prevention of stinky kitchen towels needed....please

[ProudGrandma]

I requested new kitchen towels and wash cloths this year for Christmas becasue my other ones (espeically the wash cloths) were so icky and stinky. 

 

I want to prevent that from happening again...so what can I do?  I really would like to avoid harsh chemicals if possible....but if there is NO other way, I will choose harsh chemicals over stinky dish cloths.  thanks.

[Liz CA]

I think I know exactly what you are talking about. I have switched to all cotton flour sack towels and sponges that get replaced frequently. The flour sack towels seem to be fine, even after several uses and washings.

Hope someone has a remedy for this phenomenon.

[PrincessMommy]

Do a vinegar rinse every once in a while.  That should help with the stink.  Vinegar is great.

 

btw - it says "sticky" in the thread title... did you mean "sticky" or "stinky" ??

[zoobie]

Do you have flat or fluffy towels? You may be using too much detergent and it's clinging to the towel fibers. That makes them funky. I use flat ones, wash on hot with an extra rinse, throw in a hefty scoop of Borax which seems to help, and I use much less detergent than recommended.

[VaKim]

I found that I absolutely have to use a bit of bleach in the wash in order to keep our rags and towels from becoming sour. It is not so bad in the winter as in the summer, when it seems they never dry completely between uses. It is bacteria that causes the odor. I haven't found anything that kills it besides bleach.

[Laura Corin]

What do you use your kitchen towels for?  I have kitchen cloths (microfibre cloths that I replace frequently) and a kitchen 'tea' towel.  The latter is only used for wiping clean dishes or clean hands.  I also have oven mitts that do tend to get stinky, even if washed frequently.

 

L

[Pawz4me]

After awhile my dish cloths get stinky.  And I wash them in hot water with bleach every time.  I have some Clorox brand dish cloths that are supposed to be anti-microbial.  They don't seem to develop odor as quickly as other brands.

[magnificent_baby]

I get occasionally stinky towels, IF I don't get them put in the dryer immediately when the wash cycle is done. It seems like if there is any delay at all, they will smell musty when out of the dryer. It's strange because my clothes do not react that way. I also wash them on hot. 

[shukriyya]

I've never had stinky dish towels and like a pp I use the all cotton plain white flour sack variety. Very inexpensive, either 4 or 6 for $10--something like that.

[dbmamaz]

I do vinegar rinses monthly and bleach about twice a year.  and make sure they dont sit balled up getting moldy . . . other-adult-in-house-who-will-not-be-named . .. 

[ProudGrandma]

I thought i had read someplace about soaking or washing dish cloths in water with essential oils...but I don't remember the details...can anybody help me out with that??

[Truscifi]

I add vinegar to the wash with mine, and they are never stinky when they come out.

[bettyandbob]

My kitchen towels were bought in bulk at Costco. We have bigger towels that dry dishes and clean up big messes (spills) and washcloth type for washing the counters and dishes. I have enough that the kitchen towels usually have their own small load in the washing machine weekly. I wash them in hot. Sometimes I add bleach. Usually it's just hot water and detergent. My towels are not pretty, but I don't think I've ever found them to be stinky.

[planner]

I use vinegar every time I wash the kitchen towels.

[regentrude]

I never had stinky kitchen towels.

I hang them so they can dry between uses and wash them when they get soaked or seriously soiled.

Just normal wash in the washing machine.

My towels are 100% cotton and a flat fabric.

[Ellie]

I put out a new dishcloth and a new dishtowel every morning. That's pretty much it. :-)

[Tammyla]

I rinse them, squeeze them out and then let them dry before tossing them into the laundry basket to prevent stink.  The other people in the house tend to leave them wet and toss them in the kitchen towel laundry basket.  If they have a stinky odor, I use vinegar in the wash.

[Pawz4me]

I put out a new dishcloth and a new dishtowel every morning. That's pretty much it. :-)

 

I do that, too.  I"m rather freaky about having clean dish cloths and towels.

