The main culprit for towels losing their magical softness is residue from detergents and body oils that build up within the fabric. This buildup of left-over products will cause stiffness and a rough, crackly feeling. These remnants from products also diminish your towel's ability to absorb moisture.
Fabric softeners contain silicon that will make towels water repellent, so they won't get as good a wash. Instead, soften your towels by using one cup of white vinegar about every six weeks; this will remove the soapy residue that makes towels feel rough, bringing back softness while restoring them to full absorbency.
Towels are hard after washing because they build up soapy residue and are over-dried. Here's the good news: With a few simple tricks, you can restore your towels to their original softness and help ensure that they never go scratchy again. Use warm water.
It happens when fabric softeners and residue from dryer sheets build up on the fibers. But even the crustiest of towels can feel like new by washing them with this simple trick. First, load your washer with towels (clean or dirty, doesn't matter) and set your washer's temperature to hot water or the sanitize cycle.
The main reason is that they wash their towels in hot water 40-50c with commercial detergent and no fabric softener. Fabric softener can really reduce the absorbency of your towels,which leave a waxy residue on towels, for example. Also, cotton gets more absorbent with use, and hotel towels are well-used.
Baking soda is another naturally effective way to soften your bath towels. Just add 1/2 cup of baking soda along with your normal amount of detergent in the wash. Like vinegar, baking soda will also help remove build up from your towels, making your towels softer.
“A stiff towel probably means the dryer was too stuffed,” Rapinchuk says. Dryer balls or clean tennis balls can help reduce static and break up clumps. It's also not a bad idea to open the door midway through the cycle and pull apart any tangled towels.
Soften towels with vinegar
The expert-recommended way to soften towels that have become scratchy is to use vinegar. 'Throw a cup of white vinegar in your next wash,' advises textiles expert and CEO of New Sega Home, Brian Delp. The towels have likely become stiff and scratchy because of the use of fabric softener.
Vinegar is sometimes used as a fabric softener or for getting rid of stains and odors in laundry. But as with dishwashers, it can damage the rubber seals and hoses in some washing machines to the point of causing leaks.
Hard water minerals will cause stiff fabrics by remaining in your laundry and making the fabrics feel hard. This is particularly noticeable straight after washing, when you feel your once-fluffy towels and notice that they are no longer soft, but rather stiff and scratchy.
The experiments conducted by the research team found that bound water on the surface of the cotton fibers created a "capillary adhesion" of the tiny fibers to each other, creating stiffness in the fabric when these little strings glued together.
Waxy buildup from softeners can deteriorate the towel fibers over time and reduce their absorbency. No one wants a towel that's not fluffy, so be careful when using fabric softener with towels.
When washing your clothing, add 1/2 cup of vinegar to the fabric softener compartment just before the last rinse cycle. If you'd like your clothes to have a mild scent, add four or five drops of essential oil into the fabric softener compartment.
Use Vinegar or Baking Soda
Avoid fabric softeners. They usually contain silicon, which makes towels less absorbent so they don't wash well. Instead, use half a cup of vinegar or baking soda with your towels.
Because vinegar contains acetic acid, it dissolves all sorts of grime and mineral deposits on your towels. Baking soda is alkaline, which helps to neutralize odors. To recharge your towels, be sure to: Wash your towels with 1 cup of white vinegar and hot water.
Do wash your towels every two to three uses. If your towels begin to feel stiff or less absorbent, add vinegar or borax to your machine every few washes to refresh them and remove detergent residue.
Using too much detergent can result in concentrated detergent being left on the fibres, making them feel coarse. Make sure that the washing machine is not overloaded – especially with heavy cotton garments such as jeans or towels which absorb a lot of water.
Add 1/2 cup baking soda right over the towels. Don't worry about using the dispenser, just pour it right over the towels. If you have a standard washer machine, use 1 cup of baking soda and add it to the towels and then fill with water. DO NOT ADD SOAP OR VINEGAR, ADD NOTHING BUT BAKING SODA!
1. Wash your towels with hot water and 1 cup of white vinegar, (don't use any detergents or fabric softeners). 2. Run the towels through a second wash with 1/2 cup baking soda and hot water, (again, no detergent or fabric softener).
Although vinegar and baking soda are safe to use in both regular and HE washing machines, they are considerably less efficient than high-performance laundry detergents at delivering an outstanding and odorless clean.
The main culprit for towels losing their magical softness is residue from detergents and body oils that build up within the fabric. This buildup of left-over products will cause stiffness and a rough, crackly feeling. These remnants from products also diminish your towel's ability to absorb moisture.
Vinegar is a laundry workhorse superstar! Use 1/4 cup of distilled white vinegar in the fabric softener compartment of your machine – it softens towels and helps removes bacteria, a much better option than coating said towels with synthetic chemicals.
A good temperature for washing towels and sheets is 40 degrees, but a 60 degree wash will be better at killing germs. Changing your sheets and towels once a week can help to keep them fresh and clean**. Use our laundry tips section for guidelines on different fabrics.