I had a rag that even when clean smelled funny. Repeated washings didn’t seem to fix it and I figured I would need to throw it away.
However, I remembered that there was a cycle on the washer that I hadn’t used labeled sanitize. Perhaps that might work? I put that rag in and another rag that didn’t have the smell to use as a control and I started the cycle.
The cycle said it took 2 hours. Two hours of water and detergent for two small rags. Was it environmentally friendly? Perhaps. If I can save that rag then I can continue to use it and not have to bear the cost and destruction to buy another one. I did this yesterday and then I forgot about it. Later I remembered that it was going and checked on it. It smelled different not good or bad when I took it out of the wash cycle. I put it in the dryer and waited.
Then (drum roll) the smell was gone. I was thrilled. I never had a washer that had a sanitized cycle but apparently, it worked. Now there are other things I am going to wash with this cycle and see if it makes them smell fresh and new.
I wish that I had known about this sanitizing cycle earlier. I had often used rags in the past that after a messy clean up never were the same. They got washed but they still smelled off. If I had known this earlier I would have asked my laundry service to sanitize my clothes now and then. It is a nice way to make things smell better and be healthier.