 

I let them dry thoroughly before putting them in the hamper.

 

And I wash dish cloths and kitchen towels in a separate load, all by themselves.  With bleach and hot water.

 

But still they get stinky after a few months of use.  I'm talking stinky even right after they've been washed and dried.

 

It may have something to do with the relative humidity in ones area.  Humidity sucks in many ways.  Although it is good for the skin. ;)

[Freckles]

They probably need to be stripped. Detergent builds up and they are no longer absorbent and stay smelly. Dish towels can be stripped just like cloth diapers.  Hot water wash with vinegar and then a hot water wash with borax. You tube is a great resource on stripping your towels.

[Ellie]

I do that, too.  I"m rather freaky about having clean dish cloths and towels.

 

I let them dry thoroughly before putting them in the hamper.

 

And I wash dish cloths and kitchen towels in a separate load, all by themselves.  With bleach and hot water.

 

But still they get stinky after a few months of use.  I'm talking stinky even right after they've been washed and dried.

 

It may have something to do with the relative humidity in ones area.  Humidity sucks in many ways.  Although it is good for the skin. ;)

 

That's so weird. o_0

 

Maybe you need to use a different detergent. I've always used Amway laundry products and have never had problems with stinky anything. Well, nothing stinky that was *clean,* lol.

[jeninok]

I use plain white washcloths and towels in the kitchen and wash them in hot water and vinegar, I bleach them all once a month or so too. If they have a residual smell I soak them in a tub of stronger bleach water in the sink before rinsing and washing. 

 

Switching to the little Tide pods for our laundry has helped with all smells, DS is 12 and his clothes just stink sometimes, even after washing, the Tide pods do a better job with only one vs. having to wash them several times in a less expensive or the Free and clear type detergent. I realized I am actually saving money by using them even though they cost more. 

[Pawz4me]

That's so weird. o_0

 

Maybe you need to use a different detergent. I've always used Amway laundry products and have never had problems with stinky anything. Well, nothing stinky that was *clean,* lol.

 

I doubt it's the detergent.  I've used Gain for years and it handles everything else very well.  Including oldest DS's very stinky running clothes.  Stinky before washing, that is. ;)  They come out smelling fine w/o using vinegar or anything extra.

[Cosmos]

I put out a new dishcloth and a new dishtowel every morning. That's pretty much it. :-)

 

Same here. I can't understand how they would get stinky. Maybe it has to do with climate? I live in the northeast, and it is rarely humid here.

 

ETA: I should have read farther. Pawz4me said exactly the same thing.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

White vinegar in the wash.

[Gentlemommy]

The only thing that I've found that works is to buy white washcloths (8-$3.99 at Target) and use a bit of bleach every time I wash them. Also, I wash a dish towel load every other day, even if it's just a few of them, so that I don't have wet/food mess towels sitting.

[justasque]

No stink here.

I use new cotton dishcloths daily, and sometimes use several in a day.  I wring them out after use and hang in a single layer to dry.  I use cotton teatowels to dry dishes.  We also use cloth napkins, and cloth washcloths, both cotton.  I agree with others that thinner cloths dry quicker, which makes a difference.

They are dry before going into the hamper to wait until I have a full load of linens.  I wash on hot wash/warm rinse, with Tide detergent and no fabric softener.  Now and again I use bleach, but not every time.  I dry in the dryer on low.

In the past, when I had laundry issues that I assumed were detergent-related, it turned out that my washer's water intake valve was faulty (in one case) or the agitator needed a new part (another case).  Because of the washer issue (weak water flow or poor agitation), the detergent wasn't doing a good job of getting the wash load clean.  It wasn't a problem with the detergent itself.

 

 

[kbutton]

We live in an area that has major issues with mold and mildew in the air, so I do still have to bleach once in a while. Sometimes I also do an extra rinse before putting in the detergent and doing a full load.

