Warm towel smell
Dec 31, 2012, 10:54 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Miami, near the US
Programs: AA EXP, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Plat, Avis Select, MHC, Amex Plat
Posts: 102
Warm towel smell
Has anyone noticed that the warm towel smell is less than pleasant? Do they launder these things. Have you ever been able to find such a poor quality rag as this for sale?
Last edited by Georgemia; Dec 31, 2012 at 10:56 pm Reason: added able in last sentence
Jan 1, 2013, 1:50 am
#3
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Programs: UA 1K, AA Lifetime Platinum, DL Platinum, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 7,969
I've certainly gotten stinky ones before. I think it depends on what water they use. Sometimes they'll use the airplane tap water, and other times they'll use bottled water.
Jan 1, 2013, 7:08 am
#4
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP 4MM
Posts: 396
It might be an old, well used, coffee pot. The towels come in a plastic tray and then hot water is pour over them. Hot water comes from the coffee pot.
Jan 1, 2013, 7:45 am
#6
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP (LT Plat), HH DIA, Hyatt DIA
Posts: 456
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10A551 Safari/8536.25)
First things first, can we mostly agree that sometimes the towels smell foul?
I have a hard time believing that any frequent premium flyer (with a working nose) has not experienced this.
Safe Travels
First things first, can we mostly agree that sometimes the towels smell foul?
I have a hard time believing that any frequent premium flyer (with a working nose) has not experienced this.
Safe Travels
Jan 1, 2013, 7:59 am
#8
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: AA EXP (2.2mm), SPG Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 225
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 6_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10A551 Safari/8536.25)
First things first, can we mostly agree that sometimes the towels smell foul?
I have a hard time believing that any frequent premium flyer (with a working nose) has not experienced this.
Safe Travels
First things first, can we mostly agree that sometimes the towels smell foul?
I have a hard time believing that any frequent premium flyer (with a working nose) has not experienced this.
Safe Travels
Jan 1, 2013, 9:17 am
#9
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold but PlatPro thanks to LPs
Posts: 4,439
If they are so disgustingly stinky, just say "No thanks" when they come around.
Jan 1, 2013, 10:07 am
#10
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: MCO-The Mouse House
Programs: AA EXPlt, SPG Plt, Nat EE
Posts: 1,542
As has been mentioned, it's the water.
The problem is they don't clean the water tanks, coffee pots, etc etc well or at all.
If you guys recall about 5 years ago we had a similar discussion about the ice at certain stations smelling bad. It's the same thing there, the supplier doesn't clean the ice machines allowing bacteria to grow creating the unusual taste and smell.
The problem is they don't clean the water tanks, coffee pots, etc etc well or at all.
If you guys recall about 5 years ago we had a similar discussion about the ice at certain stations smelling bad. It's the same thing there, the supplier doesn't clean the ice machines allowing bacteria to grow creating the unusual taste and smell.
Jan 1, 2013, 10:37 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2002
Programs: AA Plat, Fairmont Platinum, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 4,534
They used to smell so nice. I forget what they used to infuse them with. I want to say cucumber, but I'm not sure.
I have also noticed that they smell less than pleasant lately. They smell like an old rag. It's just one more little thing that tells it's own story.
I have also noticed that they smell less than pleasant lately. They smell like an old rag. It's just one more little thing that tells it's own story.
Jan 1, 2013, 10:50 am
#12
Join Date: Sep 1999
Programs: AA EXP, SPG PLT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton GLD
Posts: 974
AA's towels are so thin and cheap they would disintigrate if you tried to wash them and reuse.
Jan 1, 2013, 11:15 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: LAX
Posts: 6,769
Yes, I've occasionally noticed the smell, too. Lately, I've been receiving a lot of cold towels that were just dripping wet.
Jan 1, 2013, 11:20 am
#14
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
They match the quality of the holeless napkins. Something special in the air - oh, yeah! 
Jan 1, 2013, 11:28 am
#15
Join Date: May 2007
Programs: AAdvantage, Hilton
Posts: 3,191
