Making towels soft

mrs_baggins

yes I know what you mean. none of my towels are like those nice fluffy ones you get in posh hotels. If i want mine a bit better than normal i dry them as best as i can either on line or airer then zap them in the tumble drier for 15 minutes. Still not really fluffy but that may be down to the cheapness of the towels in my case. I think a lot of towels might have some added finishers to make the fibres appear better than they actually are and once you wash them you lose it.-maybe I am just talking rubbish though! I am sure someone who knows better will post soon

Sunny_Angel

Yeah vinegar will sort them, probably need a hot wash to get fabric conditioner out, and maybe an extra rinse or two. If line drying give them a good shake out before pegging them out.
The fabric conditioner will also reduce the absorbancy in the towels.
HTH
Sunny Angel

tanith

Thanks so far everyone , I haven't heard of the 'calgon' method:rotfl: anything is worth a try though as at present my options are the duster bin or bottom of the cupboard:rotfl:

tanith

Sunny Angel have I got this right I hot wash them and then rinse in vinegar? I did try washing them with no conditioner several times but they were just as scratchy

squeaky

I dunno... <sigh>...

You get yer towels all fluffy and soft and then buy exfoliant creams and special rough gloves... when all ya need is a vigourous wipe down with a nice scratchy towel.

Can't you just tell I'm a bloke?!

Sunny_Angel

tanith wrote:

Sunny Angel have I got this right I hot wash them and then rinse in vinegar? I did try washing them with no conditioner several times but they were just as scratchy

Ummmm:o
I would put vinegar in the wash as you are trying to remove the conditioner build up in the fabric rather than using it to keep your usual wash soft IYKWIM

If you put a good dash of it into the powder drawer as the machine is filling then it should get right into the fibres and remove the build up. If i understand it properly it coats the fabric to make it feel softer. So if you have used loads in the past then the fibres are just going to be extra coated. (A bit like pouring cold water on a frozen car windscreen. It will only build up rather than dissolve it)

With regards to how much vinegar, i couldnt put an amount on it (I cook this way too) just think too much isnt going to cause a problem, and vinegar costs nothing compared to nice expensive towels. What have you got to lose?

If you notice an improvement but they are not as soft as you like/expect, it may be worth repeating the process to see if the is still some conditioner left.

But then again maybe someone else will come along with a completely different theory:o

HTH
Sunny Angel

Sunny_Angel

squeaky wrote:

I dunno... <sigh>...

You get yer towels all fluffy and soft and then buy exfoliant creams and special rough gloves... when all ya need is a vigourous wipe down with a nice scratchy towel.

Can't you just tell I'm a bloke?!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Oh so true....call off the vinegar!

Alison_B

I always have this problem and find that if I dry them in the dryer they are much softer.

dannahaz

Hi Tanith

I had a similar problem, but found that mine wasn't about fabric confitioner, it was that I was using too much powder in my machine.

I use tablets and, as I have soft water, I was only using one tablet instead of two. However my towels were just horrible. I tried using vinegar conditioner for a while, but it made no discernible difference.

So I switched to powder, same brand, and used 1/4 of the recommended amount (remember I have soft water), and continued with the vinegar as conditioner. After the first wash, my towels were better.

I'd be lying if I said they were restored to their original fluffiness, but they've only had one wash under the new regime, so I am hoping that subsequent washes will bring further improvement.

I line dry (or on an airer) my stuff, and I don't use the tumble dryer. I might try it to finish the towels if they don't get better after a few more washes.

Hope that helps.

sproggi

Not a lot of help but, I once asked an AS rep how they kept the lace so lovely and soft as I found that it was never the same after I had washed it, she said that they do a rinse in hair conditioner.

I would guess that they do a simular thing to new towels (although maybe not hair conditioner!), I am tempted to try it myself to see as we are all softees and cannot stand scratchy towels:rolleyes:

Sproggi