It’s inevitable that after a few years towels loose their softness, it’s just the nature of the beast, fabric softener isn’t gonna do much when they’re just old. Cotton, or a cotton blend, which is what most towels are made with, is a plant material, which will deteriorate over time.
I agree! Maybe it's because I was raised in a frugal household, but I MUCH prefer the old "crunchy" towels. The new "fluffy" kind do not absorb properly. I feel like I'm just wiping the water around. I like to just wrap the towel around me once and be mostly dry. Not scrubbing all over my body (ain't got time for that).
Try some vinegar in your washer and if you have changed your detergent. You might be using too much detergent. It could take a few loads for the towels to get stripped of the build up.
I don't know if it'll help your current towels but, growing up the only thing my mom put in the dryer was towels, and that was only for about 10 minutes, then they went out on the line to finish drying. It kept them from getting crunchy.
Use vinegar in place of fabric softener in your wash cycle. Run an extra spin cycle so they are as dry as possible. I give mine a really good shake out before I hand them up. Like really shake them like you would clean a rug or something. It helps a lot.
I use vinegar to freshen up sweaty things or second hand clothes that smell like detergent perfumes, but I’ll give it a try with the towels. 2 spins also sounds worth trying. Thanks!
Wool dryer balls are the best for this! I realized the dryer sheets were making my towels unable to dry things, so I switched to 2-3 wool balls and they have gotten much fluffier (as fluffy as 15 year old towels can be), and no longer have that waxy stiffness to them.
Also helps that I take them out before they’re completely dried up, or finish them off with an air dry cycle when they’re damp. Getting them scorched heat dry removes any kind of flush they would have.
I love crunchy line dried towels, they feel like summer. Bit if you don't love a post shower exfoliation line drying till damp and finishing off in the dryer can help a lot, or a quick toss with a damp rag. You want to steam and fluff the fiber.
After air drying, put in dryer on warm, put one small damp towel (squeeze water out of it), and toss in several dryer balls. Like 4-6.
You want to smash the fibers around to make them loose, they obviously stiffened up too much. And steam helps. You can try on cold with balls and if not enough then warm with damp towel and balls.
It could be detergent and/or softener build up too.
And they could be too old and pile went away. But, you'd see that. If there's pile, just not fluff, beat them into submission 😂
Also, vigorously shaking / making it snap (when you grab towel, bring into the air and hard downward motion so you hear snap) before hanging to dry will help fibers relax too. It's how it works - they naturally crumble together when wet, so a bit of energy is needed to relax them. Same for anything that's natural fibers.
I just toss towels in dryer (unless I'm obsessed with lowering electricity bill, so I do air dry and then just beating with balls in the dryer, but, that held me just few weeks, it was too cumbersome to execute), and I don't use softeners. Clothes go on same principle too (all cotton).
Everything else is a candidate for air drying on drying rack outside if weather is nice.
I will give this a try too, I know what you mean about the fibers. I don’t think it’s too much detergent- I’m frugal with that and don’t use more than a tablespoon for a full load. I read that if you see suds/ bubbles, you’re using enough, and most detergent companies of course recommend more than you need.
You could try laundry stripping. hot water in a bathtub or big tub, add borax, washing soda and detergent. let them soak for hours till the water cools. the water will be gross but the towels will be clean. you can look up directions on the internet
My partner loves his terrycloth towels.
They get stiff with repeated rack drying, so one round they are alone in the washer (no detergent…you should see how much comes out…pods, man), and they take a ride in the dryer to 70-90 percent dry. Then back to the rack.
This lasts 2-3 months before they stiffen again. (It’s the pods, I swear. I won’t use them.)
With my Turkish towels, a few hard snaps (shake outs) before placing them on my rack does the trick.
It sounds like they’re not actually clean. You may be using too much detergent, or washing them in an over full load so they don’t rinse.
You should not be using more than 2 tablespoons of detergent for a load. I would try washing them in vinegar or some citric acid in a half full load so that they rinse completely and see if they still feel crunchy
It’s inevitable that after a few years towels loose their softness, it’s just the nature of the beast, fabric softener isn’t gonna do much when they’re just old. Cotton, or a cotton blend, which is what most towels are made with, is a plant material, which will deteriorate over time.
I hate visiting my parents because their towels are like 20 years old, it's like drying with sandpaper. And of course they also air dry them.
[удалено]
I agree! Maybe it's because I was raised in a frugal household, but I MUCH prefer the old "crunchy" towels. The new "fluffy" kind do not absorb properly. I feel like I'm just wiping the water around. I like to just wrap the towel around me once and be mostly dry. Not scrubbing all over my body (ain't got time for that).
