How to Get Musty Smells Out of Towels and Laundry

Quick answer

Musty towel smell usually comes from biofilm inside your washing machine or from towels that stay damp too long. Run a hot cleaning cycle with a washing machine cleaner or vinegar, then wash towels with a detergent that breaks down odor-causing residue, and dry them completely within two hours. If the smell returns immediately after a clean wash, the biofilm has spread to your towels and you need to strip them before washing normally.

Symptom check: Is it the towels or the washer?

Before you treat anything, identify where the smell lives. Rub a clean, dry towel against your face and smell it. If the towel smells musty even after a fresh wash, the odor is in the fabric. If the towel smells neutral but your laundry room or washer drum has a sour, earthy odor, the problem is the machine. Washers with rubber door seals, detergent drawers, and drain pumps trap lint and soap residue that feed biofilm. Front-loaders are more prone because water sits in the seal. If your washer smells but towels do not, clean the machine first. If towels smell but the washer does not, strip the towels.

Why towels smell bad after washing

Towels are thick, absorbent, and slow to dry. When they sit in the washer for even an hour after the cycle ends, the inner loops stay damp and bacteria multiply. Fabric softener and excess detergent make it worse by coating fibers with a waxy film that traps water and odor. Over time, that film builds up and regular detergent cannot penetrate it. The musty towel smell is not dirt; it is a layer of residue and microbes. Washing at low temperatures without a deep-cleaning step lets that layer survive cycle after cycle.

Corrective action: Clean the washer first

Run an empty hot water cycle with two cups of white vinegar in the drum or a commercial washing machine cleaner. If your machine has a clean cycle, use it. While it runs, scrub the rubber door seal, detergent drawer, and the area under the drum with a diluted vinegar solution. Remove and rinse the lint filter if your machine has one. After the cycle, leave the door open to dry. This step removes the source of washing machine odor in clothes. Repeat monthly if you wash heavily soiled pet items or workout gear.

Corrective action: Strip and rewash the towels

For towels that already smell musty, wash them separately from other laundry. Use the hottest water the fabric care label allows. Add a detergent designed for odor and stain removal, and skip fabric softener entirely. If your towels are white or colorfast, add half a cup of baking soda to the wash cycle. For extra odor removal, add half a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Then dry the towels on high heat until completely dry. If they still smell after one stripping wash, repeat the process once. Persistent odor after two washes means the biofilm has penetrated the fibers and the towels may need to be replaced.

Prevention: Stop the smell from coming back

Wash towels at least every three to four uses, and never leave wet towels in the washer or a closed hamper. Hang towels to dry with space between them so air reaches all sides. Use only the recommended amount of detergent; more soap does not mean cleaner towels. Once a month, run a hot cleaning cycle with vinegar or a washer cleaner. If you have pets, wash their towels and bedding separately from your own to avoid transferring oils and odor. A laundry stain remover with enzymes can help break down pet oils before they set.

Diagnosis: Match the smell to the fix

• Smell only on towels, washer smells clean: The odor is in the fabric. Strip the towels with a hot wash, oxygen bleach if safe for the fabric, and a full dry cycle. Do not use fabric softener. If one stripping wash does not work, repeat once. If the smell remains, replace the towels.
• Smell in the washer drum or laundry room: Biofilm is growing in the machine. Clean the seal, drawer, and filter, then run a hot cycle with vinegar or a washer cleaner. If the smell returns within a week, call a technician to check the drain pump and internal hoses.
• Towels smell musty right after a hot wash and dry: The washer is likely transferring odor, or the towels have permanent biofilm. Clean the washer first, then strip the towels. If both fail, the towels are done. Stop treating and replace the towels. Continued washing will not remove embedded biofilm.

Products that help with musty odors

• Pet Stain & Odor Remover: New, no rinse formula for easier, faster treatments. Powerful 10-in-1 enzyme-powered formula effectively destroys pet stains & odors. Concentrated stain & odor elimination. Works on urine, feces, vomit, blood, saliva, mud, hairball, food and water spills, gland secretions, and other bodily secretions. If musty odors come from pet accidents on towels or bedding, this enzyme formula breaks down the source instead of just masking it. The no-rinse option saves a step when you pretreat before washing.
• Laundry Stain Remover: Don’t stress the mess. Let the universe’s best stain remover tackle stains early on, so you can save your favorite clothes! The results are so incredible some even say we’ve created something other-wordly, it’s a super natural stain remover. Works on sweat, grass, ink, armpit, and wine stains. Sweat and body oils trapped in towel fibers can hold odor even after washing. Pretreating with a stain remover before the wash helps lift the residue that traps musty smells.