Hard Towels

[liberatordeluxe]

How can I make towels soft and fluffy? My towels currently feel like sandpaper and feels like your stripping your skin off. I wash them at 60C with bio bleaching agent powder currently using Tesco and spin at 1200. I line dry where possible otherwise airer when heating or log burner on in Autumn and winter. Failing that should buy new ones and wash in a 100% soap based powder or liquid?

 

[askolover]

I love my towels to be scratchy, they dry me so much better.  But, my grandmother used to always use Downy (Lenore? in the UK) and her towels were always so soft they just smeared water on skin.  Line drying will always make them quite a bit scratchier than in a tumble dryer.

 

[johnrk]

Natural Softener

White vinegar is a natural fabric softener and will leave your towels smelling fresh also--definitely not like vinegar. Use instead of chemical softeners in the same amount.

As stated, your towels are going to be a lot scratchier when line dried as opposed to machine drying.

 

[vacbear58]

Line Drying

Your problem is the line drying, I have the same problem a bit further north from you - I never use any form of softener either - there have been comments too that softener reduces the absorbancy of towels too.

So mine always go in the dryer, everything else I will always line dry if possible - I love sheets and bedding that have been dried on the line. Soar panels and a heat pump dryer (Beko) keep the costs down.

Al

 

[Marky_Mark]

Tumble drying them will probably have the greatest effect on making them softer.  You should find that they are much softer but still just as absorbent.  It's important not to over dry them, as that would leave them less soft.  You want the dryer to terminate leaving just the right tiny amount of moisture in the towels.

 

I do use vinegar for my towels in place of regular fabric conditioner.  Tests have shown that vinegar doesn't soften towels nearly as well as fabric conditioner, but nor does it reduce absorbency.  Basically the more a fabric conditioner softens, the more it reduces absorbency.  You have to decide which is more important to you and what balance you're prepared to accept.

 

You might find that a gentle, cool wash with mild liquid detergent will leave them softer, but it obviously won't clean them as well.  I certainly would prefer clean towels over soft towels in this case!  You might be able to still wash them at <span class="st" data-hveid="45" data-ved="0ahUKEwiYoODIsc3XAhWJKsAKHT6kASYQ4EUILTAA">60 </span><span class="st" data-hveid="45" data-ved="0ahUKEwiYoODIsc3XAhWJKsAKHT6kASYQ4EUILTAA">°C for hygiene</span> but on a gentler/shorter cycle with a higher water level and/or less agitation.

 

If you live in a hard water area and don't have a water softener, then it's important to add enough detergent to soften the water but without overdosing.  Adding STPP (phosphate) may help -- it's readily available online.

 

[lakewebsterkid]

Soft towels

A liquid detergent will make your towels softer because of the lack of Zeolites. I just stripped my towels using 4T of STPP yesterday and they feel great! I always use an extra rinse but residues still remain.

 

[vacerator]

Also,

an extra rinse helps.

 

[yogitunes]

always found when switching to cold rinses, line dried items did come out stiffer compared to when we used warm rinses....Mom was not big on using a softener...

so in exchange, toss the load in the dryer for about 10/15 minutes, then hang out to dry....

also, if possible, hang your clothes in the sunshine rather than a shaded area...

 

[hoovermatic]

Despite the fact that I have a tumble dryer I always line dry my towels and in the winter I have a spare room in which I can dry laundry on an airer. My towels are also a bit on the rough side when line dried unless it is windy and when dried indoors can be like sandpaper. I always bung them in the drier for 20 mins once they have dried and I have a couple of Dryer Balls (not sure what effect they really have) but they come out a LOT softer after that. I don't like my towels too soft so this method suits me. I don't know if you have a drier but if you do, try it. I do this for almost all of my laundry in winter.

 

[lotsosudz]

Air Tumble

When i line dry items, after drying, toss them in the dryer for 15 minutes on air only. towels retain the line smell, but are much softer to the touch. You also don't use the 220/240.

 

[triumphdolomite]

Extra Rinse

I also find that extra rinsing helps. If I wash towels in the twin tub and do four or five deep rinses in the sink they are noticeably softer after line drying than if they have been in the Miele, even with water plus selected to give three rinses with a spin between each.

 

[launderess]

It's the line dryng luv!

Back when bath linen was made from woven linen, cotton or hemp, ironing smoothed things down> That and such fabrics are less likely to be scratchy after laundering.

Terry cloth is another matter and wants something more...

Try tumble drying just until damp, then hanging to air dry. That or as suggest do the reverse; line dry then pop into dryer to soften things up a bit.

