Sour smelling towels are something that we have all unfortunately had to deal with before. The reasons for sour-smelling towels vary, whether your eight-year-old son insists on throwing his wet towels under his bed, or you have forgotten about that load of towels in the washer, it’s happened to us all at one point or another. The question is once you have sour smelling towels how do you get rid of the smell?
White Vinegar
I am beginning to think there isn’t anything that white vinegar can’t do. You can rewash the sour smelling towels, and add white vinegar to your fabric softener ball. If you do not have a fabric softener ball you can add the white vinegar directly into the washing machine on its last cycle.
Pinesol
Another thing that works great for removing the sour smell from towels is Pinesol. I don’t know who figured it out, or how they figured it out but it really works well for removing the smell from towels. When washing the towels just add ¼ cup of Pinesol into the washing machine when adding your laundry detergent. While any scent of Pinesol will work, the lemon-scented one actually smells the best.
Borax
Borax is another one of those all natural ingredients that work great for just about anything, and there is no exception when it comes to removing the sour smell from your towels. When washing your towels just add ½ cup of Borax into the washing machine when adding your laundry detergent.
Use a Good Liquid Fabric Softener
Using a good liquid fabric softener when washing sour smelling towels will also help. The cheaper fabric softeners don’t always have the same power as the more expensive ones, so be sure to stick with a name brand like Downy, Bounce, or Snuggle.
Check Out Your Washing Machine
If you have tried and tried to get the sour smell out of your towels but just can’t get rid of the smell or are even noticing the smell on your other clothes you might want to check out your washing machine. A sour smelling washing machine can lead to sour smelling laundry. There are a couple of ways you can clean your washing machine, you can run an empty washing machine set on full load with hot water, and add in 2 cups of bleach. Or you can un an empty washing machine set on full load with hot water, and in 2 cups of white vinegar. No matter which way you chose be sure to run your washing machine a second time to rinse out the vinegar or bleach before washing your clothes in it.