detergents you can add to the baking soda are shoppable below.
Start the load using HOT water. The next step sounds strange but it works!
When it comes time for the rinse cycle, use white distilled vinegar instead of fabric softener.
After the rinse cycle finishes, put the freshly washed towels into the dryer. Out come clean and fresh towels without any hints of vinegar.
How this method works
Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) dissolves dirt and grease while neutralizing odor. Vinegar breaks up mineral deposits in water and it acts as a fabric softener.
This is why you don’t need to add a fabric softener. Fabric softeners make water “slippery” so that those same minerals don’t remain in the fabric.
Your towels will definitely smell clean, but they won’t have the smelly residues that the fragrances of the detergents, fabric softener and hard-water create.
This method also works for those towels that have been stored in a linen closet for a long time. I have been using this method for over three years now and it never fails.
Had I not experimented with baking soda and vinegar for a “no-poo” experiment I wouldn’t have believed that vinegar conditions, but it actually does! Just like my hair, the towels don’t come out with any smell of vinegar.
Because I love the smell of Downey fabric softener and my Tide detergent, I only do this every few weeks, or as soon as the towels get that funky smell.
Try it. It works. I promise.
Would you try this all-natural method to cleaning towels?
Katie says
YES! I did this a few weeks ago! It totally works to recharge them! And it is so cost effective!
Celeste siegmund says
Wyes! It just plain works!!
jackie says
i’ll have to try this! it’s amazing how vinegar can make things so fresh – I use it a lot for cleaning and deodorizing things around the house.
Destiny says
I use baking soda for so many things around the house. It’s amazing what it can do to clean just about anything! I’ve never tried it with towels though, guess it’s time to try it!
Michael says
I can see that working. That’s how I clean the sinks. Baking soda is a great freshener and the two together are a great cleaner.
Lisa @ Sorority Life to Army Wife says
Also, don’t wash your towels with fabric softener. If you have decent towels, they won’t be scratchy. The fabric softener makes them less absorbent.
Shana says
When I read the title of this I immediately thought vinegar! I use borax instead of baking soda but always keep vinegar in my wash room! Sometimes it rains for days here and I can’t hang washing! So I rinse in vinegar to keep that fresh smell before putting it in the dryer!
Jill says
Is this safe to use in High Efficiency Appliances?
Lisette says
Thanks for your question, Jill! I have a top-loading machine so I haven’t had to worry about high-efficiency machines. Since those use much less water, I would limit the baking soda to about 2 to 3 tablespoons at a maximum. You can use the same amount of vinegar as you would fabric softener.
Elke says
Will the baking soda/vinegar combination make a mess in my washer (i.e. excessiving foaming) if I have a front loading machine that has the softener and washing detergent (vinegar and baking soda) in a drawer that you pull out? I don’t know at what time it will release the vinegar, and I’m worried that it will foam excessively in my drum.
Elaine says
For a front loader, I would add the baking soda to the drum itself, not the drawer. The vinegar can go into the drawer. I’ve done this for years with my front loader. Hope this helped.
Tammy says
There will be no foaming mess at all.
Emmers says
This might seem silly, but can I just put the vinegar in where the liquid fabric softener would go? And not worry about wondering when it’s on the rinse cycle?
Erica says
I am wondering the same thing.
Chasity says
I am wondering the same thing…. Does anyone know?
Donna says
For Emmers, Erica, and Chasity;
Putting vinegar in your fabric softener dispenser will work just fine. I use vinegar instead of commercial fabric softeners because I can’t stand the heavy perfumes in those. I put the vinegar directly into the fabric softener dispenser — I’ve done this for at least 5 years.
I’ve never had an issue with foaming — frankly, the foam would only be an issue if one was to pour the vinegar directly onto the baking soda, and even so, at the quantities which Lisette recommends, the volume of foam would be quite insufficient to overwhelm a washing machine. (Her blog post says 1/4 of a small box of baking soda and vinegar to fill the fabric softener dispenser.) Also, in the presence of water, the reaction is substantially diluted — so you’re not going to get foam in your washing machine like a baking soda volcano.
If one is really concerned, do this in your kitchen sink; plug the drain, pour in 1/4 of a small box of baking soda (my guess approx a half-cup) and then pour in the same amount of vinegar as you would use for fabric softener. It will foam up quickly and die down quickly. The reaction expends itself so fast that it won’t overwhelm even a HE washer. You’ll be able to judge for yourself whether you feel comfortable or not.
