Nothing beats the comfort of wrapping yourself up in a soft, fresh, fluffy towel after a relaxing shower. However, several things can wear the fabric down, including hard water, friction, and regular exposure to oil and soil, resulting in rough and stiff towels after repeated use. Getting your towels back to their original state of softness may seem tricky without knowing where to start.
So we are here to give you some easy ways that keep your towels soft & fluffy. Hope you enjoy it!
Separate Your Laundry
Load Your Washer Lightly
When placing your towels into the washing machine, it’s important to leave plenty of room for them to breathe in the drum, so that they can be rinsed and agitated properly. Otherwise, your towels will clump together during the wash, resulting in the formation of moisture pockets within the fabrics, and you’ll end up with stiff, scratchy towels when dried. In short, try to stick to small to medium size loads – both in the washer and the dryer.
Wash Your Towels at Medium Heat
Although washing your towels on a high temperature is the most sure-fire way to get rid of all the germs cooped up in the fabric of your towel, it can also be very damaging to the fibres themselves. The reason? Cotton (the material most towels are made of) is a very soft, cellulose fabric, which reacts to high heat by flattening out and becoming hard to the touch. That’s why you should choose a medium heat setting (think 30 or 40 degrees Celsius) instead, which will not only preserve your towel’s fibres and help you achieve the desired softness but will also eliminate most of the yucky bacteria. Occasionally, you can run your towels through a 60 degrees Celsius wash to get rid of pent-up bacteria and potential mould, but generally, it’s best to stick to lower temperatures when taking care of your cotton fabrics.
Use Baking Soda
This will help loosen up fibers and clean off any chemicals or grime, making your towels softer. Just mix half a cup of baking soda with your normal amount of detergent. As an added bonus, baking soda naturally eliminates musty odors that may have built up – say, if you left damp towels lying around in a gym bag or in a pile on the bathroom floor.
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Replace Fabric Softeners With Vinegar
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. Simply run the towels through a regular washing cycle, then redo them using vinegar instead of soap.
Cut Back on Detergent
Towels feel stiff because they start to build up soapy residue. By using a little less detergent than suggested, your machine’s rinse cycle will have an easier time washing out those last pesky bits of soap.
Wash in Warm Water
Warmer water (around body temperature is best) absorbs detergent better, leaving less buildup on your towels. You can also let detergent dissolve in the washer before adding towels – just start the wash cycle, add soap and wait a minute or two before adding your towels.
Dry them up completely
To avoid the creasing of fabric fibres, make sure you dry your towels completely. Don’t pile up damp towels on the floor, they may get mouldy and develop an unpleasant odour. Make sure they are completely dry before you fold them.
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Tips for Keeping Towels Soft When Drying
Now that you’ve learned the proper way to wash your towels, it’s time to move to the next phase of your laundry journey, so we’ll share a few tips with you on drying your towels for a more fluffiness, then we’ll give you the lowdown on drying towels in a machine and on a clothesline:
- Don’t let your damp towels wait around in the dryer for too long, or else you risk mildew growth.
- Make sure your towels are completely dry before they’re folded up and put away.
- At the end of the drying cycle, shake your towels and fold them soon after.
- Never radiator-dry your towels: it will dry them too quickly, giving them a rough finish.
source: turkishtowelcompany, .lenor, spaces