Do I have to buy yet another set of towels?
July 17, 2010 10:02 AM Subscribe
I want to try to rescue towels gone bad.
Towel Set 1) Allergies. Mold? When drying off with an old-but-still-very-nice towel, my husband sometimes goes into half hour long sneezing fits. I presume that there's something in the towels causing this. We do live in FL, the land of eternal swamp, so maybe they're not getting dry between uses and growing something. I think they're all cotton, or at least no synthetic content.
So. I washed them normally, then soaked them with several cups of vinegar in the wash for about a day, then ran the washer, then put them through the dryer until they were dry-dry-dry. The next time he used them he had the same problem.
I'd try bleach but they're a dark plum color.
Is there any way to save these towels?
Towel Set 2) We *got* some new towels. I think these are mostly synthetic, or at least they're not as absorbent as the other set. I must have screwed up and put them through the wash after a doggy-load without rinsing the washer first. Crap. They're covered in dog hair and I can't get it OFF.
It won't shake off (like shaking a rug). It won't scrape off while dry without destroying the cloth. Wet, it just sticks harder. Masking tape (ie, lint rollers without the lint) doesn't get much; it would take days (ie, multiple 24-hour periods, 'round the clock) to get it all. I've tried running them through the dryer for hours, cleaning out the lint trap every 15 mins or so.
Is there any way to save these towels?
Towel Set 1) Allergies. Mold? When drying off with an old-but-still-very-nice towel, my husband sometimes goes into half hour long sneezing fits. I presume that there's something in the towels causing this. We do live in FL, the land of eternal swamp, so maybe they're not getting dry between uses and growing something. I think they're all cotton, or at least no synthetic content.
So. I washed them normally, then soaked them with several cups of vinegar in the wash for about a day, then ran the washer, then put them through the dryer until they were dry-dry-dry. The next time he used them he had the same problem.
I'd try bleach but they're a dark plum color.
Is there any way to save these towels?
Towel Set 2) We *got* some new towels. I think these are mostly synthetic, or at least they're not as absorbent as the other set. I must have screwed up and put them through the wash after a doggy-load without rinsing the washer first. Crap. They're covered in dog hair and I can't get it OFF.
It won't shake off (like shaking a rug). It won't scrape off while dry without destroying the cloth. Wet, it just sticks harder. Masking tape (ie, lint rollers without the lint) doesn't get much; it would take days (ie, multiple 24-hour periods, 'round the clock) to get it all. I've tried running them through the dryer for hours, cleaning out the lint trap every 15 mins or so.
Is there any way to save these towels?
I would try leaving set #1 out in the sun for a day.
posted by gatorae at 10:15 AM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by gatorae at 10:15 AM on July 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Towel Set #1: try color safe bleach? That's what we use on our towels to treat the exact same problem and it works great. I also live in the land of the eternal swamp.
Towel Set #2: they sound like a lost cause to me.
posted by empyrean at 10:17 AM on July 17, 2010
Towel Set #2: they sound like a lost cause to me.
posted by empyrean at 10:17 AM on July 17, 2010
I have a dreadful mold allergy. One of the things I had to give up on is reusing towels. I live in a humid climate as well. I feel much better having done so. I use two per day, so yeah...it adds up to more laundry, but I do notice a difference.
Is he reacting to freshly washed towels, or just a reused towel? I'd think that soaking them could be actually creating a nice environment for mold growth. Are you using hot water for washing? Maybe it's something in the bathroom?
For the hairy towels, what about one of those rubber pet glove shedding thingies?
posted by littleflowers at 10:19 AM on July 17, 2010
Is he reacting to freshly washed towels, or just a reused towel? I'd think that soaking them could be actually creating a nice environment for mold growth. Are you using hot water for washing? Maybe it's something in the bathroom?
For the hairy towels, what about one of those rubber pet glove shedding thingies?
posted by littleflowers at 10:19 AM on July 17, 2010
Response by poster: Additional note: the towels that make hubby sneeze smell fine to me, and I have a very sensitive nose.
