Fabric softeners actually have oils and other ingredients that make towels less absorbent. Instead, pour a cup of distilled white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment, which softens the towels and kills bacteria. Don't use detergent for this load.
An overload of harsh detergent that strips you of your natural softness and sticks around long after the wash; Fabric softener that weighs you down with silicon; A cold rinse that's skimpy on water; and. A rough tumble in a dryer that's way too hot.
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.
Add Baking Soda
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The vinegar helps dissolve any soap buildup, remove odors, and soften the material, while baking soda helps scrub the remaining bits of gunk away and also softens the material. Once the cycle is complete, your towels will be fluffed and renewed—after a spin in the dryer, of course.
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.
For Extra-Clean Clothes
“It will help lift dirt and grime from clothing,” says Reichert. Don't put baking soda in your washer's detergent dispenser, however. Instead, sprinkle it into the empty drum of your washer, then add clothes and whatever detergent and fabric softeners you'd normally use.
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).
“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.
There's one very important caveat, she notes: “Both vinegar and baking soda can be used to clean your washing machine and clothing, but they should not be mixed together because they neutralize each other.”
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.
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. Rinse thoroughly.
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.
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.
Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, a fine white powder that has many uses. You may wonder about bicarbonate of soda vs. baking soda, but they are simply alternate terms for the same ingredient. If your recipe calls for bicarbonate of soda, it is simply referring to baking soda.
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.
"And using vinegar with your laundry detergent in the washing machine can decrease your laundry detergent's ability to clean away food stains by impacting cleaning ingredients called enzymes, so you may need to rewash the item," she adds.
Vinegar is actually just as good as fabric softener at making your clothes nice and soft. Unlike fabric softener, vinegar does not have harsh chemicals or leave a residue.
Soften Towels
Soak non-absorbent bath towels overnight in a bucket of warm water with half a cup of Epsom salts. The next day, wring out and tumble dry for soft-as-new towels.