What's the deal with hard water and vinegar?

Into+the+Kitty · August 2014

Whenever I wash my kitchen towels without bleach, they still have a slightly funky smell to them when they're wet. If I wash with bleach, maybe 1/16 to 1/8 of a cup, the smell isn't there, but I don't want to be washing with bleach every time if I can help it. It almost 100% goes away once they're dry, but they don't smell like the rest of my laundry (nothing!) and I don't think they're getting clean.

I wash them the same as I did my diapers, and those were always fine. I've experimented with bleach, hot water strips, baking soda, oxyclean, more detergent, less detergent, different detergent. The only thing that has made a difference is bleach, and usually the smell is back within two washes. I use vinegar as a cleaner, and I'm wondering if that's part of the problem since we have pretty hard water here. So what's the deal with vinegar and hard water? Is that causing my smell? Does anyone have any other thought?

sunshineinmay09 · August 2014

From what I've read vinegar attracts or binds (can't remember which) the hard water minerals into the fibers, therefore they don't wash away. Same concept as using vinegar on diapers in hard water. With that being said, I just stripped all my towels with 1/2c baking soda hot wash, then 1c vinegar hot wash and didn't have a problem, but I also added Calgon to the wash and I don't use vinegar for cleaning either

sunshineinmay09 · August 2014

Do you add Calgon when you wash your towels?

YellowLily2013 · August 2014

Is the smell when they are wet from the washer? Or wet when you use them ?

Maybe you could rinse the cloth that has vinegar before putting it in the wetbag?

How long are you going between washing?

stoneycakes · August 2014

The same thing happens to me, too, and it doesn't seem to matter what I use for a cleaning product. I think it's because I often throw them in the hamper wet/damp and they get a little funky before they go in the wash. I just bleach like every four washes or so to keep it at bay.

Into+the+Kitty · August 2014

They smell wet from the dryer. I don't wet them before using them, so by the time they get wet they already smell like vinegar or whatever I'm cleaning with/cleaning up. I wash like, 3-4 days apart.

I also hang them over the side of the towel hamper to dry before they get put into the hamper, so they're dry by the time they get pushed into the hamper. And it's one of those plastic hampers with holes in the side, so lots of airflow.

YellowLily2013 · August 2014

I'm surprised your having mildewy smells and wash that frequent + let them air dry.

I sometimes go a 7-10 days and throw wet ones in the bottom of a wetbag.

and while they sometimes smell mildewy going into the washer, the wash cycle takes that away.

Maybe you need more detergent?(maybe it's your super sensitive pregnant nose?)

Into+the+Kitty · August 2014

My nose is always pretty sensitive, but J has mentioned them smelling off too. I've tried more detergent and it did nothing besides piss me off because it didn't rinse out all the way.