How to soften scratchy towels?

[dustin92]

All of our towels have gotten very stiff and scratchy, and I think it has happened since last spring when we got a new washer( a frigidaire gallery front loader). The towels are washed in hot water on the heavy cycle(which includes an automatic 3rd rinse) and dried in the dryer. I have tried vinegar in the rinse, and I have used a full cap of downy fabric softener (vanilla lavender) the fabric softener had little to no effect (it made the towels smell good though!) and the vinegar did not help at all. how can I make them soft again? THANK YOU!!!

 

[tomturbomatic]

There are a couple of things you might try. I don't know how much vinegar you used, but you would need to add at least a cup of white vinegar to a rinse to even begin to do anything. Commercial laundry sour is much a stronger acid than vinegar.

You do not say what you are using to wash the towels. If it is a powder detergent, you might need to strip the excess detergent out of the fabrics by using STPP or a good water conditioner (like what Calgon used to be) if any are available in your area. Since the towels have developed this stiffness with the new washer, you should begin using water conditioner along with a reduced amount of your detergent and possibly giving the towels extra rinsing once the cycle has finished.
Remember that fabric softener reduces absorbancy and you don't want that in towels.

 

[jeffg]

Charlie's Soap Powder + some stiff agitation will remove detergent and other deposits. The STPP is a good addition for hard water. Do you have access to TL machine?

http://www.charliesoap.com/

 

[petek]

Is there the possibility that you are over-drying them? The new front loader removing more water and all maybe you have to shorten the drying time.

 

[whirlcool]

I have found that when using our spin dryer on towels and then putting them in the dryer results in more "stiff" towels when they are dry. Sure the dryer runs for a lot less time, but the towels are not as comfortable as when just spun in our TL machine.

You might want to try using a lower spin speed on your washer if you have that option.

Also set your dryer to "gentle/knits" for a more gentle heat. That'll help too.

 

[peterh770]

Too much OR not enough detergent. If you are using a FULL capful of softener, you need more detergent to remove residual softener from last time plus whatever they have absorbed (if they are able to absorb anything at all after getting clogged with so much softener). What detergent are you using?

 

[dustin92]

we have used almost every common brand of detergent (powder and liquid), except liquid tide, which me and my mom are highly allergic to, powder tide is fine though. We currently have Oxydol powder (the real stuff), Arm and Hammer liquid, and Purex with bleach liquid.I also have some Purex 2 color safe bleach. We have soft well water. I am going to wash a load of towels tomorrow and I will try using a cup of vinegar in the rinse and a lower spin speed. I will also use a lower temp in the dryer. I do have access to a top loading washer (a Amana/ Maytag) but it is out in the garage and only has cold water. (I dont really want to wash towels in cold) but if I need to I will

 

[brettsomers]

My vote is for less detergent and very little softener. If its towels only (no washcloths) and hot water, takes very little detergent. IMO powder seems to give a harsher towel than liquid.

 

[jeffg]

IMO powder seems to give a harsher towel than liquid.

Powder gives a cleaner towel, especially in cold water rinses and most FL washers. Liquid laundry detergents contain waxes that aren't completely rinsed out in cold water. The residual wax is what gives that smooth feeling after drying.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Are any of these detergents HE formulas? I don't think Oxydol makes an HE version. If you have very soft water and are using a high sudsing detergent in a front loader, you might be having rinsing problems from too much foam not allowing good water extraction during the rinsing phase of the cycle.

When you use the vinegar in the rinse, do not use it in the final rinse. The acid has to be rinsed out of the fabrics. That cup of vinegar I recommended was not meant to be an everytime dose, but rather a one time treatment (I hope) to reduce the stiffness in your towels.

Good luck with this and keep us posted.

 

[dustin92]

Ok, the towels are just going into the final spin and I figured I would post an update. I washed them on hot water with half a cap of arm and hammer liquid, 2 cups of vinegar in the first rinse, nothing in the second rinse and about half a dose of downy vanilla lavender in the third rinse. I put the spin speed down to low and I'm going to dry them on the automatic normal cycle on medium heat. I will post the results when they are done.

 

[dustin92]

AAAHH!!! they are still really scratchy! what should I do next? im open to anything! this is really getting annoying! these towels were all soft before we got this washer so I think it has something to do with the washer. I think it was a couple of weeks ago but I had a random load of towels that came out soft.

 

[whirlcool]

Have you tried washing the towels again without any detergent or softener? If so, did you see any suds? You may have a buildup on your towels.
IMHO in this last go around you did everything right.

 

[peterh770]

Isn't well water HARD?

 

[jeffg]

Dustin, if you run a hot wash cycle with no clothes or detergent, do you get any suds in the washer?

 

[dustin92]

there was no suds in the second rinse(after the vinegar,before the softener) and there is no suds if I run the washer empty.

 

[sudsmaster]

Please measure the water hardness. I agree, most well water is hard, esp when compared to rain water, which is naturally soft. I've found handy water hardness test strips at my local aquarium supply or pet store.

I find, using tap water with a hardness of five grains or lower, that my bath towels come out the softest if I use a mild (like a free and clear) liquid detergent, hot water, extra rinse, highest spin speed, and machine drying.

You didn't say what kind of dryer you are using, but if it's an older Frigidaire gas model these are notorious for overcooking clothes on the hot setting. Try the medium setting instead.

 

[passatdoc]

I have the same problem

Granted, I don't have the world's best towels, but they are Costco/Kirkland brand Egyptian cotton, the kind they sell for $7-8 for a large bath towel. After about two years they become stiff and scratchy, but each towel is washed maybe 3-4 times/month, so you are looking at 100 washings by the time two years rolls around.

I use HE powder, very low amounts (no suds residue on inner door) at the end of cycle. We have very hard water here and I don't have a softener. I use 20 Mule Team Borax as a water conditioner, but I am adding it to the wash compartment section. Should I be adding it to the conditioner section instead? By using it in the wash section, it's probably helping to soften/condition the water for wash cycle, but not helping for rinse cycles. Another option would be to add some to both wash and conditioner compartments, so that water is conditioned at both times.

What I did notice after starting to use Borax is that detergent rinses out of the wash more cleanly, and there is less (or no) suds residue on the door at end of cycle. Even though I presently use Borax only in the wash cycle compartment. (no pre-wash on my FL).

As per Whirlcool's advice, I generally use Medium and not High heat setting on my gas dryer. Towels are washed on Heavy cycle with max spin speeds and extra rinse (three or four rinses in all). Wash temp is "hot" or sometimes on "warm", never "cold" for towels. Machine does not have Auto Temp Control.

 

[retropia]

I've started adding 20 Mule Team Borax to the drum of our front loader before loading towels for washing, between 1/4 and 1/2 Cup, depending on the size of the load.

I'm convinced it's helping make the towels at least a little softer and more absorbent than before.

 

[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