Easily banish smelly towels with this simple 2 ingredient and all natural way to recharge your towels. This method also makes your towels extra fluffy and it works just as well for workout clothes that have become smelly as well.
I first came across this idea on Pinterest and I knew I had to try it! There comes a point in the life of every towel when it’s just not smelling quite right. No matter how much Clorox for colors I’ve used, there was still an ‘off’ smell.
(My latest updated tips for this method are located at the end of the post.)
To the best of my knowledge, the source for this method is Wikihow. But it’s really hard to figure out where these ideas originate!
‘Recharging’ your towels with vinegar and baking soda is right up my alley because they’re my two favorite household cleaners.
It’s a really simple process
1. Wash your towels with hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar, (don’t use any detergents or fabric softeners).
2. Run the towels through a second wash with 1/2 cup baking soda and hot water, (again, no detergent or fabric softener).
3. Dry your towels on the hottest setting until thoroughly dry. You can also hang them outside in the sun for additional freshening.
If the ‘off’ smell persists, run through this method again. This time use 2 cups of vinegar and let the towels soak in the hot water/vinegar bath for a few hours before continuing with the process.
Both vinegar and baking soda ‘strip’ the soap and fabric softener residue from your towels. Fabric softener in particular coats the fibers of your towels with chemical oils, making it difficult to get your towels truly clean. Vinegar not only strips residue, but it also acts as a fabric softener and it’s so much cheaper.
I’m really pleased with the results of washing my towels this way. They smell great, and as a bonus, they’re also much softer!
One final note
Do not mix the vinegar and baking soda in the same load because the two together cause a chemical reaction that foams which might cause your washing machine to overflow! Even though I’m a big fan of ‘two for one’, but in this case there are no shortcuts. Luckily the washing machine does all the work! I’ve personally added both to a top loader machine and not had problems with overflowing, (I have heard of of other people having a foaming overflow though, so maybe that happens with front loaders?) But this method does work best when you wash first with vinegar, then run a second time with the baking soda.
New Notes
I originally wrote this 5 years ago now, and it’s still one of the most popular posts on the blog! So I figured it was a good time for a bit of an update since I’m still using this method 5 years later.
- The first thing I’d like to add is, if your towels are extra smelly, you might need to repeat this process until they smell fresh again! I’ve had this happen a few times with extra stubborn smelly towels.
- Another thing that helps eliminate smelly towels/clothes is sunshine. So a couple times a year, I’ll wash my towels with this vinegar then the baking soda method, then hang them outside until they’re almost dry. Then they get a quick fluff in the dryer to soften them back up. And let me tell you what, that works magic on smelly towels or clothes.
- And finally, this method works wonders on workout clothes that shouldn’t go in the dryer, (or even socks if they get smelly). I’ve also started hanging all our workout gear outside to dry because they don’t tend to grow that smelly bacteria if they dry quicker. This even works in the winter, you can hang your workout clothes outside and they will freeze dry most of the way. I’ll hang mine outside before work, then bring them in at the end of the day to finish drying inside. Even if you don’t want/can’t hang your clothes outside, you can still fix the smelly issue with this vinegar/baking soda method.
If you enjoyed this refresh of your towels, you may enjoy my DIY Air Freshener for an all-natural fresh smell in your home.
Question… I just read through all of the comments. I have a top load washing machine. Do I put nothing in the detergent section and then add the vinegar to the fabric softener portion? And when I add the baking soda mixture into the 2nd time around do I just mix the hot water and baking soda together and then add it to the top of the towels or do I just put the baking soda directly on the towels and let the washer fill up? I have sanitize on my wash machine which does a two hour soak, wash, and rinse cycle. I’m wondering if this would be beneficial.
The way I do it is to add the vinegar as the washing machine fills up, then I add the towels, but you could put them in first it really shouldn’t matter. Then after the first wash is done, I repeat it with the baking soda, again just adding it straight to the water in the washing machine drum. I like to use hot water to make sure they get as clean as possible, but if you have a sanitize option that might be good as well.
Arm & Hammer makes those detergent packets with baking soda in them and I’ve been using those for towels for years. Definitely better than liquid detergent or even other powders. I’m going to try your vinegar/baking soda treatment anyway! They never feel as fluffy as they do when I first buy them. I have a front-loader, and I’ve never been convinced they use enough water for a good rinse!
I completely agree, I just got a front loader a few months back, and it’s not nearly as good as my top loader was!
Question, how many towels do you wash with each load? I have plenty towels that have this smell and now im wanting to them all.
I usually do just 2 at a time with a few hand towels and washcloths thrown in, but my washing machine isn’t very large. You just don’t want to overcrowd the machine you have because the vinegar/baking soda won’t work as well. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!
I’m going to try this on my stinky gym clothes!! ; )
It works great for gym clothes, also try drying your workout clothes outside in the sunshine afterwards which really helps as well!
Why do the towels need to be dried on hot? Just curious…I wasn’t sure if the heat was hard on the fabric.
I personally always dry my towels on the hottest setting, but I only do that with towels because I try and keep on top of the bacteria that always seems to want to grow in towels. I don’t worry about the fabric of my towels, but it definitely affects more delicate fabrics.
Also… does it matter If it’s white vinegar or apple cider vinegar?
I’m not sure, but I would use white vinegar since apple cider vinegar sometimes still has particulate in it and I’m not sure if it would still have the same effect.
I can’t wait to try this. I’m about to go now to make sure I have all that is needed – vinegar and baking soda. I have noticed that horrible smell for a long time. Hopefully it will help.
Be sure and let me know how it goes! If your towels have smelled for a while, you may need to repeat this process more than once to get extra stubborn smells out. I’ve even soaked my towels in the vinegar part overnight, then washed them, and washed them again with baking soda.
Okay dumdum question do you add the vinegar to the water when you are filling up your machine then you put the towels in or do you run the water put the towels in then add the vinegar ?same question with the baking soda after you finish doing vinegar and you run the next wash do you fill up the water in the wash machine and then add the baking soda on top of the towels that are already in there ? I have too loader machine just FYI
I normally add either the vinegar or baking soda while I’m filling up the washing machine to make sure it mixes in well, but I have added them after the towels when I forgot and I can’t say it seems to make any difference which way you do it. I hope this helps, and be sure to let me know if you have anymore questions!
I’m confused because of conflicting advises from many people . Is it baking soda first then final rinse vinegar or soak with vinegar then baking soda on the final rinse. Thanks for your advise
It’s 2 separate loads with the vinegar being the 1st wash, and the baking soda being the 2nd wash.
1. Wash your towels with hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar, (don’t use any detergents or fabric softeners).
2. Run the towels for the second time with 1/2 cup baking soda and hot water, (again, no detergent or fabric softener).
3. Dry your towels on the hottest setting until thoroughly dry. You can also hang them outside in the sun for additional freshening.
If the ‘off’ smell persists, run through this method again. This time use 2 cups of vinegar and let the towels soak in the hot water – vinegar bath for a few hours before continuing with the process.
I’ve just tried the vinegar/ baking soda recipe on my towels. ? Do you need to wash them again with detergent when done with this process?
You don’t need to wash them again with detergent unless you like to have the detergent smell in the finished laundry. Let me know if you have anymore questions, I’d be glad to try and help! 🙂