any tips for ....

[Katie O]

Getting the oil smell of towels

I wash my towels at 60 and tumble them with a bounce sheet - doesnt seem to matter what I do or how I store them but when I get the towels out to use them the seem to smell oily

there is absolutly nothing wrong with the towels otherwise, they are still soft and fluffy

any tips????

 

[soul on fire]

Have you tried a scoop of vanish in the wash?

Never had any problems when I use it, regardless of what state/smell my towels or clothes are in!!

 

[Yahoo]

no have to say hand not thought of that - will give it a try

thanks

 

[Nuge]

Hi hemelgirl

Do you use conditioner in the wash? Sorry if that's a silly question.

I don't really get a problem, occasionally when I open my clinic in the morning I may get a very slight oily smell but I think this may be from spillage on the floor and when a client with oily legs sits on the sofa after a treatment. But anywhere I get a whiff of oil I put a drop of essential oil down. If you put some essential oil on some cotton wool in an organza bag, for instance, and place it between your towels the aroma will permeate through them ready for the next day.

Rx

 

[Yesh! Yesh! Yesh!]

I sometimes put a scoop of calgon in with the wash (using half the amount of washing liquid at the same time) and do a bunch of towels on 95 - not very often, I have to admit, but it seems to remove any residual greasiness that may have stuck to the towels (do the same for the sheets too). I don't use conditioner.

 

[Kelly B]

I get this as well so I will try the cotton wool trick. I find that the only way to get rid of that oil smell is to dry the towels outside in the fresh air - even if its only to part dry them and then tumble. But not such a good idea at this time of year - its freeeeezing!!

Love Delores x

 

[Drizzy]

Can't say I've ever had this problem. The only smell that occasionally lingers around comes from the essential oils. Is this what you mean? If not, what carrier oils do you use?

 

[romeo]

Just a thought and I've never used this method myself.

But apparently a capful of white distilled vinegar in the washing machine drum with your washing is excellent for removing stains and I assume smells too.

But it has to be white distilled vinegar otherwise your clinic will smell like a fish and chip shop!

Rx

 

[Lightgreen]

Easiest way to avoid it don't use oil, use jojoba. Jojoba is a plant wax, rather than an oil, it doesn't go rancid, so you don't get that rancid oil smell. Jojoba is almost the same composition as the skin's own sebum, so laundry detergents designed to remove the grime from the skin (sebum) work on jojoba just as well.

I have heard that using some dishwashing liquid in the wash works very well in removing oil since that is what it is designed to work on - cooking grime made up of vegetable and animal oils, and that's what what massage oils are, vegetable oils. You reportedly don't have to do it every wash, just when required. I'm not usre of the quatities required either, and I'd be a bit a bit cautious with the ammount when experimenting with front loaders - you'd have to watch the sudsing levels.



I have gone to many therapists and encountered that rancid oil smell on their sheets, the ones I have told say they can't smell it, and dismissed the feedback. Maybe my nose is sensitive, but if I can smell it, someone else can......

 

[Michelle D]

Here's a thought:

I think that I don't really have a problem because of the brand of towel I use. I may be completely wrong but...I use the same brand for my home towels too and my Hubby is always moaning they don't absorb moisture very well when he is drying off after a shower (he's not wrong, but I don't tell him that).

So this got me thinKing, are the towels I use from a PRIMARy low cost high street retailer the reason why I don't really have a smelly towel problem?They are not overly-absorbent, but they are definitely large, fluffy, warm and soooooo reasonably priced, perfect for massage etc.

If you would like to know the name of the retailer pm me or look at this post again, the answer lies within?

Rx

 

[wfxgndol]

Hi there
A piece of advice I was given is not ever to use fabric conditioner as this makes the towels less absorbent. That's true, but they come out a bit more prickly than I would like. What about a compromise and using that fabric softener with Febreze in?

 

[Ryan Walsh]

thanks for the replies

yes I do use conditioner - I have tried putting essential oils in the airing cupboard, in the wash and in the rinse - all to no avail

I do use good quality carrier oils and use a variety of different ones in conjunction with my aromatherapy work - I replace oils on a regular basis, so it shouldnt be that any of them are rancid or on the way out.

I am going to try the vinegar option, I do use white vin to clean the house anyway and if not then the vanish that steveo reccomended - have white vin already but not the vanish so.....

ho hum

 

[JaimeQJ]

It's not that you are using rancid oils, it's once the oils get in the towels it isn't being replaced on a regular basis, it's soaked into the towel and not come out in the wash. Then it goes rancid in the towels and that's the oily smell, it's not the fresh oil that you use that smells, it's the older oils in the linen....

 

[Kendricktrene]

I know what the problem is, its the solution I am after

 

[kind]

Hi there, did you have any luck with this 'cos I seem to have the same problem with my towels. Even my tunic seems to have taken on an odour despite being regularly washed at 40 degrees with added fabric conditioner.

Many thanks

Smelly Nelly (quite literally!)

 

[Norma]

Hiya

the tip about using vanish has certainly helped although not very green sadly

 

[Hetyu]

Hi

If my towels take on a rancid carrier oil smell, I soak them for a few days in a strong solution of Biological washing powder - the type you can get at the Cash & Carry works well. I have even managed to get the stains out using this method.

Regards
EJ

 

[PiggyDog]

I haven't tried this remedy, but was advised of it whilst training - soak the towels in a solution of washing soda - this will dissolve the oil and then put them in the machine.

Luv Binah
x

 

[pgevruvcitaipperl]

Hi

I tried soaking the towels in a solution of Soda crystals as was recommended to me too, but it did not seem to work - perhaps I had the wrong concentration.

Regards
EJ

 

[Karo]

thanks for both ideas, will given them a try although finding somewhere big enough to soak them could be fun - what do you both use?