Making towels soft

onewhoasks

savingfortomorrow wrote: »

Throw a few table spoons of sodium bicarbonate or bread soda in the machine with the towels, it will strip any residual detergent from the fibres of the towel. It will help a good deal if the water is soft. Hard water areas your efforts will be merely reversed upon the next wash or two.

Hi, will try sodium bicarbonate , thanks for the tip. My water supply is softened so hard water shouldn't be causing the problem.

Thanks to everyone else for the tips to. I will try the steam iron trick, and if that doesnt work take the towels down the laundrette for a tumble dry to see if this makes a difference too - havent got room for a dryer at home though

ciderwithrosie_2

paddyrg wrote: »

True story - rock'n'roll stage towels are usually specified as 'black, pre-washed' so make sure they're more absorbent (than new towels)!

I caught Suggs' towel when he threw it into the crowd after wearing it for Night Boat to Cairo, that was not new but it was a white one and smelt of Rich Tea biscuits (think it had been in a very hot dryer).

PasturesNew

I've never had/used a soft towel.... but I am now using a new towel and it's very annoying as it's all silky soft and water doesn't stick to it. I think you get a better "rub and dry off" with a scratchy towel. You know you've had a bath and dried. Proper job.

amibovvered

adandem wrote: »

I think I must be one of the only people I know who actually prefers my towels when they're rougher

So glad you said that - it was my first reaction when I read this thread but I didn't add a response cos I thought everybody would think I was weird!

gayleygoo

I prefer them rough too, they seem to dry me off more quickly! I do love a tumbled-dried soft towel though, it's luxury when I have a chance to stay in a hotel or my mum, for some reason, has washed a load of towels for me at her house I very occasionally add a teeny bit of fabric softener to a towel wash load, but white vinegar is more usual as it doesn't decrease the absorbency of the towels. If you don't currently use any soap/detergent to wash the towels, the odd dose of that might help?

When I used cloth nappies they got dried on the line and the radiators, and could be quite crunchy. I rubbed them roughly together to fluff them up a bit, maybe it would work for towels? Just a quick rub before you fold and put them away. If you have a load to do, maybe put them in the washing machine on a spin only after they have dried? The friction should do much the same as a tumble dryer, just without the heat.

oldtractor

I must be the only person who doesnt like fluffy towels. I love them when they are scratchy.

rach_k

Soap nuts have a mild softening effect on laundry compared to using standard detergent without fabric softener so that won't be causing it.

You could try adding a little bit of something like Ecover fabric softener. I know softener is not recommended for towels (or nappies) but using only a little shouldn't affect them too much and if you ensure you wash it out thoroughly at the next wash before adding more (or use it every few washes), it won't have a cumulative effect that causes problems. I'd go with Ecover or something similar as some people can successfully use it even with nappies. Alternatively, if you can stand the synthetic stinkiness, Bold 2 in 1 contains a clay based softener which shouldn't affect absorbency, but I'm not sure if you have skin problems that would make you want to avoid it.

Another option could be to add some water softener e.g. soda crystals or supermarket versions of Calgon - I don't know how soft your water is after having a water softener fitted but when washing in soft water, I still find water softener powder helps a little bit. I use the cheap Tesco stuff.

Kathy535

I love scratchy towels. Exfoliating and drying in one go. DH hates them though. However, we don't have a tumble dryer, so I win!

marleyboy

I'm the opposite, in fact OH had to correct me when I complained how the towels needed replacing because they had gone too soft.

I prefer the starchy, scratchy, scrubby type of towel, so I can be vigorous with a scrubby dry off.

zippychick

Ive merged this with an old thread which may help

this one may also be useful

Zip