These towels are the only cloth in the house that make him sneeze like this. He does have allergies, but his clothes etc don't set him off, just the towels. We've changed detergents a few times for unrelated reasons (such as, we ran out and there wasn't any at the store) and the sneezing hasn't changed.
Leaving them outside in the sun will just make them warm and damp. Florida. Swamp. Really. Summer in FL, towels outside (like the ones I keep in my barn) that haven't touched water are still damp. (For the record: barn towels get washed in their own load or with doggy stuff and the washer run with vinegar before doing clothes or bath towels, etc. Unless I screw up, like with Towels #2. And barn towels end up needing to be washed every couple of days in summer. It's very icky.)
Set #2: washed them repeatedly--detergent, vinegar, and plain water--and dryer'd them repeatedly. Tried to scrape or tape the hair off after washing and drying. No apparent change.
posted by galadriel at 10:27 AM on July 17, 2010
These towels are the only cloth in the house that make him sneeze like this. He does have allergies, but his clothes etc don't set him off, just the towels. We've changed detergents a few times for unrelated reasons (such as, we ran out and there wasn't any at the store) and the sneezing hasn't changed.
Leaving them outside in the sun will just make them warm and damp. Florida. Swamp. Really. Summer in FL, towels outside (like the ones I keep in my barn) that haven't touched water are still damp. (For the record: barn towels get washed in their own load or with doggy stuff and the washer run with vinegar before doing clothes or bath towels, etc. Unless I screw up, like with Towels #2. And barn towels end up needing to be washed every couple of days in summer. It's very icky.)
Set #2: washed them repeatedly--detergent, vinegar, and plain water--and dryer'd them repeatedly. Tried to scrape or tape the hair off after washing and drying. No apparent change.
posted by galadriel at 10:27 AM on July 17, 2010
Response by poster: Is he reacting to freshly washed towels
Yes.
posted by galadriel at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2010
Yes.
posted by galadriel at 10:31 AM on July 17, 2010
I know there was an ask.me post a while ago, that isn't turning up in search, about someone who, through trial and error, found they were getting rashes only from blue-dyed clothes. It might be dye-specific. Has this towel always reacted to him, or only recently?
posted by cobaltnine at 10:35 AM on July 17, 2010
posted by cobaltnine at 10:35 AM on July 17, 2010
Try Oxiclean with them? I wash towels in hot water, with unscented detergent, Oxiclean, and vinegar in the rinse, on hot water, with the extra rinse option on our washing machine. Seek out a specifically hypoallergenic detergent and see if that makes a difference?
I have nothing on the second set of towels, except that maybe they just graduated to barn towels. We have some items so covered in cat fur that they now belong to the cats, so I feel your pain but have no solution.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:40 AM on July 17, 2010
I have nothing on the second set of towels, except that maybe they just graduated to barn towels. We have some items so covered in cat fur that they now belong to the cats, so I feel your pain but have no solution.
posted by gingerbeer at 10:40 AM on July 17, 2010
Second gingerbeer's advice. Only skip the vinegar since you already did that. If this fails it's probably the dye.
posted by tangram1 at 10:43 AM on July 17, 2010
posted by tangram1 at 10:43 AM on July 17, 2010
Best answer: towels #2: arm & hammer makes a carpet/upholstery pet hair releaser spray you're supposed to use before vacuuming. try that. It certainly releases huge drifts of fur into the air in my house when I use it.
towels #1: do whatever sanitizing you do with them, then give them an extra rinse and hang them on the clothesline in blistering sunlight until they are crunchy dry. sunlight helps a lot with mildew. last chance - if that doesn't work, put them in the swimming pool (yours or a friend's), then wash them and hang them all day in the sun. I've rehabbed some mildewy clothes by swimming in them and then washing them.
posted by toodleydoodley at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2010
towels #1: do whatever sanitizing you do with them, then give them an extra rinse and hang them on the clothesline in blistering sunlight until they are crunchy dry. sunlight helps a lot with mildew. last chance - if that doesn't work, put them in the swimming pool (yours or a friend's), then wash them and hang them all day in the sun. I've rehabbed some mildewy clothes by swimming in them and then washing them.
posted by toodleydoodley at 10:46 AM on July 17, 2010
Response by poster: Has this towel always reacted to him, or only recently?
