Laundry not smelling right

Question

my laundry seems to always have a smell to it...mainly the rags/towels..I use Gain and I wash warm water and it always gets dry so what am i doing wrong,,,kinda smells like a sour smell

Answer 1

try using 1/2 cup of baking soda in your rinse water. This will help take out musty smell.

Answer 2

If you think it is your clothes try adding 1/4  to 1/2 cup of vinegar to your laundry, along with the normal detergent and water temp. If you think it may be your washer try running a load with water and bleach only - no clothes, to clean it out. It very well could be something that has set up in your washer, like mold.

Answer 3

jesus i thought it was just me, same thing towels and rags.. whats the deal? do u have a front loading washing machine, I'm convinced that that is the reason.

Answer 4

~~Gain has a terrific scent. Are you removing your clothes from the washer quickly after they're done washing. In summer heat it only takes about 15 minutes or so to start mildewing. You may not even smell it right away while folding, but let them get the least bit damp and they well smell bad. The only other time I had a problem like that was when I had a Neptune Washer (front loader). Everything smelled like mildew. Had to get a new washer. Hope your fix is much simpler than that!~~

Answer 5

I had the same problem. My Sears repairman told me its good to "clean" your washer by running a cycle on hot water with a little automatic dishwasher powder detergent (like Cascade - NOT regular dish washing soap!!)). Add it to the drum as well as the soap chambers. It cleans the smell out. You can also do the same with a little vinegar but the dishwasher soap smells better. The other alternative is to add some Oxyclean in with your detergent.

**Never add liquid soap other than laundry soap because it could mess up your washer.

Answer 6

Hang your cloths on a cloths line. You may also try 2 Tbls of baking soda in the wash with your detergent.

Answer 7

A combination white vinegar/soda hot wash should do it for the rags and towels. Also, it's good to let the load soak a few minutes before you let it finish the cycle.

Answer 8

have a look to see if the drain hose on your washer is emptying properly or plugged. Backwash in your rinse water could be the problem.

Answer 9

Sometimes it does sometimes it does not

Answer 10

if they are white towels try using bleach in the wash...because they are towels and rags they obviously get wet and if they sit in the laundry hamper for a few days it can start to get a moldy/sour smell...bleach should eliminate it...i had the same problem and 3/4 cup of bleach cured it...if they are colored try Clorox 2...hope this helps some

Answer 11

You might be putting too much stuff in the washer or dryer at one time.  Try doing loads with less in them.

Also, you might want to use a fabric softener such as Downy in your wash.  That adds a nice fragrance.  Another suggestion, Febreeze now makes a liquid that you add to the wash water in the machine.  I'm sure that will help to make things smell fresher.

Lastly, maybe it's just the smell of Gain that you don't like.  Try another detergent if none of these other things I've said work.  I really do think that it is a fact of having too much in the washer and dryer per load though.