Mouldy towels - yuck!

goonlord

In this colder weather I find that towels in the bathroom are tending to get flecked with mould (even though they are washed regularly!) and that this doesn't come out on a normal 40 degree wash.

I'm loathe to start washing things at 60 so do you have any suggestions on how I can get rid of the mould otherwise?

Thanks in advance...

lynzpower

do them on a wash with some white vinegar, that should clean them properly I would have thought?

But I would do them on a hot wash NOW & on thier own. thing is with mould if you dont kill it then it will completely remain and grow back.

goonlord

Thanks for the info. How do I add white vinegar to the wash and how much?

(I usually put bio liquid in the drawer or a ball).

lynzpower

Id put about half a big bottle in the tray for powder in the top.

Id do them on a 70 wash minimum tbh.

vivaladiva

Have you tried Ecover laundry bleach? It does a great job on lots of things.

MATH

Towels, bedlinen and kitchen linens should always be washed at 60 c or above, temps lower than this and you are just brewing a bacterial soup for all your other clothing to slosh around in. I always add bleach to my towel/face cloth wash and I havn't noticed much fading or damage and some of my towels are 15 years old and older. Better to have a bit of fading than mould and murk IMO.

Regardless of whether they are white or coloured towels, if they are showing signs of mould I would wash them at the hottest temp you machine will go with bio washing powder and add an eggcup of bleach diluted with a pint of water through the soap drawer once the machine has washed for a good while and got up to temp. Do not add the bleach at the begining of the wash becasue it will kill off the bio action of your detergent.

In future consider airing your bathroom by leaving the window wide open for an hour a day and never leave damp towels folded, instead find somewhere to dry off the towels once used, maybe over the banister or showerscreen would work for you.

whatatwit

Mould & mildew is really difficult to get out of towels & clothing.
A good bleaching & a hot wash should help, but your bathroom must be cold & damp if mildew is appearing on towels all the time.
If you have an extractor fan, then use it and remove towels from the bathroom to dry off.

goonlord

Oh my goodness - I'm really scared now....I didn't realise it was that bad! I have a heated towel rail so that takes care of my bath towel (but can't reach to put anything else on - it's half way up the wall behind the toilet!).

The main problem is hand towels as they hang on one of those ring things so they are all bunched up most of the time. I'm off home to wash them all in a hot wash! Yuck!!

brindles01

I wash all towels, bedlinen, teatowels and the like at 90 degrees - ALWAYS. It also gives the washing machine a good cleaning too as I never have any nasty whiffs coming from my machine that some people report on this thread.

Chipps

As well as making sure your bathroom is aired, don't let it remain too damp.
As I am usually the last person to shower in the morning, I then take one of the towels & dry down the tiles in the shower cubicle, the windows and any other places that are covered with condensation. Since doing this, which takes about 2 minutes, we have had next to no mould in the bathroom - and our ceiling used to be absolutely black; really awful, and I couldn't store towels in the bathroom. We also have a dehumidifier for those days when it isn't practical to open windows to let the steam out.

Queenie

goonlord wrote:

Thanks for the info. How do I add white vinegar to the wash and how much?

(I usually put bio liquid in the drawer or a ball).

lynzpower wrote:

Id put about half a big bottle in the tray for powder in the top.

Id do them on a 70 wash minimum tbh.

Half a big bottle of vinegar?? That's a LOT!
If you wash your load in bio detergent, you only need to add a capful or two of vinegar to the final rinse (ie: the fabric softener compartment).

But, ultimately, I agree with MATH.

By the same token, those hand towels ... you are changing them daily, aren't you!?