How to Prevent and Remove Musty Smell from Towels

One of the great little moments of routine is enjoying a nice shower or bath, whether in the morning or after a long day. But something that can literally ruin this experience is that when you dry yourself with the towel, an unpleasant, sour, musty aroma suddenly enters your nose like a slap.

You may have forgotten to wash the towel, it may have gotten wet in the bathroom, or it may not have dried properly due to the cold and rain. Whatever the reason, the result is the same: a foul odor that makes you smell dirty again.

There are even times when the stench appears even after being washed, something experienced by those who live in coastal towns or where it rains constantly. Because when a towel can’t dry completely, moisture gets trapped in the material and that horrible smell spreads. The worst part is that the thicker and fluffier the bath towel is, i.e. the nicer it is, the longer it will take to dry and the more likely it will retain moisture.

According to the specialized site Spruce , The musty smell from the towel has the same origin as that of mops or cleaning sponges that do not dry completely with use: fungi and bacteria. It is in humidity and with lower temperatures that these micro-organisms can reproduce more easily.

It is therefore important to hang towels immediately after use and correctly, tightly stretched and in a ventilated area, and never store them damp or leave them lying around behind the door. Otherwise, air will not be able to circulate through the fibers of the towel and remove moisture.

Another factor that can cause your towel to smell bad is residue buildup. No, not necessarily body products, but also products like creams, lotions, shampoos or oils that can leave residue on the fibers of the towel. This concentration in the textile, added to humidity and poor ventilation, can contribute to the appearance of bad odors.

Hanging it or storing it in damp, poorly ventilated environments will help this stench multiply. This is why it is not recommended to store towels in the bathroom, especially those without a window, but hopefully in a closet or outdoor cabinet.

Another cause of bad smell in towels is improper washing. And it can come from both extremes: either because you’re not washing them often enough or because you’re using too many detergents. When you overuse it with cleaning products, the fabric makes it fresh and causes the towel to lose its ability to dry, resulting in a foul odor.

• Isolate smelly towels: Once you’ve identified a smelly towel, the first thing to do is separate it. The stench, caused by microorganisms, is contagious, so if you wash towels or clothes that don’t smell bad with others that smell bad, they can transfer their stench and multiply the problem.
• Wash with distilled white vinegar: This dressing is not only useful for a salad, but also for many cleaning tips. Its natural acidity transforms it into a powerful neutralizing agent that is both safe and very economical. If the odor is light, wash the towels on the regular washing machine cycle, preferably with lukewarm water, and add a cup of white vinegar to the final rinse. Now, if the stench is almost radioactive, it’s best to soak them in warm water and a cup of vinegar for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if they are unbearable, then toss them in the washing machine . If they are also dirty, you can also add a little detergent (but half as much as usual).
• And add baking soda: It is another great ally that the kitchen offers us: in addition to lifting your dough or improving digestion, baking soda also works as an excellent cleanser. For these purposes, however, it is best to ensure that it is a baking soda used exclusively for cleaning. One of the most used brands on TikTok is Arm and hammer, product that promises to eliminate dirt and bad odors on multiple surfaces, such as refrigerators, ovens and microwaves. It also helps remove stains from carpets, cushions and other surfaces. To wash the towels, simply add half a cup of this product and choose your cycle as usual. “Baking soda alone should do the trick,” they note in Spruce .

• Dryer balls: If you have a dryer, you shouldn’t have to suffer from wet towels. But a popular tip for getting fluffy towels is to use new or very clean tennis balls or wool balls. In another article From the same specialized media they indicate that “they absorb the heat of the dryer and the humidity of the washed clothes, which helps to separate the clothes better and faster”. “This allows for better circulation of hot air.”

• Look at the environment: It is likely that the bad smell can be transmitted from one place to another, such as in the dirty laundry basket. A beginner’s mistake is leaving the smelly towel next to your other clothes, which can cause the stench to transfer to all of your clothes. Ideally, towels have their own basket, especially if you play sports or exercise and carry your towels from bag to bag.
• Prefer towel racks: If you have space, it is better to have a towel rack in the bathroom than a hook, since the bars allow air to circulate between the textile fabrics. The hooks, on the other hand, prevent the towel from staying taut, allowing moisture to build up more easily.

• Hang it correctly: If you have already finished drying your body, you must immediately hang the towel correctly. The idea is to let it hang horizontally from the middle, so that air can circulate easily through the textile. Didn’t you wash your hair? Even if it is not very humid, it is still important to dry it in the open air, away from humidity, to avoid these unpleasant odors.
• Store it, but only when it is dry: As we have already said, it is humidity that causes bad odors. If you fold them and put them away while they’re not yet dry, the fungus and bacteria will thank you and have a huge orgy on your towel.
• Avoid humidity in your bathroom: If you don’t have a window, try installing an exhaust fan or make sure it’s working properly, as these devices help air escape quickly, removing steam and restoring dryness.
• Invest in a towel dryer: This is a more expensive but very effective solution, especially if you have humidity problems in your bathroom. Your towels will stay dry and you will avoid the appearance of unpleasant moisture drops and mold on the ceiling. Another positive aspect is that it will keep your bathroom warm, as well as your towels before using them, which comes in handy in winter.
• Sun drying: Every time the sun’s rays appear, take the opportunity to dry your towels. Their exposure will help eliminate bad odors, as microorganisms generally do not tolerate them well.
• Avoid excess detergent: The vast majority of detergents you find in supermarkets are very effective and concentrated, so you only need a small measure depending on the amount of clothes you are washing. What you need to do is read the label indicating the recommended amount of detergent based on the load. When you add too much, the detergent builds up in the washing machine itself, so in addition to blocking certain ducts, it can transfer to the textiles and this can cause a bad smell.
• Is it difficult for you to calculate? Try using detergent in units such as pod capsules or those in sheets, which are even more economical and effective. This way you are sure to add the right amount of detergent to the washing machine depending on the load.

• Rinsing in washing machine: Even though the washing machine is the appliance that does the laundry, it also needs to be washed. Yes, you read correctly. “It would make no sense to introduce dirty clothes and accessories to be washed if the drum, ducts and filters of the washing machine contain residue and mold,” explained Pamela Castro, LG Electronics specialist in a previous article, while Samsung’s Felipe Inostroza, in a post on how to get the most out of your washing machine, explained that these cleaning cycles (or drum wash) they are used to “eliminate mold, bacteria, detergent residue and dirt build-up. The ideal is to do them every 20 washes. If it is difficult for you to maintain the account, we suggest you put a published on next to the washing machine for each wash: when you have finished twenty, it is time to clean the drum.
• Check the material of the towel: Fabrics that dry more slowly are more likely to become moldy over time; which guarantees the brand Parachute . His suggestion to avoid this problem in the long run is to favor towels like Turkish cotton, waffle towels, organic cotton or ribbed ones.
• Do not leave wet clothes in the drum for a long time : It’s a known fact, but no less important: leaving wet clothes in the washing machine will cause mold to build up in the drum, which can transfer to the fabrics. For the same reason: every time you start washing, you or someone else should be present so that as soon as the washing is finished, you can go out and put the towels away.

When drying, we not only remove moisture from our bodies, but we also remove invisible elements like dead skin cells, bacteria and even sweat, which can quickly build up on towels. As a general rule, and if you shower daily, in a publication of Wire cutter They suggest using a clean towel every three days. If it’s the sports towel, instead of the New York Times They recommend only using it once and then washing it, due to the amount of sweat and excess moisture when carrying it in a bag.

*Product prices in this article are current as of June 11, 2024. Values ​​and availability are subject to change.