How to soften scratchy towels?

[passatdoc]

And Borax is very affordable. I get mine at Target for $3-4/box.

I think I might try adding some to the fabric softener compartment just to see if it helps. If you only use it in the wash cycle, then it's already been rinsed away by the final wash and can't help soften the load.

 

[dustin92]

UPDATE!

I bought some borax and a bottle of calgon water softener, and washed a load of towels today. SAME results! I washed them in warm water on the normal cycle, with extra rinse. I added half a dose of arm and hammer liquid detergent, a full dose of water softener in the wash, half a cup of borax in the wash, and a splash of water softener in the bleach dispenser and fabric softener dispenser. I dried them on medium heat in our frigidaire dryer( the match to the washer), and added one suavitel field flowers dryer sheet. they came out as stiff(if not worse) than they did before. I am about to throw all of the towels in the garbage and buy new ones. this is getting really frustrating! if there is anything else I can try, please tell me! THANK YOU!

 

[circlew]

Try other machines

Before throwing out the towels, I'd take them somewhere else (a friends's house or the Washeteria), and see how they turn out when washed and dryed in other machines. It may well be the dryer that's making them scratchy; maybe it's getting them too hot, or has poor airflow.

 

[dustin92]

I can take them over to my grandma's house and use hers. She has a Lady Kenmore direct drive washer and a kenmore dryer. I will try that the next time the towels need washed. I dont think it is the dryer though, we got the dryer this spring to replace an early 1990's GE that literally toasted the clothes even on low heat. we replaced it when it partially melted a bottle of detergent on top of it. this one doesnt get very hot, except on high. low is almost cool, medium is slightly warm, medium-high is warm, and high is hot.

 

[jeffg]

You may have to run several wash cycles to get all the accumulated crap off your towels. It's not easy: today's fabric softeners don't wash off let alone rinse off. STPP and a tub of Charlie's laundry powder (not the liquid) will help. If you're thinking about throwing them away use hot water when washing them. You have nothing to lose and the crap removal process will go much faster.

 

[whirlcool]

If the towels still are scratchy after washing in a TL machine it could be that the towels aren't meant to be soft. In spas they use rough towels for defoillating the skin after spa treatments.
The best towels we have are some we bought in Brazil back in the late 80's. They have a rather strange tuft to them, but when you use them they are soft as can be. It's almost like butter hitting your skin. Very absorbent and very soft. We don't use fabric softener on them either. I wish we had bought more than 3 sets.

 

[volvoguy87]

How hot is hot?

How hot is your water heater set? You might find it beneficial to crank it up for a few special runs of laundry. Most folks keep their WHs at 120 degrees, but a residential heater will go up to 160. You ought to have at least 140 to get really good results, but be careful! It will burn you. Also, you should purge the cold water from the line before filling the washer. FLs use little water so the cold water in the pipe is a larger percentage of the fill.

Dave

 

[donprohel]

Same problem

I had exactly the same problem when I replaced my old Daewoo top-loader (a model with a pulsator, not an agitator) with an AEG front-loader in January.

My experience is that the situation improves the more I wash the towels.

I always add an extra rinse, some citric acid in the first rinse, and spin at 1000 rpm: this helps making the towels a little softer.

Towels are white, 100% cotton, medium quality, washed about 35 times when I changed the washer.

I wash the towels at 40 °C (about 104°F) with reduced tumble action (the AEG has this option) add sodium percarbonate in the main wash, recommended dose of fabric softener and line-dry.

Although the towels are less soft, they absorb more now.

Hope this helps