Hope this helps someone!
Lynn says
I actually use straight vinegar in the fabric softener compartment to de-funk my HE machine (our washer and dryer sat unused for a month before we took ownership of our house. The washer smelled like mildew, but not any more!).
patty says
the vinegar actually stops build up of detergents in the pipes A washing machine mechanic told me this
jessica says
Can I wash them with this method and then rewash using my good smelling detergent or is it really not necessary? Thanks
Haha I guess I should just try it and find out huh?
Allison says
I only use about 2 tablespoons of detergent on every load of laundry and then maybe a 1/4 cup vinegar split between in the detergent and fabric softener spot. No baking powder. Everything always smells clean and comes clean.
Moira says
I add about 4-6 drops of lavendar oil with the vinegar to the fabric softner dispenser at the beginning of the wash cycle so I don’t forget to put them in.
Angelique Meyer says
Is the lavender scent present after drying? I love lavender, but EOs are so expensive, I hesitate to use them! Also, it may have been covered in this post and I missed it, but do you still use laundry detergent or JUST baking soda and vinegar??
Dani says
You can use wool dryer balls, and put a couple drops of EO on each ball. I ordered my EO from LaundryTree, and each bottle was $5 or so. One bottle lasted me a few months, and you only have to refresh the scent on the balls as often as you need. I have a friend who did hers once a month, I’m once every few days.
Rebecca Taylor says
would this work on other linens like maybe window curtains in your living room?
Sandra says
love this post looking forward to giving it a go. Do all the towels still come out soft from the washing machine?
Pam says
I love using vinegar especially for towels but have one problem with it… on my color towels, it bleeds color from the towel is certain areas….like it got bleach on it. Has anyone else had this problem?
Susanna says
I use vinegar in every laundry load I do. Didn’t realize though that I could put it in the rinse cycle. I have never had bleached towels. What kind of machine are you using? How are you adding the vinegar to the load?
Paula says
I use vinegar in my downy ball for each load of laundry. This keeps away static cling, even in the winter time. Dryer sheets are not great to use all the time bc of the residu they can leave on your skin, and esp. not good for baby’s skin. I like vinegar bc its more natural and dryer sheets are expensive.
Kelly L says
If I use the hot wash cycle I”m pretty sure this would double as a cleaning for my washer!! I’m obsessed with baking soda these days!
Only I believe that it will strip your hair doing the “no poo”.
John W says
I tried this today and I did not notice a fresh scent but I also did not notice the wet mold/stale smell either. I’ll check a see what happens. I further. lightly sprayed fabreeze on my undershirts.
Jim says
Just my two (or three) cents from a clean-laundry obsessed individual:
1. I totally agree with the amazing awesomeness of rinsinsing towels with white vinegar instead of fabric softener.
What vinegar does in the rinse is neutralize and remove any leftover detergent. It also helps to dissolve and remove
built-up hard water deposits in the fibers. This leaves towels fluffier and more water absorbant — which is a very good
thing.
I strongly dislike (it’s not polite to say “hate”) fabric softener on towels. What fabric softener does is coat the fibers,
leaving them with a smooth and “glidy” skin feel. Although it may feel nice, this coating actually makes towels LESS
absorbant — and it tends to build up over time. It also causes the fibers (or nap) to lie down — making them LESS fluffy.
Call me crazy, but I want my towels to be fluffy and absorb water.
2. Chemically speaking, almost all commercial laundry detergent is alkaline (that is, basic, or high pH). Why? Because it
cleans body oils and oily stains more effectively, among other things.
There are similarities to making natural, handmade soap (which I also do) going on here. In making natural soap, lye
(sodium hydroxide) which is highly alkaline is mixed with oils. This causes a reaction which results in a 100% totally safe
product we call soap.
CAUTION: LYE IS A VERY CAUSTIC AND POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS THING IF HANDLED INCORRECTLY! DO NOT ADD
LYE TO YOUR LAUNDRY!
3. I often read about people suggesting to add vinegar with detergent in the wash cycle . . . NO! NO! NO! Vinegar is
an acid, and detergent is a base. When you add an acid to a base, they NEUTRALIZE each other. If you add vinegar
to the detergent, you are actually making your detergent LESS effective — making it not clean as well! BELIEVING it is
working better does not make it true.
