Easy Natural Towel Refresher

This summer I've noticed that our towels have been getting a musty smell.  They seem fine right out of the wash, but as soon as they get wet again -- yuck!  I've especially noticed it on our kitchen towels, I think because they are used more often??  Since I have colored towels I can't run them through the wash with bleach, so I was really excited when I ran across this idea on Pinterest!  I am a big fan of using natural cleaners, I hate using harsh chemicals (as you can also see in this post about how I clean my coffee pot).  So I had to give this a try!

Gather up your towels.

Put them in the washer on the setting with HOT water with 1 cup of white vinegar only (no detergent in this step).  I used the Quick Wash setting because I was a little worried about having my towels be in the wash for 54 minutes with vinegar on them!

When  that cycle is finished, sprinkle the towels with baking soda.  Then run them through another cycle.  Again with HOT water, but this time also use your detergent.

Promptly remove the towels from the washer and transfer to the dryer and dry on the highest setting.  Fresh out of the dryer they smelled great (and no hint of vinegar either).  The true test has been once they got wet, and I have to say I am very impressed.  We have been using our towels all week, and that smell has not come back!  Plus I think the cycle of vinegar and baking soda also helped my washing machine not get that funk smell that so many front-loaders tend to get.