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There’s no better feeling than taking a long shower after a sweltering summer day, scrubbing away the sticky layers of sweat and sunscreen that’ve clung to your skin for the past several hours. But that refreshing moment can quickly take a turn while toweling off. Even if you’re using a clean bath towel fresh out of the dryer, you might get hit with the unwelcome whiff of a musty odor.
If you’re wondering why your bath towels and beach towels smell worse in the summer, even after washing them, you aren’t alone. When temperatures soar, humidity escalates, and moisture settles, unpleasant odors lodge themselves deep in the fabric fibers, where they seem to linger all summer long. Showers, pool days, and beach trips create the perfect storm for a buildup of odor-casing bacteria and mildew. But that doesn’t mean you have to toss them out! With a few simple laundry tweaks, you can get rid of unwanted smells and keep your towels fresher for longer. We asked Mona Murahwa, professional cleaner and founder of Cleaning Mama, to explain why your towels smell in summer and the best way to fix it.
Why Your Towels Smell Worse in Summer
While improper drying, product buildup, and dirty washing machine drums can cause towels to smell year-round, in the summertime, there are a few particular culprits responsible for your towels’ pungent odor:
Humidity
When you hang wet towels to air-dry in a humid, poorly ventilated summer bathroom, they stay damp for longer, allowing mold, mildew, and bacteria to multiply. “Humid climates mean towels take longer to dry, offering mildew the perfect place to grow,” Murahwa says. That lingering dampness is what causes that distinctly musty scent.
Sweat
During the summertime, when temperatures rise and you sweat more than usual, your towels can pick up those body odors. “More heat brings more sweat, and when rubbed into towels, the now-sweaty fabric makes a great breeding ground for bacteria,” Murahwa says. What’s more, if you add a fabric softener to your wash, the product can trap sweat even more.
Chlorine
Whenever you take a dip in the pool and dry off with a beach towel, chlorine can leave behind a strong, chemical-like scent—even after washing. “When chlorine is mixed with organic matter, it creates chloramine, which absorbs into towel fibers,” Murahwa notes. “This leaves that overly-chlorinated scent that’s often not preferred.”
How to Clean Your Smelly Summer Towels
While smelly towels are common in the summer months, you can eliminate the unpleasant scent with a simple DIY method: soaking the towels in white vinegar before washing them with baking soda. “The acidity of vinegar helps break down grime, bacteria and chemicals in towel fibers, while baking soda helps neutralize those stinky scents,” Murahwa explains. Here’s how to try this laundering technique at home:
Step 1: Soak Towels in White Vinegar
To break down the buildup that’s causing those smelly odors, Murahwa recommends soaking your towels in a mixture of one part distilled white vinegar and one part cold water. For best results, let your stinky towels sop up the solution for one to two hours. If you’re short on time, however, you can skip the soak and instead add one or two cups of distilled white vinegar to your washing machine’s detergent dispenser or directly into the drum. Be sure to choose a long cycle with hot water.
Step 2: Wash Them With Baking Soda
After soaking or washing your summer towels with vinegar, toss them in the washing machine with one or two cups (depending on the size of the load) of baking soda in lieu of laundry detergent before selecting a hot water cycle. According to Murahwa, baking soda is “a mild abrasive that helps strip away the odor while keeping the towels soft.” So, it’ll neutralize the damp smells and remove any remaining residue.
Step 3: Add a Fresh, Natural Scent
If you want your towels to smell extra fresh and luxurious, Murahwa suggests adding three to four drops of your favorite essential oil to the baking soda wash. “Just make sure to research which essential oils are safe for fabrics and which can stain them,” Murahwa advises.
Step 4: Dry Them Before Folding
Once your towels are clean, immediately transfer them to the dryer, or hang them up to air-dry. Letting them sit in your washing machine runs the risk of inviting odor-causing bacteria. If you defer to your appliance, select a low heat to maintain their softness. If you prefer to air-dry your towels, suspend them in a well ventilated space with plenty of sunlight. To prevent bad odors from surfacing, make sure your towels are fully dry before folding them.
Summer Towel Care Tips
While the above steps will help you banish unwelcome odors, keeping the gross smells at bay isn’t a one-time job. For fresher, softer towels, be sure to follow these care tips:
Prioritize Air Flow
Air flow is incredibly important to prevent musty odors from sticking around. After showers, pool days, and beach trips, hang your towels to promote faster drying in between uses, rather than bundling them up or piling them on top of each other.
Measure Your Detergent
While it makes sense to assume that applying more detergent means a cleaner wash, an excess of the product can leave sticky residue behind. “Less is more with detergent, as soap easily gets stuck in fabrics, which, in turn, traps those odor-causing culprits,” Murahwa says.
Skip Fabric Softeners
Product buildup is a common year-round cause of smelly towels. During the summer, in particular, fabric softeners can lock in sweat, so Murahwa advises against using it while running a load. “They just add to that sticky, soapy buildup,” she says.
Avoid High Heat
Whenever you throw your clean summer towels in the dryer, avoid high heat at all costs. Why? “It can damage the towel fibers and make them rougher over time,” Murahwa explains. A lower heat setting will get the job done while preserving the plush texture.
