We have some very nice bath towels that get a lot of use, but have stiffened over the years. I don’t want to get rid of them because they are not worn, still thick but not as fluffy. We have major skin sensitivities, so I don’t use fabric softener on anything (even the “free” ones). ALL free detergent is the safest for us all so that is used on everything. I use the dryer balls, but not much effect anymore.
Any ideas?
Try using 1 cut of white vinegar in a hot water cycle to strip any body oils and detergent residue from your towels.
Don’t use detergent during the vinegar wash. Dry as normal.
Similar to @WayOutWestMom , but with another step:
After doing the white vinegar step as above (but don’t dry yet), run the wash cycle again with a cup of baking soda. Dry as normal.
You can also try drying with wool dryer balls. They sell them online and at Trader Joe’s and similar. You could do all the above steps and then dry with dryer balls. Good luck!
Jut an FYI. Fabric softener makes cotton towels less absorbent.
You might also try using a water softener in your wash. I buy the Calgon liquid and use it in my laundry, along with the vinegar as mentioned above.
Thanks for the tips everyone; I’ll try it this weekend!
It sounds to me like the towels may have absorded too much detergent and have not been rinsed well enough. Agree with suggestions above.
Usually caused by too much detergent as mentioned. On the average most times half the suggested amount of soap would suffice for cleaning.
And for sure use the dryer.
Report back please, @dentmom4
Do you have a front loading washing machine? Sometimes bulky items don’t get wet enough during the wash cycle and that can leave them stiffer than usual. If you do have a front loading machine, use the soak cycle during your vinegar wash and you may have to separate the towels into two smaller loads.
Or, you can soak them in your kitchen sink to ensure that they are completely saturated, then move them into the washer.
Good luck!
I agree that towels need little detergent because in normal use they don’t get really dirty (unless you’ve got wee ones whose handwashing skills are mostly theoretical). I’d also suggest not overstuffing the dryer so they have a chance to really move around. My towels are pretty ancient, and I’ve never had a problem with stiffness.
Thanks for your question. My towels are the same, I’m going to try this!
My ancient towels are still soft. New ones just don’t last.
I’ve never had stiff bath towels—new or decades old, as long as they are dried in the dryer. We never use softeners nor dryer sheets.
My mom always air dried her (cotton) bath and dish towels until she got a dryer, she used to spray them with water and iron them.
I don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets, I don’t think my towels aren’t soft enough just dried in the dryer.
I think they are more absorbent that way and don’t have a perfumy smell.
There are wool dryer balls that you can try and see if you like them.
I was told by someone selling me towels that Tide specifically is NOT good to use on towels.
We used Tide on all our laundry includingbtowels for decades with no problems—towels remain fluffy and absorbent. We switched to All unscented and like having no detectable scent. I use about 1/2 the detergent manufacturer recommendations, H uses 100%. Laundry turns out OK both ways.
We have hard water, use no fabric softeners, water conditioning, water softeners, dryer sheets. We do sometimes us wool dryer balls and sometimes add baking soda or borax to the laundry.
Update: I washed 3 towels with 1 cup of vinegar on hot, then rewashed on hot with about 1/2 cup baking soda, then dried on permanent press with 2 plastic dryer balls. Not much change. I have a top loading washer.
My usual routine is 3-4 towels at a time, 1 pod ALL free (skin issues), extra rinse. No fabric softener, no dryer sheets, water is not hard.
I’m going to try again with more vinegar and baking soda each wash, no detergent. These are my oldest towels, about 10 years old.