ProudGrandma Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 We have a small bathroom in our home where my husband and I both shower. When we are done, we hang out towels to dry and the bathroom stinks like a locker room. We run the exhaust fan, and it appears to take the moisture out....the mirror and window aren't fogged up. I am pretty sure the issue is our towels, but since the bathroom is not a master bedroom bathroom, but rather one that others can use, I need to get this situation figured out. The stink doesn't last all day...but much of it. I have toyed with the idea of simply taking our bath towels every day and tossing them in the dryer, but I didn't know if there was any reason that I shouldn't do that. I wash our towels often, but not daily. thoughts please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katy Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Try washing them with oxyclean or bleaching them if they’re white. Run the fan for 30-60 minutes after the shower is over. If that doesn’t work, switch to all white linens, towels, bath mats, and shower curtains and bleach everything when it stinks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Not sure if it would help with the smell, but we’ve found running a little dehumidifier in the bathroom removes an awful lot of moisture from the air. Maybe one would help dry the towels faster and keep the smell from developing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I use oxyclean when I wash my towels. how do you wash yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Lysol laundry sanitizer helps stinky towels. Our bathroom smelled damp once and I got damp rid products and that helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
***** Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 The answer may be in your washer machine. Do you close the doors when not in use, thereby trapping moisture within the door gasket? Mold often grows in there, often leaving the laundry to smell moldy. Running the washer on hot with bleach without clothes (to clean the washer) may help some. Try opening up the gaskets by hand to see if they are moldy inside and see what you can do to clean within that area. If terribly bad, you may need to replace the washer. Google it to see what else can be done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I'd first check that it definitely is the towels. Perhaps shower and have someone bring a towel or robe and dash out so no towel is in the room? It'd be a pain to try solving the towels and then it's something else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 When I said I think it's the towels, I didn't mean the towels are stinky, because that isn't the issue....but rather they are just so wet that it takes a while to dry and so in the process there is moisture in the air that makes everything musty. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 So if you take your towels to dry elsewhere is there still a smell or no? It seems like there is something off in there that gets activated by the moisture. Seems worth figuring out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 I removed the towels yesterday and the smell disappeared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 (edited) 33 minutes ago, kfeusse said: I removed the towels yesterday and the smell disappeared. Can you just hang them somewhere else, that they might dry faster than in the bathroom? Does your bathroom have ventilation in it? Not just the air fan? One of our bathrooms doesn't have a vent for heat/air in it. It also doesn't have a window. I wouldn't hang towels in there. Our other bathroom has an heat/ac vent and a window. We hang towels in there and have no trouble with them drying/smelling in there. Edited April 21, 2023 by mommyoffive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Do you hang them spread out all the way on a separate towel rack for each? Do you keep the bathroom door open (when not in use) so air can circulate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 I keep my towels on the outside of the door to the 1/2 bath that I use when I'm only washing hair. The 1/2 bath is positioned like a guest bath, so there is a lot of air volume for that moisture to dissipate into. (Sorry for the grammar faux pas.) Maybe something like that would work for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuvToRead Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 Do you use fabric softener on your towels? Fabric softener coats towels (and your clothes) and can trap in odor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted April 21, 2023 Author Share Posted April 21, 2023 towels spread out for dying, bathroom door open and no fabric softener. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted April 21, 2023 Share Posted April 21, 2023 You have some good suggestions. I've gotten to the point where I just use some oxiclean in every load because it does great with smells and surprise stains. When we had our bathrooms remodeled in our 1915 home the contractor recommended running the fan for an hour after showering. We had timers put on those switches so when we get in the shower, we just put the timer on for an hour. Just another thought. Also, you may want to check that the exhaust vent is clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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