How To Get Stubborn Smells Out of Kitchen Towels With Vinegar, According to an Expert

By helitra·November 12, 2026·3 min read

It’s so satisfying to have a clean basket of kitchen linens. What I don’t love is when I pull out a towel and realize it’s “clean” yet has a festering musty smell. There’s nothing worse than washing dishes and realizing the dish cloth is so stinky you immediately want to perform a smell exorcism on your hands.

Odors can seem to wash away, only to rapidly creep up again. Why don’t they vanish in the regular wash, and how can you get rid of them? Thankfully, it’s not difficult—and you probably have just the thing in your kitchen: white vinegar.

How To Blast Odors Away With Vinegar

A laundry cycle with lots of vinegar does a few things: It neutralizes odors and helps strip away any buildup of grease or fabric softener that could be lurking on your towels. This buildup can trap bacteria and lock in funky smells.

You won’t use detergent in this cycle. And we’re definitely not using bleach. It’s completely unnecessary, plus it’s dangerous to mix with vinegar.

Before loading the towels, add one cup of distilled white vinegar directly to the drum for front-loading machines or two cups for top-loading machines. Then add the towels and run the load on the hottest, longest cycle possible; if there’s a pre-soak option, use it.

When the cycle is over, launder as usual, though with about a third as much detergent as normal.

What if That Doesn’t Work?

The vinegar method is my favorite, but it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. I test-drove a few others while researching my laundry guidebook.

Try laying your towels in bright sunlight for 30 minutes. Or soak them overnight in a solution of one cup baking soda per one gallon of water.

For especially bad cases, go old-school: Boil the offending items in a stockpot for 15 minutes, let the pot cool down enough so it’s safe to drain, then wash as normal. This is enough of a pain in the butt that you might consider throwing in the towel and buying new kitchen linens.

How To Keep Kitchen Towels Clean and Fresh

There are so many things I want to tell you about keeping your towels in tip-top shape, but we only have so much time together. Here are tips to get you started:

If you don’t wash with hot water, look for detergent that’s specially formulated for cold water
Avoid fabric softener, which creates a sticky residue that picks up gunk the odors cling to
Let sopping wet dirties air-dry some before chucking in the hamper—even draping them over the side of the hamper is better than nothing
Too much detergent leads to buildup so measure it carefully and use less for smaller loads
Move clean loads to the dryer as soon as possible because even a few hours in a dark, damp washing machine can lead to mildew growth
Keep the door of the washer ajar between uses—closing it traps in moisture and promotes mildew growth