Brand new towels often feel soft and fluffy, however they become stiff and water repellant after many
cycles through the wash. This even happens to expensive high quality towels produced with the highest
quality fabrics. The primary culprits for this problem are hard water and fabric softener build up. This
may seem like a contradiction, but fabric softeners will stop being effective after several uses and can
actually damage your towels. Softeners collect on your towel and plug up the pores of the fabric. Your
towel fibers then stiffen and become less absorbent because they are full of buildup from your
softeners. Follow a few of the below tips and your towels will be soft, plush and absorbent again.
– Use Salt: If you have already used fabric soften, don’t worry! Add 1 cup of salt to the towels once the
washing machine has finished filling with water. This will remove excess dye from new towels and
chemical build-up from older towels with stiff fibers.
– Use Vinegar: Add 1 cup of vinegar during the final rinse. Vinegar cuts through mineral buildup from
hard water and can also soften the fibers of a towel. The final rinse cycle will ensure that your towls
don’t come out smelling like vinegar.
– Lighten your load: Don’t put too many towels in your washer at once. Not only will it strain the
machine, it won’t allow enough room to rinse out all the dirt and detergent from your towels. A similar
problem is encountered if you overload the dryer. If the dryer is too full there won’t be enough air in
the dryer to properly fluff the fabric. So you’ll get stiff, matted towels, instead of soft, fluffy ones. It is
a good idea to limit a load to three bath towels a long with a few hand and face towels.
– Wash in hot water: Hot water serves to sanitize your towels while at the same time making them
softer. The hot water is better at braking apart any residual oils left behind by bath soaps or your skin
which might be cloging up the fabric’s pores. Of course, you have to read the label on the towels to
ensure that they can be placed in hot water without fading or becoming damaged.