Refreshing Towels Miracle!

So, my husband and I got some awesome towels for our wedding almost three years ago.  I still love them and just can't give them up.  However, after almost three years of use they're getting a little worse for wear.  The look I could deal with (the frayed edges, the color fading on one side) but the smell is another story.  Over time they'd built up this quirky smell that only happened when they were wet.  Straight out of the dryer they smelled as fresh as a daisy.  However, after use they'd stink up the bathroom.  My husband would use a towel and hang it over the shower curtain to dry.  Said hanging wet towel would begin to emanate an almost moldy smell that would fill the bathroom.  Gross.  I'd wash and wash them using all sorts of soaps and extra fabric softener, but no matter what I did they still smelled funky when wet.  Then, I came across this!


I picked this Pin out of my "That's a Neat Idea" Board:

"My grandma taught me this many years ago. Refreshing towels I use this trick all the time since I noticed my towels smelling funky. It works! - Over time, towels build up detergent and fabric softener, leaving them unable to absorb as much water and smelly. Recharge them by washing them once with hot water and 1cup vinegar, then a 2nd time with hot water and half cup baking soda. This strips the residue and leaves them fresh and able to absorb more water again. Works like a charm!"




So, I got to work.  I had two kinds of towels.  I had plain blue ones and ones where one side was brown and one was blue.  I was a little nervous about this "washing with vinegar" idea and thought it might hurt the colors.  So, I started with the plain blue ones thinking those would be the easiest to replace should something go wrong.

Here are the items I had to work with:

I put all the blue towels in the wash and started with the vinegar.  I usually wash my towels with the "warm/cold" option as it seems more cost effective.  So, for this I pulled out all the stops and used the "hot/cold" option as the instructions insisted on hot water.

The instructions didn't specify whether or not you were supposed to dry the towels in-between cycles.  I figured baking soda would work best when mixed with fabric that was already wet....so I decided to leave the towels in the wash (once they were done being washed in vinegar), add the baking soda and turn the dials back for a second wash cycle.

Then, I took the towels out and put them in the dryer.  I put two dryer sheets in to give them a little extra fluff and fragrance.

The results were AMAZING!  Right away I could tell my towels were lighter and fresher.  There was no difference in the color or staining, so I went ahead and washed the brown/blue towels the same way.  Both my husband and I have used the towels since then and they now have NO funky smell when wet!  This was definitely a winning Pin!


Thanks for checking out my blog!  Stay tuned for my next Pinterest Adventure!








Questions/Comments:

This is the first time I've tried this and LOVED the results.  I wonder though, how many times you can do this to your towels to prolong their freshness?  Has anyone ever tried it?  Does this method lose its effectiveness the more you do it?  How often does it need to be done?  Any comments would be most appreciated!