Making towels soft

irishwexford

I live in a hard water area and add vinegar to machine, if I have none then I just put towels in drier on low heat for a short time when I take them off line. If weather is wet for long spells I do use drier for a longer period but always on low heat. I save them up and do one big wash.

claireac

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

I don't have a tumble drier but have no problems - my towles are soft enough They dry indoors on a creel in bad weather and on the line in the summer.

I'll add this to the existing thread on soft towels later.

BTW - you're advised not to use fabric softener at all with towels, as it reduces their absorbency.

Penny. x

This is a great thread! Thank you for the link.

claireac

debtdesperado wrote: »

Kim and Aggie recommend putting a couple of clean tennis balls in the dryer with towels instead of fabric softener. I haven't tried it though!

I have a couple of dryer balls (hedgehogs my dd calls them!), so similar I think. They are quite good I find.

Grumpysally

OrkneyStar wrote: »

I realised that it was a bad idea to use fabric conditioner on towels when all the real nappy manufacturers advised not to use it on real nappies (cotton or synthetic ones). I try to line dry towels but with the climate here it is not always possible!
I agree grubby looking towels are a turn off even if you know they are clean! I was just asking DH why the tea towels looks so grubby as we should only be using them to dry clean dishes!

Not sure of my facts here but I seem to remember something about the reason that fabric looses its, "brightness" is because the manufacturers use optical brighteners and when that's washed away we think the fabric is 'grubby' so wash it more making it appear even duller. I'm sure someone more expert than me knows the proper answer. But probably doesn't need to read threads about getting towels fluffy because they already know
I know that my lovely white sheet are now lovely cream sheets.
Also don't forget we might be drying our 'clean' bodies but we are also sloughing off dead skin cells and our skin has a slightly acid ( I think ) P.H so will have some reaction on the fabric. Think Ill go now, I'm begining to sound very nerdy.
BTW I don't mind rough towels, but I do live in a soft water area so perhaps my rough towels are someone else's idea of luxury.

angelcakes_smw

I was just wondering, how do you find out if your water is hard or soft? And how much vinegar should you put in? Also, do you just put the vinegar in the drawer with the washing powder or do you not use any powder? Finally, I'm ahving this problem with all my clothes, not just my towels. I am having to dry them on the radiators at the moment as my tumble dryer broke (more than likely a good thing! lol) and I dont have a cothes airer, I thought the heat from the radiators would do a similar thing to the heat from the tumble dryer but all of my clothes are ending up like stiff boards!! Can anyone help me find my way? lol

janetmw

To find out about your water hardness you can enter your postcode on this website:

http://www.espares.co.uk/hardorsoftwater.aspx

As a rule of thumb, if you have limescale in your kettle and soap doesn't lather very well, the chances are that you are in a hard water area.

HTH

Janet

Grumpysally

Be careful if you are drying stuff on the radiators, apparently it can reduce the room temperature making the thermostat work harder therefore using more gas or something. luckily ours run off solid fuel stove so no thermostat to worry about.

angelcakes_smw

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

White Vinegar and put the towels on the line fo a good blow- it really works and no your towels won't smell of vinegar but they will smell lovely and fresh

my towels are still really rough and hard and they do smell pretty bad of vinegar

katieclampet

I use a splash of white vinegar (instead of fabric softner) and hang towels out, even if it is really cold. Infact, sometimes I think my towels feel softener when they have been practically frozen and defrosted!! They never smell of vinegar.

Maybe you put too much vinegar in?

katiex

jomilne

I love nice soft towels when you get out the bath - but I've never found a good way of making them soft other than putting them in the tumble drier. not very OS, but i suppose we all need to bend the rules occasionally!