 

My magic bullet has been to fully wet the dirty kitchen towel or washrag (or scrubby thingy), and stick it in the microwave until it starts to steam (one to two minutes, depending on how much you put in at a time). You might need tongs to take them out. Hang to dry before putting them into the laundry. Biggest breakthrough ever in our house, and I've tweaked all my laundry over the years since using cloth diapers (and stripping them, reducing the amount of detergent, using vinegar, etc.--BTDT with all of the suggestions).

[The Governess]

I soak my kitchen towels overnight in oxyclean and then wash on hot. Keeps them from stinking. :)

[Desert Strawberry]

I use homemade detergent, change every time they get wet,  move them quickly from washer to dryer, and otherwise abuse the heck out of them. I use all different kinds, put them in the hamper wet, and live in a humid, mildewy, moldy place with brown tap water.

The only thing that has ever stunk is the diapers. I strip those once a year. 

We are a cloth-only home. I have a million towels. They take a lot of abuse. But they don't stink.

[KungFuPanda]

I've never had stinky towels and I live in a very humid area. I just toss them in the wash with the regular towels. If they start to look dingy, I might bleach them with the whites with hot water. If I did have to combat odor, I'd probably leave the lid open (or stop the cycle . . . I have a top loader) and let them soak in some vinegar or ammonia for a while before washing them. I use dish towels until they disintegrate. Some of mine are 15 years old, but they get clean even in homemade detergent.

[StephanieZ]

My kitchen towels do not get stinky. I think the key for me is that I have about 25-30 in current rotation. I probably go through them all twice a week. They are really just used once or twice before getting tossed into the wash. I think the very frequent washing keeps them clean and stink-free. 

 

I buy 20-25 or so new ones every 2-3 years (cheap, at Sam's usually in 8 packs) when the current batch gets frayed. Then the old ones get turned into "kitchen rags" which go in a separate stack in the kitchen. I use those ones for nasty jobs, cleaning with chemicals, general rag-worthy-cleaning, etc. Whenever I buy new ones, I make sure they look quite different (color, etc) from the old batch, so it is impossible to mix up the "kitchen towels" vs the "kitchen rags". 

 

HTH

 

 

[Jackie]

The only thing that works for me is a small amount of bleach every. single. time. I wash them. I've done the system of replacing every day after they've dried. I've used different detergents. I've tried vinegar. We use cloth for nearly everything, a roll of paper towels lasts 3+ months, and bleach has been the winner here. The good part is that I can be totally lazy when using bleach - throw the towels into the hamper dirty and wet, wash them once a week, and be done.

 

Just letting you know you're not alone if these things don't work for you.

[mamaraby]

They probably need to be stripped. Detergent builds up and they are no longer absorbent and stay smelly. Dish towels can be stripped just like cloth diapers. Hot water wash with vinegar and then a hot water wash with borax. You tube is a great resource on stripping your towels.

This. You can also strip them with hydrogen peroxide - hot water, one big brown bottle from Target in the water, let it sit, and run it through the cycle without detergent.

 

Switching detergents also seems to help - like on a rotation.

 

Another potential concern is the washing machine itself - even top loaders can harbor the ickies so strip your washer of its build up. Same process as the towels or with vinegar and baking soda plus running in extra water to get up above the splash line. It's a bit more complicated to do in a front loader, but it can be done.

[Ausmumof3]

I haven't run into stinky tea towels yet, I wonder if it's because I line dry and sunlight is good for killing bacteria?

[Ellie]

I haven't run into stinky tea towels yet, I wonder if it's because I line dry and sunlight is good for killing bacteria?

 

I'm sure line-drying and sunlight are good for killing bacteria :-) but I don't line-dry and haven't had problems with smelly kitchen towels (or any other smelly towels), so there must be more to it than that. :-)

[SwallowTail]

We go through about 15 dish towels a day, as we must be a very wet family.  I cannot wash dish towels daily, so they sit in a bucket int he laundry room accumulating for a few days.  Yep, they often stink.  I should maybe fill the bucket w/ peroxide solution.  Hmmm.