This is the towel set he had when we met over a decade ago. (Yeah, they're really old, but they still look so nice.) He started having problems with them maybe a few months ago.
I have nothing on the second set of towels, except that maybe they just graduated to barn towels.
Sniff. They're huge, enormous, and they were actually birthday presents; much nicer than anything our stingy selves would buy for us. I still can't believe I screwed up so badly.
We're going to pick up color safe bleach (for some reason I can't wrap my mind around its existence, so it never even occurred to me!) and I'll start by trying that this very afternoon. If that doesn't work, will come back for more.
posted by galadriel at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2010
This is the towel set he had when we met over a decade ago. (Yeah, they're really old, but they still look so nice.) He started having problems with them maybe a few months ago.
I have nothing on the second set of towels, except that maybe they just graduated to barn towels.
Sniff. They're huge, enormous, and they were actually birthday presents; much nicer than anything our stingy selves would buy for us. I still can't believe I screwed up so badly.
We're going to pick up color safe bleach (for some reason I can't wrap my mind around its existence, so it never even occurred to me!) and I'll start by trying that this very afternoon. If that doesn't work, will come back for more.
posted by galadriel at 10:51 AM on July 17, 2010
Response by poster: arm & hammer makes a carpet/upholstery pet hair releaser spray you're supposed to use before vacuuming
They DO? I think you may have just revolutionized my life. I will definitely try this.
posted by galadriel at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2010
They DO? I think you may have just revolutionized my life. I will definitely try this.
posted by galadriel at 10:53 AM on July 17, 2010
Best answer: My parents have some spiky dryer balls that they have used to get the cat hair off of a white sheet that was black from hair.
Like these:
dryer balls
posted by leahwrenn at 10:54 AM on July 17, 2010
Like these:
dryer balls
posted by leahwrenn at 10:54 AM on July 17, 2010
What sort of washer is it? Some of the front-loader ones have real problem with mold growing in them.
posted by wkearney99 at 12:39 PM on July 17, 2010
posted by wkearney99 at 12:39 PM on July 17, 2010
Well if you really want to save the spouse-sneezing towels and nothing else works you could try boiling them. Big stock pot on the stove, wooden spoon for stirring, plain water or maybe some baking soda added-- this is what women used to do with diapers to prevent baby rash.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:49 PM on July 17, 2010
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 1:49 PM on July 17, 2010
For years, I've used ammonia for musty and/or sneeze-producing towels. It not only removes the smelly stuff, but actually leaves the towels smelly extra-fresh. If you're worried about residual ammonia, put the towels through an extra rinse. For a top-loader, I used one cup of ammonia; for the new front-loader, I use a half cup. Instead of pouring it directly on the towels, I put it in the bleach dispenser or (for top-loading machine) I partially fill the washer, add the ammonia, then add the towels and resume the cycle. My towels are all-cotton; I don't know what happens with a poly or bamboo blend. The ammonia treatment is also great for smelly dish towels and cleaning rags. Use the hottest water possible.
I want to repeat wkearney99's comment about smelly front-loaders. They can cause odor even in clothes that go into the wash odor-free. Solve this probelem by running a very hot wash with bleach or with 3 Affresh tablets (or other washer cleaner).
Never, ever combine ammonia with bleach. The fumes can literally kill you.
posted by wryly at 3:45 PM on July 17, 2010
I want to repeat wkearney99's comment about smelly front-loaders. They can cause odor even in clothes that go into the wash odor-free. Solve this probelem by running a very hot wash with bleach or with 3 Affresh tablets (or other washer cleaner).
