Banish damp-smelling towels with this genius laundry tip from Nancy Birtwhistle
If you're tired of tackling dirty towels that hold onto musty odours, then this advice is for you
Taking your towels out of the washing machine to find they've held onto that damp, musty odour is nothing short of frustrating. Luckily, there's something you can do, and it'll work on even the most stubborn smells.
Even when you wash your towels as often as you should, they can become smelly pretty easily if they've not dried properly after use or just didn't get a thorough wash in the machine. And whilst you may think this is a sign your towels need replacing, there is something you can do first, which will save you money.
Try Nancy Birtwhistle's towel cleaning tip to banish smells
Before you give up on your towels and start using them in the garden, this deep cleaning method can bring them back to life.
"I get several messages from followers that say either some clothing’s got damp and it smells really fusty and awful, or towels smell a bit fusty and awful like damp," starts Nancy.
"Well, this towel was left in a heap on the shower room floor, and it smells absolutely awful. And if I put this in the washing machine, it probably won’t get rid of the smell completely. So what I’m gonna do is, can you guess? Tepid soak in washing soda and that will neutralise that disgusting odour," she continues.
Nancy recommends using two tablespoons of washing soda, dissolving it in hot water in your bath or sink and then adding cool water to make it a more tepid temperature.
Once you've done that, you'll need to soak the towel, or towels, for two to three hours or overnight if you can. Then, squeeze out the excess fluid, pop it into the washing machine and wash on a long, cold, 20-degree cycle.
If you have to dry clothes indoors without a dryer, then you'll probably already dry your towels either on a heated airer or outside on the line. However, doing this with towels can sometimes stop them from becoming fluffy and soft. Nancy has a solution for this.
"Now you can either put them in an expensive, energy-guzzling tumble dryer, which I don’t have, or you can dry them outside, but if there’s no wind, like today, they’re going to dry hard," she explains.
Before hanging the towels up, Nancy says you need to aggressively shake them. She instructs, "We do a workout and give them a good shake. Now I don’t mean like that, I mean like that. Shake the pile first one way and then turn it upside down to do the same, so that you’re breathless."
All you need to do then is hang your towel up on the line as usual. If you are worried about whether or not they'll dry, Nancy points out that if your paths are dry, then your towels will dry too.
If you find that your clothes are still coming out of the wash smelling more often than not, then you may need to clean your washing machine to get rid of any mould or build-up that might be lurking around.
