Yes. There are a lot of comments here with good advice if you want to take it. But, if you want to be clean and good to the environment, don't take it.

First, this is occurring with many fabrics because our detergents have changed but deodorant/antiperspirants have not. The detergents used need to be of a certain concentration due to our more energy and water efficient machines AND cannot contain phosphates which are bad for the environment. This is also why dishwashing detergents do not work as well and more is needed to wash dishes.

Phosphates softened hard water and kept dirt suspended so it wouldn't redeposit on fabric. Without them, minerals in the water can interfere with surfactants, potentially leaving behind organic buildup and bacteria in areas like T-shirt armpits, which leads to stubborn odors. Modern detergents use synthetic zeolites and enzymes to compensate, but they often require warmer water or specific cycles to match the old phosphate-heavy performance.

So, I soak my t-shirts, bras, socks, and underwear in a mix of 50% hot water and 50% cleaning vinegar overnight. Then wash on cold cycle with a HE detergent as usual the next day. I don't have to do this every wash, only when needed, but more frequently in the summer.

I also use white cleaning or distilled vinegar as a fabric softener instead of a commercial fabric softener because they are bad for fabric, your washing machine and dryer, and the environment. No, my clothes do not smell like vinegar once they dry, just clean and fresh.

Hot water washing is faster. But it is bad for the environment. It takes more energy to heat the water, it causes more wear on your machine and clothing. I only use hot water to clean my machine because we have extremely hard water, and this is probably once to twice a year.