clothes smell musty... how can I resolve this issue?

[Dar]

Its just my sons clothes. I do wash his all by themselves and have for a while now just cause he is a teenage boy and well they can stink sometimes.

I wash my hubbys clothes alone too because he gets grease from work all over the place

I wash mine and my daughters together

My sons clothes are the only ones that smell musty. Like they were damp and not allowed to dry properly. as the weeks pass they get worse and worse.

I have tried washing them with borax.. no luck
white vinegar.... no luck
oxy clean.. no luck

I thought it may be my washer but no one elses clothes smell like this.

I have started breaking up the loads as I dry, the harder stuff, the stuff that is most likely to stay damp after everything else is dry like jeans and heavy towels all go on the line now and at the end of the day I will throw them in the dryer for 10 min to make them less stiff and to make sure waist bands are dry

he showers daily, with soap

I have cleaned my washer with one of those washer packs you throw in and run a cycle. My washer is a front loader.

any other suggestions?

 

[BrattishTaz]

I was going to say Borax or Oxyclean.

Have you tried soaking in baking soda? Maybe spray with Febreeze before washing?

 

[Dar]

Quote:
have not tried baking soda... and I dont like fabreeze..it just masks odor

next wash i will use the presoak setting and dump a box of soda in there

 

[mercedes]

Have you tried using dryer sheets?

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

How do you dry your clothes - in a dryer or line-dried? If you don't line-dry them, just try it with hims. The UV radiation (a natural disinfectant) will kill the goo in his clothes that are making the smell.

 

[Theo]

Try an enzyme cleaner, like Kids n Pets. It worked for me and my musky teenager. Also it removed the mildew odor from clothes left in the washer for a couple days. Try soaking for 30 minutes with the enzyme cleaner, then washing as usual. Good luck.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
i line dry the heavy stuff in the summer but in the winter i use my dryer... heavy stuff is jeans, towels, hoodies...

 

[33yardbirds]

I haved had good results using a heaping tblspn of baking soda along with detergent.

 

[arabianequine]

I would use vinager and/or baking soda. Maybe try vanilla which is expensive unless you make your own.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
did vinegar on its own.. no results.. but if i mix it with baking soda will the chemical reaction damage my washer?