 

[launderess]

Fabric softeners and absorbency of textiles

While the fabric softeners of old that were heavy on tallow and other fats/oils may have caused problems with absorbency; today's modern concoctions that are "fabric conditioners" seem to have solved that problem.

Like using a very small amount of Vernel, Caldrea or Method fabric rinses more for the scent than anything else. Makes drying off after a bath a bit more of a pleasure.

Shouldn't use pure soap only for washing terry cloth toweling. Well suppose one could if had tons of soft/clean and *HOT* water for the washes and the two, three or more rinses that must follow. Even then a steady practice of laundering such items in soap would likely mean they'll need to be "stripped" now and then to keep their absorbency. Culprit is same thing in fabric softeners of old; tallow, fats and oils in soap.

Similarly if one uses a wash leather and soap for bathing, those cloths might need a good strong wash now and then to get out any soap residue.

 

[johnrk]

If You Travel A Lot

on business, you'll find that the hotel trade is still using some kind of fabric softener that makes their towels almost waterproof! You can try to dry yourself with them and they're so slick from softener that they absorb very little. I've found the Marriott and Hyatt hotels to be the worst with that, and the Hilton Garden Inns are much better about it. It's almost like they treat some of these with Scotchgard or something similar.

 

[mrboilwash]

Ben, how hard is the water in your area ? At 60° and above hard water minerals begin to cristallize, this can lead to incrustation resulting in sandpaper terrycotton.
Limescale deposits are only one option leading to hard towels, if you live in a soft water area plain mechanical action causing a disarangement of the fibers during the washcycle can be the culprit too but that is usually way less severe.

So if a mineral build up is the cause some sources suggest to soak the towels over night in water with lots of vinegar then wash as usual.
Others say the problem is terminal and recommend new towels and then either increase the detergent load or use an additional water softener as a preventive meassure.

If the problem is not hard water related the use of a tumble dryer will help considerably. If you don`t have one you could shake them out before hang drying like there`s no tomorrow. This helps to get the terry cotton back in order.

Fabric softeners will only cure the symptoms but not the cause. When used at moderation today`s softeners won`t mess with absorbancy as badly as they did in the past. I found a quarter of the recommended dose is plenty enough for a full load of towels to make them soft but still absorbant, but that`s just my personal preference.

 

[liberatordeluxe]

Thanks all for the helpful tips. I don't have a dryer yet but will try the vinegar rinse and using a liquid detergent. Currently using Seventh Generation. My water is classed as very hard the same as London's water!

 

[mrboilwash]

Launderess, what kind of FS are you referring to when you mention tallow, fats and oils in soap ? I could only imagine pre war technologies once used by the textile industry to make processes like spinning or weaving easier.

AFAIK FS for houshold use as we know it today was invented in the 1960s and has always been based on cationic surfactants, at least on this side of the pond. I thought maybe there is a missunderstanding because it might have been different in the USA.
In the beginning the cationic surfactants were derived from mineral oil but biodegradability was bad so those surfactants fell out of favor in the 1990s. Today tallow and palm oil are the most common raw materials to produce those surfactants.

Cationic surfactants have a water friendly head and an oil friendly tail just like any other surfactant (e.g. soap), the difference is the electrical charge of their heads.
After washing and rinsing clothes are negatively charged from the anionic sufactants found in any laundry detergent. The positively charged heads of FS attach to the negatively charged clothes so their oil loving tails now stick out "and away" from the fibers. Those oil loving surfactant`s tails act like a lubricant and give clothes a softer touch, reduce static charge and of course reduce absorbancy.
Correct me if I`m wrong or missing something but I still see no oils in soap when thinking of FS.

One thing I don`t understand entirely is why the cationic surfactants in FS form vesciles instead of the usual mycelles. Technical literature also mentions emulsions. I thought bad water solubility of ester quats and similar surfactants might be the reason but honestly I don`t know.

 

[launderess]

"........you mention tallow, fats and oils in soap ....&

Tallow dimethyl ammonium chloride

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Fabric-Softener.html

https://www.wired.com/2008/11/st-whatsinside-9/

https://www.treehugger.com/green-fo...teners-are-made-from-rendered-animal-fat.html

Early P&G patent: https://www.google.com/patents/US3920565[this post was last edited: 11/21/2017-19:50]

 

[lordkenmore]

From the Wired link Launderess provided right above:

 

There are a few other quats in Downy, with easily pronounceable names like 1-methyl-1-tallowamidoethyl-2 -tallowimidazolinium methylsulfate.

 

"Easily pronounceable names." LOL