The same goes for any suggestions dealing with adding vinegar to baking soda as a cleaning paste or solution. Baking
soda is a base, so adding vinegar causes a neutralizing reaction resulting in a fizzy foam of carbon dioxide, water, and
any leftover unreacted baking soda. If you end up with a slurry or paste after this fizzy reaction has occurred, it is simply
because you had added more baking soda than the vinegar could neutralize — leaving you with a paste of baking
soda and water.
So if you continue to make this “cleaning” paste, you might as well save some time by just mixing baking soda and
water without the vinegar from the start.
Stay clean my friends!
Jim
Amy says
you can also add a few drops of essential oil such as ylang ylang, orange-.or watever fragrance you love -toghether with the vinegar. It will make your towels, linen or clothes smell fantastic in a natural way.
deborah harpold says
Odoban, which is found at Sam’s and Home Depot, I have found to be useful in the rinse laundry cycle of towels and soiled clothes…It is also a great cleaning product for floors, and a great disinfectant…
Trish says
I have started using vinegar as the rinse aid instead of fabric softener; I pour about a cup of white vinegar in the receptacle in my washer normally for fabric softener. The towels come out of the dryer soft, and oh so sweet smelling, as if they were line dried!
Jessica says
I’m a bit confused about adding the vinegar to the rinse cycle. Does this mean that I do a full wash cycle as normal, with hot water & baking soda, then when it’s completed, start a rinse only cycle with the vinegar?
Thanks!
Gina says
Soak your towels in about a half a cup of vinegar and a sink full of water. It should be cool water. That will lock in the color of the fabric and it will be colorfast for good. I do that to anything that I don’t want to fade. I hope that helps.
Nancy says
You speak about a lot of towels but do you use this for other types of clothing sportswear casualwear
Aviary says
YES i only use vinegar as FS and also make my laundry powder. I started cleaning this way to cut the harsh chemicals our of our home when I had my daughter who got eczema. Which started a whole new craze for me but not a chore was more like a loved hobby. The more i learned the more i wanted to do my own of everything. My washing machine after 1 year told me it was time for a service. Would pop up with message on display screen. Out came mr Fisher n pykle to do the service and by the look on his face after coming out I thought he was to tell me it needed something expensive and was secretly mad at myself for falling for the first service free deal I got. Instead he asked if I used my machine or was I hiding from my hubby I was paying for someone else to collect our laundry and do it because with 4 lil kids aged 7 to new born a tradies clothes and mine it still looks new in the parts you wouldn’t know or usually see like under the agitator and filter part etc.. I told him i do at least 2 loads a day pretty much every day of the week sometimes more..linen weekly towels every 4 days and used the old fashioned type white cloth nappies for the baby. He asked if I’d taken the agitator recently to clean under and up that which I hadn’t yet but something I used to do often on machine be before this one and not using home made powder and vinegar.. At times I’d notice sort if black stringy slimy stuff on finished load which I knew meant under the agitator and fabric softener part had a build-up of black gunk..Would be covered and it’s all the oils and muck off clothes and also from using fabric softener and the fillers used and put in store brought powder.that end up sticking and that build up if not kept on top of will have your clothes coming our dirtier than when they went in. If you are unaware of this which many people are over time it’s the reason your machine starts having issues and breaks down or leaks or rubber and silicon parts erode and break down. Bleach users for soaking in the drum ..don’t use a bucket in your laundry trough…any who it finally occurred to me to tell him what I now use for cleaning and he told me that what I do and know is a washing machine repairs man living at risk. He said no repair man will ever tell a client this but the stuff we are sold and use is what causes machines to break down. At the most they might if lucky advise you to only use half the dose recommend on package. I thought I was just helping our family cut out the chemicals erywhere I possibly could detox our home of them for our health but added bonus I was also helping and saving our appliances life span with these simple changes. Fabiric softener especially he said are the cause of most issues for washing machines they will fix it by cleaning the right places to stop the black slime issue but build up again and guess who gets a call back. Most people believe it’s mechanical thing and it’s grease coming from the actual machine.. I also add a few drops of my favorite essential oil for a nice smell but for sports clothes hubby work gear linen and towels a good wash in cold water is efficient and to get my towels to fluff up always line dry sun also kills germs byt beofre pegging i hold towels at top corner in each hand and give them a good swift flick shake…losens the fibres up that are scrunched tight from being wet and spun…don’t dry in direct hot sun that will crisp them up too. Fluffy fresh delicious smelling washing….better for you better for your machine and not to forget so much cheaper.