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Smelly Clothes/Towels When They Get Wet (Dirty Water Smell)


docspinoff

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Don't know if you have noticed this but there are a lot of people who I have walked passed with a stale / dirty water smell about them.

I have come across this in England when an articale of clothing has been washed and seems to smell ok .then when it gets wet it smells.

I have found this many times on such things as motor cycle jackets.

I believe it's when something has got wet and not dried fast enough

So why do we get this problem here in Thailand

I have a very sensitive nose and can smell this kind of smell from a mile off

so this brings me to the next Item we have tried all sorts of things here to combat this smell mainly on towels with no answer to why !

the towel smells fresh when I get it from the shelf and when I use it, it gets wet, then the smell comes back. Then whatever you seem to touch is transferred to that as well ,so I have to have a shower again and drip dry

Does any one have the same problem who can help

Could it be that the city water has bacteria?

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Think OP needs two Vicks Inhalers one up each nostril, don't worry will blend in with the locals.

Or as it seems motoring, wind up the windows with his smalls held by the glass, then floor it, All fresh and dry. cowboy.gif

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I understand what the OP is talking about although this isn't the right place to discuss it.

My only suggestion would be to fully dry the clothes in the sun or a dryer prior to putting them in the closet. Sometimes I pull out clothes and when they have that smell they go right into the dirty clothes hamper to be washed again. Is quite annoying and if you are really bothered by it then buy a clothes dryer.

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Sounds like a mildew problem related to humidity. Maybe a bit more bleach would help to get rid of the smell.

It doesn't sound like that to me, not " Humidity " but " Humanity " exterminate, I think the OP is an alien Dalek.smile.png

Edited by Kwasaki
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Actually, this can be in the motor forum as well for me. I'm getting that "funky towel smell" emitting from my aircon, usually after it has been running on a longer drive, and then the car sits idle for a day. No idea how to insert bleach to remedy that, but a good dose of bleach does work on my white towels that get funky.

Edited by bubba
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I was going to move this to Ladies where those that know about laundry reside, but SBK would take her whip to me for stereotyping. Actually, maybe that would be OK :)

It certainly doesn't belong in Motoring, let's try General.

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Actually, this can be in the motor forum as well for me. I'm getting that "funky towel smell" emitting from my aircon, usually after it has been running on a longer drive, and then the car sits idle for a day. No idea how to insert bleach to remedy that, but a good dose of bleach does work on my white towels that get funky.

I had this when i bought a New MX6 Mazda back in 1989 in Oz. They took out the AC from under the dash and washed it with Vinegar which solved the problem, eliminated the stale air smell and it never returned.
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Get a front loading machine, give your towels and clothes a hot wash with a bit of bleach from time to time. Dry in the sun or tumble dry. I found that a cold wash in a top loader could not get my motorcycling or gardening clothes stink free.

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Add scented fabric softener to the wash. The clothes take on the scent, even when they get wet.

For the aircon unit it the car, get a can of disinfectant spray like Lysol, turn on the aircon, set the fan on high and spray the disinfectant into the air intake on the aircon. It's usually in the passenger side footwell.

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Bleach is not rhe best solution to the problem as in the end it will damage your clothes and is not good for the environment.

A far better soltion is to add half a cup of white vinegar to yor wash and then, as others have suggested dry your clothes outside, preferably in direct sunlight.

White vinegar is a fist class home disifectant, kills as many herms as any dtergent - is safe for uou anc your family - and dors not damage the environment.

We don't buy blech and use white vinegar in our laundry, house cleaning and kitchen cleaning.

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Bleach is not rhe best solution to the problem as in the end it will damage your clothes and is not good for the environment.

A far better soltion is to add half a cup of white vinegar to yor wash and then, as others have suggested dry your clothes outside, preferably in direct sunlight.

White vinegar is a fist class home disifectant, kills as many herms as any dtergent - is safe for uou anc your family - and dors not damage the environment.

We don't buy blech and use white vinegar in our laundry, house cleaning and kitchen cleaning.

Washing tips in the General section and everyone behaving themselves ... thought I'd never see the day.

GuestHouse ... Great tip BTW

Note to self, for Christmas this year buy GuestHouse a new keyboard without the sticky keys.

Must have cleaned it with bleach!

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I've noticed that some golf shirts I have that are synthetic exhibit that trait that the OP describes.

I'm not some kind of warped house-wife tip kind of guy but the fact is that adding some white vinegar to the laundry takes care of that problem.

Alot of synthetic materials used these days work great for wicking moisture away from the body while wearing them but they harbor bacteria better than cotton and it takes a little extra something to eliminate it. I just pick up an gallon jug of the cheapest white vinegar and keep it in the laundry room.

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Half a cup in the pre wash, or if you like soak in a bucket of water overnight with water and half a cup to a cup of white vinegar.

The advantage of putting it in the washing machine is that it keeps the machine itself mould free.

Oh and cleaning the rice cooker with neat white vinegar will keep that mould/bacteria free too.

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Hello thanks for all your help will tell the miss;s to try vinegar

Sorry i must have put this in the wrong section if some one can tell how to move it over I will

my aircon in the house does the same thing so will try some of the tips

thanks agian

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This is a common problem. Usually when clothes are air dried on a humid day and take too long.

I used to be able to tell when i took a shirt out of the closet. I dump it straight back in the laundry basket.

Dettol in the washer is the answer. No colour problems.

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