It sounds like your washer has been infected with the mildew organism. Run a tub, empty but set for large load, with a large bottle of cheap white vinegar. This will loosen up a lot of soap scum where the odor-causing bacteria are breeding.

Follow up with another empty, with your regular detergent and a couple of cups of ordinary bleach and a cup or two of baking soda, and swab down the parts that don't get wet with the bleach/water mix.

1. Leave the lid OPEN between loads to let the tub dry completely.

2. Check to make sure it is draining completely after a load.

3. Hang things on the outside line, not in an enclosed space, or even in the garage, if possible. You need maximum air flow.

4. Use 1/4 cup of washing soda (it's different from baking soda) in the wash for sheets and towels.

Towels are bad ... if DH is not hanging them so they can dry thoroughly, the various skin bacteria can make that musty smell. Can he be trained to alternate between two towels? Or just change towels more often.

Periodically repeat the vinegar followed by bleach treatment.

Are you using hot water on towels and underwear?
I suggest you run everything through a wash with washing soda....You likely have some detergent residue for the mold to grow.
Mildew is mold....and it would be very very ununusual for a regularly used washing maching to be "infected with the mildew organism".
Do you have a dryer? That should help a lot and also allowing things to dry quickly....a wadded and damp towel will smell very quickly.
Also do you use fabric softener? That will not only help by adding a perfume to your clothes, but also by retarding bacterial and mold growth.
Linda c

I run an empty load with bleach regularly (especially after washing the dog's bed). I keep the lid open as much as possible. I will try to dry the clothes elsewhere

I'll try the washing soda to see if that works.

Dh hangs up his towel on the same rack I do...his just seems to smell sooner (about 5times quicker than mine.

I use a generic liquid fabric softener on a rag in the dryer.

I don't wash his towels on hot but I could try that. I've been rinsing with vinegar this week to see if that will help as well.

Thanks for the tips. I'll try each of them.

i second lazygardens suggestions -

My towels were also smelling like mildew as soon as they got damp. Fresh from the washer,as soon as you started drying off and it got the slightest bit damp, it smelled awful.

I started washing the towels in HOT water using bleach and detergent. No more mildew smell.

That's why I prefer white towels. All whites or lights that do not need to be handled gently (underwear, towels, socks, kitchen towels) I use Tide with bleach/hot water.

That alone should do it. If not, use liquid bleach. However, the Tide is the easiest and not quite as rough on the clothing.

I use warm on any other clothing that is dark or less sturdy. Cold only on the darkest darks or gentle items.

Rule of thumb, use the hottest water that your clothing can take. I'm not familiar with "Purex". For anything other than something that can take bleach, I use Cheer with colorguard.

Never any problem with mildew smell.

Btw, if you line dry, don't let your clothing sit in the washing machine without immediately hanging it. The longer a fabric stays wet, the more likely you can get bacterial growth. Even bleach water won't 'sterilize' clothing...but using it greatly decreases your odds of mildew.

I would also say that cool weather line drying, especially if there is high humidity is going to make your clothing take much longer to dry.

I never do this except for delicates. Immediately into the dryer. But if you do do it, put it outside or in an area where it will dry as quickly as possible. Never would do this in a closet.

As to your Dh's towel? Wash more frequently. Again, he's got a wet towel that's just hanging around growing things.

Ooops, one more thing...When we purchased our new washer this past fall, one of the things that the salesman told us about was that the Neptune frontloaders were involved in a class action suit regarding mildew smell. Something involving the rubber gasket collecting water or something.

I had a Neptune frontloader in the past, and never had that problem, but I used bleach or bleach container detergent often enough that probably saved me.

So if you have a stink and Neptune is your washer, then I'd start researching this issue.

If it happens to be a problem with detergent residue buildup...Borax will take it out and sweeten up the laudry.

Thank you all for your ideas. The hot water did the trick. I was afraid of fading for one and usually washed in warm or cold. We also never had enough towels to do one load so I'd just throw them in with the darks or lights, therefore washing them in cold.

Now I'm doing them in one load in hot and the problem is solved!!! Also drying my other itmes outside our tiny little closet has helped a great deal on those items!!

Thanks again!