If your towels are very stiff and scratchy, try adding around 250ml of vinegar to a wash along with your laundry liquid. Add it to the washing machine drum just before you load and set the cycle going, don't worry, it won't make your washing smell like a bag of chips.
Do not add any detergent or fabric softener. Instead, add two cups of distilled white vinegar to the washer drum. The vinegar will help strip away the residue left in the towels that is causing them to feel stiff.
Having too many towels in your washer at once means there won't be enough room to rinse out all the dirt and detergent. Overloading the dryer is also bad news; without enough air to properly fluff the fabric, you'll wind up with stiff, matted towels.
To get the fibres nicely fluffed up, your towels must be immersed in water." "Another reason could be that your front loader uses too little water for the rinse, leaving detergent residues in the wash," says Ashley.
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 leftover products will cause stiffness and a rough, crackly feeling. These remnants from products also diminish your towel's ability to absorb moisture.
Mix half a cup of baking soda along with a normal detergent dose for fluffier and cleaner towels. Baking soda also naturally eliminates musty and mildew smells that come from towels remaining damp for too long.
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.
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. Add this to your regular washing detergent.
If you are looking for a 'natural' fabric softener that won't damage your towels (or, indeed, add more chemicals to the water supply), try using white vinegar in your laundry. It can make your towels feel softer without adding a coating, and will leave them smelling surprisingly fresh – and not of vinegar!
Washing Towels with Vinegar
Use about half the recommended amount of detergent while washing and add ½ to 1 cup of white vinegar to the water during the rinse cycle. The vinegar helps set the colors and removes excess detergent residue.
Fabric softeners coat a towel's exterior and often contain oils and petroleum-based ingredients that hinder its absorbency. This filmy coating may mean more frequent washing, which breaks down the towel.
Eventually even the best towels can become stiff, scratchy and not very absorbent. It happens when fabric softeners and residue from dryer sheets build up on the fibers.
A small amount of water bound to the surface of the towel acts like glue to hold the cotton fibers together. (Inside Science) -- The stiff, crunchy feel of an air-dried cotton towel is caused by a small amount of residual water “gluing” the fibers together, new research shows.
Towels and sheets, along with any clothes that an ill person has been wearing, should be washed at a fairly warm temperature to kill bacteria and potential mould. A good temperature for washing towels and sheets is 40 degrees, but a 60 degreewash will be better at killing germs.
"A good thing to remember is to replace bathroom towels every two to five years and kitchen towels and washcloths every year or every two years, depending on their quality," explains Wischnia.
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! Run a full cycle using hot water for the wash and rinse cycle. You will be absolutely amazed on how fresh the towels smell.
Most hotels use peroxide-based laundry detergents to keep their sheets and towels bright. While these compounds are extremely successful at preventing white linens from greying or yellowing, they do necessitate some amount of knowledge. When used incorrectly, they might cause damage to your linens.
White towels stay brighter when washed in hot water. Wash colorful towels in warm water, using detergent with color-safe bleach. To soften towels, you can use fabric softener, but only add it to every third or fourth wash to prevent buildup. If you prefer a more natural alternative, add ¼ cup of white vinegar.
Soak your stinky towels in a bucket of white, distilled vinegar for 30 minutes to overnight with a tablespoon of detergent to help loosen body soils. Vinegar contains acetic acid that breaks up mineral deposits and dissolves the build-up of body soils on your towels.