Ringworm is a fungal skin infection; there are several different types of fungus that can cause ringworm. 1  Symptoms of ringworm, other than dog hair loss, include: 2  Scaliness. 3  Crusty areas. 4  Pustules. 5  Vesicles. 6  Itchiness. 7  Draining.
Neither the water heater nor the softener has had anything done to it in 11 years other than me adding salt to the water softener salt storage container. We have hard water. Recently, in the past several months, our water has got sort of a musty smell (for lack of a better description) intermittently.
Fabric softener often traps odors in the fibers as well, and makes towels less effective at drying one's body. If, despite one's efforts to keep towels smelling fresh, they continue to have a mildew smell, the problem is sometimes in the washing machine.