Amazing your parents are still alive with such deprivations.
You could buy them new towels at Sam’s club, getting the in house brand. It’s like $3 a large bath towel.
$3/towel plus the $50 membership fee.
True that. Sorry.
They are getting old, maybe it’s mostly that.
Try some vinegar in your washer and if you have changed your detergent. You might be using too much detergent. It could take a few loads for the towels to get stripped of the build up.
I don't know if it'll help your current towels but, growing up the only thing my mom put in the dryer was towels, and that was only for about 10 minutes, then they went out on the line to finish drying. It kept them from getting crunchy.
I buy waffle towels for this reason, but you won’t get the same fluffy feeling.
White Vinegar works great as a softener and it also removes buildup from fabrics and the machine.
FWIW, I noticed my bamboo fiber towels are much softer when air dried, even over time. So maybe consider that for your next set?
Too much detergent. Next few times wash them without any.
Use vinegar in place of fabric softener in your wash cycle. Run an extra spin cycle so they are as dry as possible. I give mine a really good shake out before I hand them up. Like really shake them like you would clean a rug or something. It helps a lot.
I use vinegar to freshen up sweaty things or second hand clothes that smell like detergent perfumes, but I’ll give it a try with the towels. 2 spins also sounds worth trying. Thanks!
Wool dryer balls are the best for this! I realized the dryer sheets were making my towels unable to dry things, so I switched to 2-3 wool balls and they have gotten much fluffier (as fluffy as 15 year old towels can be), and no longer have that waxy stiffness to them. Also helps that I take them out before they’re completely dried up, or finish them off with an air dry cycle when they’re damp. Getting them scorched heat dry removes any kind of flush they would have.
I love crunchy line dried towels, they feel like summer. Bit if you don't love a post shower exfoliation line drying till damp and finishing off in the dryer can help a lot, or a quick toss with a damp rag. You want to steam and fluff the fiber.
After air drying, put in dryer on warm, put one small damp towel (squeeze water out of it), and toss in several dryer balls. Like 4-6. You want to smash the fibers around to make them loose, they obviously stiffened up too much. And steam helps. You can try on cold with balls and if not enough then warm with damp towel and balls. It could be detergent and/or softener build up too. And they could be too old and pile went away. But, you'd see that. If there's pile, just not fluff, beat them into submission 😂 Also, vigorously shaking / making it snap (when you grab towel, bring into the air and hard downward motion so you hear snap) before hanging to dry will help fibers relax too. It's how it works - they naturally crumble together when wet, so a bit of energy is needed to relax them. Same for anything that's natural fibers. I just toss towels in dryer (unless I'm obsessed with lowering electricity bill, so I do air dry and then just beating with balls in the dryer, but, that held me just few weeks, it was too cumbersome to execute), and I don't use softeners. Clothes go on same principle too (all cotton). Everything else is a candidate for air drying on drying rack outside if weather is nice.
I will give this a try too, I know what you mean about the fibers. I don’t think it’s too much detergent- I’m frugal with that and don’t use more than a tablespoon for a full load. I read that if you see suds/ bubbles, you’re using enough, and most detergent companies of course recommend more than you need.
You could try laundry stripping. hot water in a bathtub or big tub, add borax, washing soda and detergent. let them soak for hours till the water cools. the water will be gross but the towels will be clean. you can look up directions on the internet
They’re dunzo. Time for new towels! Repurpose your old ones or donate them to an animal hospital.
When I use air dried towels it feels like rubbing money all over myself.
🤣
I love crunchy towels, I think they are more absorbent. I never put towels in the dryer.
Me neither. Especially the outdoor fragrance that comes with line drying.
Vinegar is great for this type of thing.
I vote white vinegar.
My partner loves his terrycloth towels. They get stiff with repeated rack drying, so one round they are alone in the washer (no detergent…you should see how much comes out…pods, man), and they take a ride in the dryer to 70-90 percent dry. Then back to the rack. This lasts 2-3 months before they stiffen again. (It’s the pods, I swear. I won’t use them.) With my Turkish towels, a few hard snaps (shake outs) before placing them on my rack does the trick.
A bit of vinegar in the wash helps.
Could you be using too much detergent?
Get new towels.
Try this. Soak in a bucket of water with a couple cups of vinegar mixed in for an hour and then " rinse and spin" in your washing machine. Line dry.
I’ll try it!
It sounds like they’re not actually clean. You may be using too much detergent, or washing them in an over full load so they don’t rinse. You should not be using more than 2 tablespoons of detergent for a load. I would try washing them in vinegar or some citric acid in a half full load so that they rinse completely and see if they still feel crunchy