How to look after your Towels from essential oil smells

How to protect your towels from Rancid oil smells:

Written by, Becki Andrus

One of my biggest pet peeves is having stinky towels… the feeling of washing your face and drying it with a funky-smelling towel is not pleasant! I’m good about keeping up with laundry, so it wasn’t an issue of the towel being dirty, but I noticed that some of the towels smell funny even when they are freshly cleaned (right out of the dryer).

Can you relate?

I found out that towels can start to smell funny over time because of the build-up of detergent and fabric softener in the fabric. This residue build-up makes the towel less absorbent, and it will start holding in the smell.

So, I looked around online and found an easy solution to get rid of the smell and make my towels fresh again! Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Run the towels through a wash cycle with HOT water and 1 cup of white vinegar… no detergent!

  2. When the washing cycle is done, keep the towels in the machine and start it again. This time, use 1/2 cup baking soda and hot water (again, no detergent). I also like to add 10 – 15 drops of lemon essential oil, or any other fresh smelling essential oil.

  3. If you live in a warm climate and have the option, hang-dry the towels in the sun which will also help to get rid of the smell. Otherwise, use the dryer to dry the towels as normal, and presto… fresh, clean towels that smell great!

If you want a more chemical based options, to remove essential oils, then try Sodium Hydroxide, or if you want to use something less chemical try CitraSlov in the wash

Citra Solv Natural Cleaner & Degreaser 16 oz https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0012BVXSO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Vnv1DbWEKXTH5

Happy laundering for towel health, and less rancid smells

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Hiya, an easy option is dropping a dishwasher tab into the wash…works every time :+1:

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Never heard of this, and as I don’t have a dishwasher, I never use them. Which ones do you get exactly? I’ll try them ASAP as my sheets start smelling a bit funny. Thank you!

To be completely honest never experienced funky smelling towels. Put my towels and pillow cases on 60 to 90 degree wash with detergent and fabric softener and tumble dry them. They come out perfect.

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One cup of oxyclean, detergent and a cup of white vinegar together wash at 90 for 3 hours comes out bleached and smelling fresh.

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Never tried this one , interesting