Making towels soft

thehappybutterfly

I like crunchy towels too! I have one very good quality towel but it's just too soft - it kind of 'pushes' the water around my body.

I didn't know about towels building up softener etc. You learn something new every day on this forum! Can I ask what baking soda is and where you find it?

notanewuser

thehappybutterfly wrote: »

I like crunchy towels too! I have one very good quality towel but it's just too soft - it kind of 'pushes' the water around my body.

I didn't know about towels building up softener etc. You learn something new every day on this forum! Can I ask what baking soda is and where you find it?

Soda crystals. They're usually with the laundry stuff/stain removers in supermarkets.

Charis

Baking soda is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar, used in cooking. Half a cup of it at T*sco prices plus two 60º washes would make it an expensive way to wash towels. Washing soda and just one wash with vinegar in the rinse aid drawer would be a ample. Washing soda can be obtained from B**ts chemist, if you can't find it in the supermarket.
For those who don't like stiff towels, rubbing them together (as though washing by hand, but without water) softens them up.

casperlarue

casperlarue wrote: »

Over time, towels build up detergent and fabric softener, leaving them unable to absorb as much water and smelly. Recharge them by washing them once with 60 deg hot water and 1cup vinegar, then a 2nd time with 60 deg hot water and half cup baking soda. This strips the residue and leaves them fresh and able to absorb more water again.

Apologies, should have explained more thoroughly...... I found this info on Pinterest so it's probably using american terms. I think bicarb would do the same job. Plus I would only do this every 2 months or so when the towels really need it, I agree every wash would be way too expensive!

I'm definately a soft towel girl, rough towels are a bit torturous! :rotfl:

Lucy_Lastic

Bicarbonate of soda and baking powder are the same thing:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070907133523AAFAcQW

They are used in cooking.


Washing soda is very different and must not be consumed!

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-washing-soda.htm

Don't get your sodas mixed up!

BTW - I washed my towels with WASHING soda (in the powder drawer) and white vinegar (in the softener drawer), dried them indoors overnight on the drying rack, then the next day when they were still slightly damp I tumbled them for 15 minutes (withough balls, not bought any yet). They are now lovely and soft.

Thank you casparlarue.

notanewuser

Lucy_Lastic wrote: »

Bicarbonate of soda and baking powder are the same thing:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070907133523AAFAcQW

They are used in cooking.


)

Actually, they aren't. Bicarbonate of soda is an ingredient in baking powder, but there are other things in it too.

Lucy_Lastic

You are quite right, I stand corrected:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/knowhow/glossary/baking-powder/

Here they even tell you how to pronounce it!

I just wanted to ensure that no-one mixed it up with washing soda.

You can put baking soda or bicarb in your wash if you want to of course, but it's far more expensive and will not have the same effect as washing soda, so why would you?

liz105

Hello all

nearly all of our bath, 'hair', and hand towels are old and having been in constant use with 4 of us, getting a bit hard. Not crusty dirty yucky hard (!) just hard and not nice to use.

I cant justify going and spending out buying new ones, how can I get the ones I have all soft and nice again? or at least not feeling like Im wrapping my hair up in newspaper??

thanks !

pigpen

I'll swap for my stupid fluffy things that don't get the water off.

Valli

How do you dry them? - when I dry mine in the tumble drier they come out fluffy; when I line dry, in the summer, they are hard.