For the past six months or so I have been noticing that my washcloths SMELL *very* bad. The ONLY time they get used is during my six year old's shower. She holds it over her eyes when I rinse her hair, and then I rinse it out with clear water and wash her face with it. It then gets put on a towel rack to dry, and when dry it goes down the laundry chute for washing. There is no reason for it to start to smell!! It smells sour...and I don't understand it because it gets spread out, not crumpled, and draped over the towel bar! So WHY would it smell sour?? Sometimes even AFTER it comes out of the laundry the sour smell still lingers! And now my hand towels have begun to do it, too. The difference between them is that the hand towels never get truly soaked and wrung out, they just get clean hands dried on them and it remains hanging on a towel rack for a few days, being used maybe three times in a row in the morning, maybe once in the afternoon, and maybe three times again in the evening. Plenty of time for a towel that never gets truly wet, to dry in between.

So can you figure out WHY this is happening? If the towel has started smelling and I haven't noticed it yet, and I dry my hands on it then my hands smell like it, too. It comes off that easily onto my skin! This does not happen in the master bathroom or powder room, JUST the main bathroom. This same bathroom has a liquid soap dispenser and no matter how many dispensers I try, the soap becomes super thin, instead of thick like when it gets poured out of the refill container. The refill container is not stored in the bathroom.

So I guess I am kind of answering my question here....obviously something about the humidity or venting of that bathroom is souring the washcloths/towels, and altering the chemical properties in the soap. BUT, the washcloths get TOTALLY DRY hanging there, as do the towels. They do NOT remain wet and icky! AND the bath towels we use that hang on the same rack as the washcloths do NOT get smelly. What gives?? Help!!!! I've already thrown two washcloths away as I was so frustrated, and I have two more headed to the trash today! Since the laundry can't cure them, no point in keeping them!

By Janet on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 11:57 am:

Funny... I have that problem with my dishcloths in the kitchen, but nowhere else. It doesn't seem to matter how much I use them or where I hang them to dry (usually over the faucet or over the edge of the dish rack), sometimes (not always) they just go sour, to the point of me throwing them away. Laundering won't get rid of the smell and yes, it comes off on my hands and I have trouble getting my hands to not smell. Bizarre, isn't it? I figure it's just some kind of bacteria.

By Annie2 on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 12:05 pm:

Try washing them with added bleach. This helps for stinky towels at our house after the kids forget to hang them up to dry out.

By Karen~admin on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 12:27 pm:

They'll get a sour smell if they aren't completely dry, through and through, before you fold them and put them away.

Barring that, if they aren't dark colors, I'd add bleach to the wash, or maybe some vinegar.

By Cocoabutter on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 02:16 pm:

From Hints from Heloise:

Laundry Has a Sour Odor?

The sour smell can occur if you overstuff the washing machine or dryer because the clothes may not have enough room to wash completely or dry totally. To get eliminate it, use washing soda (found at supermarkets), which can neutralize and eliminate this kind of smell.

By Bobbie~moderatr on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 02:29 pm:

The vinegar in the wash (1/2 cup per load) removes the residues and odor. The vinegar smell doesn't remian on the clothing. You can mix up the 1/2 cup into a bucket of water and allow them to soak over night then add the mix into the washer.

Could be too much sulfur in the water. OR it could be the soaps you are using in the tub or/and at the sink, dove for example is known to leave a residue in the towels even when well rinsed. Or if the room doesn't have windows and stays dark it will foster moldish issues even in a drying towel.

By Marcia on Thursday, September 20, 2007 - 10:11 pm:

I use bleach with most of my cloths and towels, and vinegar with the ones I can't soak in bleach. Both work well.

By Tink on Friday, September 21, 2007 - 11:16 pm:

You might try dumping a cup of baking soda in the washer with the washclothes to see if it gets rid of the odor. I do that with my dh's socks every once in a while and it really helps.

By Hol on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 07:06 pm:

Borax also works well, added to the wash load with detergent. Maybe OxyClean, too? I have well water and and if I don't get the clothes out of the washer within a few hours after the wash cycle stops, I get that sour smell. Borax prevents it.

By Kathy on Monday, September 24, 2007 - 09:31 pm:

I saw a commercial for a new Febreze product that you put in the wash with your regular detergent. I haven't looked for it yet though.

By Southlander on Saturday, November 8, 2008 - 10:53 am:

Use granulated (or powder) detergent. I tried Borax, vinegar, baking soda, boiling, putting them in the sun. On another board, someone suggested using POWDERED or granulated detergent - the old fashioned kind. IT WORKED. I have a 15-year-old top loader.