Transitioning To A Toxic Free Home
Over the past year, I have put a HUGE focus on living a toxic-free life! Wow, who knew there were so many toxins out there!
I’ve even written a book about the topic, and I just can’t wait to tell you about it!
Have you seen my book Natural Solutions for Cleaning & Wellness — Health Remedies & Green Cleaning Solutions Without Toxins or Chemicals? This practical guide gives you in-depth solutions on how to protect yourself and your loved ones for generations to come.
I’m going to dive into this book in just a moment, but first, let’s dive into getting rid of those smelly towels, shall we?
Someone Please Help Me Get Rid of These Sour Towels!
Okay, so this has been a HUGE problem in my household. A bit embarrassing yes, but we have STINKY TOWELS!!
Alright, who is with me here? There is nothing more frustrating than to get out of the bath feeling fresh only to dry off with a towel that stinks and sticks with you for hours.
So as always I set out to find a solution to my problem. I mean last year I discovered how to get rid of a bad smelling high-efficiency washer machine forever, and I still use that tip to this day!
My Attempts To Get Rid of Sour Towels
So the experimenting began. Last week I began to test and let me tell you…if there was a camera in my laundry room, you would all be getting a laugh right now.
Let me start by saying that my first instinct was to add vinegar. Vinegar kills odors in washer machines and I am sure they could help freshen my towels.
- Round 1: So the first load I used vinegar on a hot cycle. Bing….laundry done, opened my front loader and whoa…still smells! I didn’t even have to get them out.
- Round 2: Next I decided to add vinegar, baking soda, and a little laundry soap. HUGE mistake! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!! Oh my gosh you guys…I felt like I just watched an episode of the Brady Bunch…remember when Bobby put too much detergent in the washer machine and there were bubbles everywhere? Yep, that was my laundry room…so not a good idea! So now you know, combining baking soda and vinegar has the same chemical reaction as it does in baking. It fizzes up and makes a huge mess. Alright, scratch that idea!
- Round 3: Finally I decided to scratch everything BUT the baking soda! No soap, no vinegar, just plain baking soda and guess what…IT WORKED!!!
So here is what you need to do!
How To Get Rid of Sour Towels The Toxic Free Way
Put your towels into your washer machine. Mine is a high efficiency (HE) front loader washer machine but you can also do this with a standard washer machine too.
Add 1/2 cup baking soda right over the towels. Don’t worry about using the dispenser, just pour it right over the towels. If you have a standard washer machine, use 1 cup of baking soda and add it to the towels and then fill with water. DO NOT ADD SOAP OR VINEGAR, ADD NOTHING BUT BAKING SODA!
Run a full cycle using hot water for the wash and rinse cycle. You will be absolutely amazed on how fresh the towels smell.
Dry fully and then fold and use!
For Really Stubborn Smelling Towels!
If you have some towels that are really stubborn and still have a smell, then I highly recommend these 4 essential oils!
Lemon Essential Oil ~ You Can Buy Here
Lavender Essential Oil ~ You Can Buy Here
Coriander Seed Essential Oil ~ You Can Buy Here
Tea Tree Essential Oil ~ You Can Buy Here
Simply choose which essential oil you would like to use or you could use a combination of these essential oils and add 3-5 drops to the baking soda before you add to the wash and shake well to combine the essential oil with the baking soda. Add to wash and proceed as normal.
Why Towels Start To Smell
There are several reasons towels start to smell.
- They don’t fully dry out and become mildewy
- There is too much moisture in the air which again can keep the towels from fully drying
- Your kids leave them on the floor, again not allowing them to dry fully (uh can you tell that this is my issue) 😉
- You are using too much soap or fabric softener. This one is huge! Many of us use too much and the towels will have a build up of detergent or fabric softener.
Over the last year, I have been working on making my household more “green”! I can not believe how much money I am saving and how with little changes here and there, my house is truly becoming less toxic-free!
My New Book ~ Natural Solutions for Cleaning & Wellness
Did you like this natural solution? Then you’ll love my new book! I’ve written a book that that can help you and your family to transition into a Toxic-Free life!
Natural Solutions for Cleaning & Wellness is dedicated to giving you the information you need to remove toxins from your home and supply you with natural remedies to protect your health. This practical guide gives you in-depth solutions on how to protect yourself and your loved ones for generations to come.
You can Click here to view more details about this amazing book and to learn about the incredible gift bundle included with a book purchase.
This book has over 140 great recipes that are super easy to make with everyday ingredients! Here is a sample of a few solutions featured in this book!
Toxic-Free No-Wick Candle
All Natural Deodorant
Grease-Free Lotion
No fancy ingredients…just everyday, easy to find ingredients. This book is a must have for EVERY household! Learn more details here.
Wow , I cannot wait to try all these wonderful tips thank you all !
Where have you been all my life? I have been struggling with this for years. I couldn’t figure out why they smelled that way even when freshly washed. So many other posts about solutions…nothing worked. I like the explanations in the post about how this happens, what it was and why it happens. Thank you!
I need something for my husband’s white undershirts. When I store them in his chest of drawers, they begin to make this very stale smell. I wash everything with a mixture of borax, washing soda, baking soda and Fels Naptha and Zote soap. I don’t use commercial fabric softener, but even when I did the same thing happened. I would LOVE to get rid of that smell. Any suggestions?
Sounds like you have too much moisture in the drawer, dry an absorber in the draws to trap the moisture. or you drawers are too crowded
My question is are you supposed to use baking soda every time you wash them or just when they are super stinky? And if it’s not supposed to be every time then what should I use in between since detergent causes so much build up?
What about colored towels, do you use this remedy for them also?
I believe that sour smell on laundry left wet too long is caused by something fermenting on the fabric. Kinda like homemade sauerkraut. Baking soda will neutralize the acid produced and perhaps kill the bacteria. A full sun, uv a, b, c, line dry will really help to disable any microbes left over.
OOPS, just looked it up, baking soda is NOT too good at killing bacteria
All you need is Benzalkonium chloride. Or pine oil/disinfectant if you can’t get bzk. Anything to kill the fungus/bacteria, not just wash.