refreshing your towels

Ever grab your towel after enjoying a hot shower and be surprised by a freshly laundered towel that smells more like a dirty, sweaty t-shirt?  Not pleasant.  It turns out, towels can get a build up of detergent, oils, and other residue that creates this funky smell.  Your natural reaction may be to rid yourself of these towels – maybe they’ve just lived their useful life or maybe you think once they smell, getting it out will be impossible.  Or, you may be inclined to buy heavier detergent treatments – products like oxyclean or fabric softeners that promise to eliminate odors.  Fortunately, you don’t have to do either.  A couple of common and clean household cleaning staples have your back.  White vinegar and baking soda.  I buy both in large quantities at Costco because they have so many uses!

Here’s the protocol for refreshing or stripping your towels:

• Wash the towels in hot water and 1 cup vinegar.  Don’t use any detergent.
• Wash the towels a second time (without drying) in hot water and 1 cup baking soda.  Again, no laundry detergent.
• Dry normally.

And a few other tips to extend the use of your towels before you need to strip them again:

• Don’t use too much laundry detergent.  Follow the recommendation on the bottle, which is usually only an ounce or so.
• Hang towels somewhere where they can adequately and completely dry after use.  Don’t throw wet towels in a hamper or pile them up on the floor.  We use a drying rack with adequate space for airflow between the towels, and even place it over the heat register at times. 

Inspired by: Speed Queen & Shaye Elliott