Making towels soft

spendaholic

I always tumble dry my towels - whatever the weather - they're the only thing I always tumble dry. I find they come out nice and thick and fluffy, but if I hang them on the line, even for a short while, they get stiff and scratchy. I don't use fabric conditioner, just Ariel non-bio or Fairy. (I have a reaction to Bold and Persil doesn't seem to clean so well as it used to.)

I also wash them on 40.

Magentasue

I think a lot of it is whether you have hard or soft water. We live in a soft water area and don't really need fabric conditioner or vinegar. I always use it in the winter but only a fraction of what they say, I've tried vinegar and it all makes little difference. Everything comes out soft and my towels are fluffy whereas my mother's towels are scratchy and flat because she lives in a hard water area and doesn't have a tumble drier.

suzanna

Hi

I have just been to see my nan and she has told me that she takes all her towels to the laundrette so that she can use the dryer there to make them soft and fluffy (she has no room for a tumble dryer)

I said that i would ask on here is anyone knew the secret of how to get towels soft without using a tumble dryer as if anyone knew it would be you.

Any help would be much apreciated.

Thank you

Suzanna :rudolf:

innovate

I almost never use the tumble-dryer because I can hang towels to dry over towel radiators and my towels are always soft.... My washing machine has a crease-protection feature which takes about 10 mins at the end of each wash, and it does make a huge difference if I let it go through that. I do use fabric-softener (Lenor) as well.

Other things you can try:

1. add a teaspoon of bicarbonate to the last rinsing cycle
2. indian soapnuts. Some people swear by them - as substitutes for both, washing powder and fabric softener. I have never used them myself, may be someone else on MSE has. Soapnut info

Zed42

I always use a "slug" of white vinegar in the final rinse which does the trick.

(1st posting on O/S, hope you don't mind, I've been lurking a-while)
:xmassign:

squeaky

Hiya,

Nobody minds at all. Always glad to welcome new victi... er posters

jcr16

i always found u need a good quality towel to start off with , and don't wash it too much. once every few days. never tried vinegar tho, might give that a try , but does it make your towels smell of vinegar ?

Zed42

I have to say all my towels are good quality (seconds admittedly, but good quality).

However, no - it doesn't make them smell of vinegar at all. The vinegar seems to eradicate the soap residue hence making them soft.

Works beautifully on my towels (and my daughter's nappies) .. also has the added benefit of being anti-bacterial..

cattie

I found that when I cut down on the amount of soap powder I was using that my towels were much softer. I believe I got the tip to do this from this forum some time ago.

My face flannels used to come out like boards, but now are lovely & fluffy.

lily_the_pink

I actually dont like my towels too soft!


I was told not to use fabric conditioner as this coats the towel and stops them from being absorbent - I tend to use fabric conditioner now and then on towels (once every 5 washes say) just so that they dont exfoliate the body too much