After washing and drying my towels they smell moldy when I use them. I cleaned my washer with a mold remover product hoping that would help with the smell of the towels but it didn't. Could there be mold in the hot water heater that is causing this terrible smell?

Bacteria can grow inside a water heater but you should be able to tell if this is your situation by filling a bucket half full of water. Stick your face into the top half of the bucket and breathe through your nose with your mouth open. Do you get a musty odor?

I filled a bucket and the water smelled fine. Even though I ran Washer Magic through my washer could there still be mold in the machine somewhere? The condo we live in sat empty for 1 1/2 years. Could mold have built up in the washer in that time?

Run a load of just hot water and a 1/2 gallon of bleach. Then run a flush of plain water.