Never, ever combine ammonia with bleach. The fumes can literally kill you.
posted by wryly at 3:45 PM on July 17, 2010
Another tip for front loaders: leave the door open after you take out the wash, to help the washer dry out more quickly.
posted by emeiji at 5:11 PM on July 17, 2010
posted by emeiji at 5:11 PM on July 17, 2010
I had a pattern going where my clothes ended up being not so fresh- something unpleasant was stuck to or living in them. Everything I own went through a 24 hour soak in laundry detergent, Clorox 2 and Oxyclean, and then laundered normally (without soap) afterward. Problem solved.
Ammonia works for some stuff too. It is a very good degreaser, so if you have anything that's got funk in it (like undershirts and collars), it works well.
posted by gjc at 6:28 PM on July 17, 2010
Ammonia works for some stuff too. It is a very good degreaser, so if you have anything that's got funk in it (like undershirts and collars), it works well.
posted by gjc at 6:28 PM on July 17, 2010
#1: baking soda? borax? I'm not sure if they're color safe, however.
posted by salvia at 6:37 PM on July 17, 2010
posted by salvia at 6:37 PM on July 17, 2010
I've had some luck taking a damp wash cloth over dry fabric to get fur off. The fabric wasn't fuzzy like towels so your results may vary. If you don't mind re-washing, you could try vacuuming with the attachment.
For anything musty, I add a little anti-bacterial soap to the wash. I don't think the problem with your towels is mold. The heat from the dryer would probably kill it if you had them in there long enough to get super dry. My guess is that he's allergic to something that gets on the towels and it hasn't quite washed out.
Try washing them a couple times and then have your husband do a sniff test. Have some saline nose spray around for if he goes into a sneezing fit. It'll rinse out whatever he's having a reaction to after he blows his nose. This might help with him being willing to experiment. Good luck!
posted by stray thoughts at 11:53 PM on July 17, 2010
For anything musty, I add a little anti-bacterial soap to the wash. I don't think the problem with your towels is mold. The heat from the dryer would probably kill it if you had them in there long enough to get super dry. My guess is that he's allergic to something that gets on the towels and it hasn't quite washed out.
Try washing them a couple times and then have your husband do a sniff test. Have some saline nose spray around for if he goes into a sneezing fit. It'll rinse out whatever he's having a reaction to after he blows his nose. This might help with him being willing to experiment. Good luck!
posted by stray thoughts at 11:53 PM on July 17, 2010
Response by poster: Well, folks, I did try the color-safe bleach (and I'm so glad it was indeed color safe). The next time he used a towel, he didn't sneeze. Whoohoo! I will be using this on the towels with every washing.
I don't think the problem with your towels is mold. The heat from the dryer would probably kill it if you had them in there long enough to get super dry.
Now there's an interesting thought. I wonder if this started around the time our dryer started taking a lot longer to get things dry. Perhaps it's not hot enough to kill things it used to kill.
It's a top-load washer, FWIW.
I'll be picking up some of the pet hair releaser spray and dryer balls (huh, is that what they're for?) and making another multi-pronged attempt at towel set #2 sometime soon, but not this week.
posted by galadriel at 6:28 AM on July 19, 2010
I don't think the problem with your towels is mold. The heat from the dryer would probably kill it if you had them in there long enough to get super dry.
Now there's an interesting thought. I wonder if this started around the time our dryer started taking a lot longer to get things dry. Perhaps it's not hot enough to kill things it used to kill.
It's a top-load washer, FWIW.
I'll be picking up some of the pet hair releaser spray and dryer balls (huh, is that what they're for?) and making another multi-pronged attempt at towel set #2 sometime soon, but not this week.
posted by galadriel at 6:28 AM on July 19, 2010
I did try the color-safe bleach (and I'm so glad it was indeed color safe). The next time he used a towel, he didn't sneeze. Whoohoo!
Woo! Glad it worked out - figured it would, since that was the only thing that worked for us. Swamp inhabitants, unite.
posted by empyrean at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2010
Woo! Glad it worked out - figured it would, since that was the only thing that worked for us. Swamp inhabitants, unite.
posted by empyrean at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Set 2: A sort of obvious question, but have you tried running these through the washer again?
posted by runningwithscissors at 10:14 AM on July 17, 2010