Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Stinky Towels and Other Stuff

For years, I have tried laundering our bath towels in hot water with OxyClean and detergent and have made sure to get them right into the dryer after the wash cycle in hopes of getting rid of that awful musty/sour odor. When they first come out of the dryer and are folded, they smell wonderful but after they sit folded on the shelf for a few days, that smell comes right back and it really bothered me.

After reading up on various testimonials on different remedies, I combined two of them and came up with the very first solution that has worked for me.

First, I filled the washer with hot water and a cup of white vinegar. I then put the towels in and actually had them run through the entire wash cycle with just the vinegar and hot water. When that was finished, I then filled the washer again (with towels still in there) and added my detergent along with a cup of washing soda.

The towels came out smelling wonderful and now, almost two weeks later, they still smell good! I hope this helps someone else out there. In the grand scheme of life, smelly towels don't rank very high up in importance but if it can remove one tiny little annoying thing in one's day, then it is still worth it.

I'll post the "Other Stuff" portion of this tonight.

Here is a bit of the "other stuff". I was trying to find some words to summarize the outcome of yesterday's election. I read different things on the internet and found the quote below on another blogger's site. I guess it's okay that I nabbed them for my blog as I really wanted to acknowledge this time in history on my blog.

“We worked hard, and we fought hard, and I wish that things had turned out a little differently.

“But in an American election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans. And that — that is the greatest privilege and the most remarkable good fortune that can come to us on earth.

“With that gift also comes obligation. We are required now to work together for the good of our country. In the days ahead, we must find common cause. We must join in common effort without remorse or recrimination, without anger or rancor. America is in need of unity and longing for a larger measure of compassion.”

– John Kerry

5 comments:

angie {the arthur clan} said...

Thanks for sharing that tip Dot.

And I just have to say that I love your new fall background. Very pretty!

Angie

Dot O said...

I got the background from Aqua Poppy. Amy referred me as I was having issues with my background. There are some wonderful designs at AP!

Heasleye said...

My husband often complains of stinky towels. It certainly doesn't make you feel clean if you have to use a towel that doesn't smell good. Thanks for the tip!

Elaine
http://www.heasley.net/eblog/

KVC said...

What a great tip about the towels. I wonder if it would work with t-shirts. The same thing seems to happen after they have been folded in a dresser drawer for a couple of weeks. KV

michelle huey said...

I am so happy to hear that someone else has the same problem as me! My towels are always "stinky". You're right at first, the are fine, even fluffy, but then they sit for a few days and bam! they sour. I keep throwing them back in the dirty clothes basket to re-wash. It's running up my water bill! Thanks goodness I came across your blog. I am going to try your method. I will let you know how it works for me! Thanks MiMi