How to Get Rid of a Musty Smell in Towels

Wash the towels again, then dry them completely before you use or store them. The musty smell usually comes from towels sitting damp too long, detergent residue, or a washer that leaves moisture behind. The safest fix is to rewash the towels on the right settings, use only a normal amount of detergent, and make sure they come out fully dry.

What you need before you start

• The musty towels you want to clean again
• Your regular laundry detergent
• An odor remover that is safe for towels and your washing machine, if you plan to use one
• A dryer, clothesline, or drying rack
• Clean space to hold the towels after washing so they do not sit in a damp pile

Before you rewash anything, check the towels themselves. If they just smell stale or damp, you can usually try to clean them again. If you see visible mold, slime, or fabric that has started to break down, the towel may not be worth saving. That kind of damage can be hard to remove completely, and a towel that stays unpleasant after repeated washing is often better replaced than kept around.

Wash the towels again the right way

1. Wash the towels by themselves if you can.

Towels hold onto lint, residue, and odors more easily than lightweight clothes, so mixing them with other laundry can make odor removal less reliable.

2. Shake the towels out before loading them.

This helps loosen trapped moisture, lint, and any stale smell that has settled into the fibers.

3. Use the hottest water the care label allows.

Hot water helps remove the buildup that often causes towel odor, but only use it if the label says the towel can handle it. If the label calls for cooler water, follow that instead.

4. Add a normal amount of detergent, not extra.

Too much detergent can leave a film behind, and that residue can trap smells. Use the amount your detergent label calls normal for the load size. If you add an odor booster, use only the amount the product label calls for and only if it is safe for the towel fabric and your machine. More cleaner is not better here; leftover residue can make the smell stick around.

5. Run the full wash cycle and avoid cramming the drum.

Towels need room to move so water can rinse through them. An overloaded washer can leave detergent and smell behind.

If the towels smell very strongly after the first wash, repeat the wash once more rather than adding more and more detergent. Extra soap usually makes the problem worse, not better.

Dry them completely, all the way through

Dry the towels immediately after washing. Do not leave them in the washer, even for a short time, because that gives moisture another chance to settle into the fibers and bring the smell back.

Use the dryer if the towel label allows it, and dry until the towels are dry through the thickest part, not just warm on the outside. Thicker towels can feel dry at the edges while the center still holds dampness, so check the folded middle before you put them away.

If you air-dry towels, spread them out so air can reach as much fabric as possible. Hanging them bunched up slows drying and can keep a faint damp smell in the fibers. Whatever method you use, the towel should feel fully dry before it goes into a linen closet or drawer.

A towel that is even slightly damp can smell fine for a little while and then turn musty again once it sits folded in a closed space. That is why the drying step matters as much as the wash.

Check whether the smell is gone

Once the towels are completely dry, smell them before you fold them away. They should smell clean, or at least neutral, not damp or stale.

If you use one after washing, the smell should not come back when the towel warms up against your skin. A simple check is to hold the towel after it has cooled and again after a normal use. If it still smells musty when dry, or if folding it brings the smell back, the odor is still in the fabric or the towel did not dry fully. In that case, repeat the wash-and-dry process with less detergent and better airflow during drying.

If the smell keeps coming back

If the musty smell returns after one careful rewash, the problem is usually not the towel alone.

A few common causes are:

• Too much detergent, which leaves residue in the fibers
• Towels sitting too long in a damp hamper or laundry basket before washing
• A washer drum, gasket, or dispenser that holds moisture or buildup
• Towels being put away before they are fully dry
• Washing too many towels at once, so they do not rinse well

Try the process again with less detergent, a cleaner load, and a fuller dry. If you have been using fabric softener on towels, stop using it for a while, since it can leave a coating that holds odor. Also make sure your hamper and washer are dry between loads.

If a towel still smells musty after repeated washing and thorough drying, or if it has visible mold or damage, it may be time to replace it. At that point the smell is often baked into the fabric or the towel has absorbed too much buildup to fully recover.