How to make your towels soft again?
Do your towels get harder and rougher after a while? This is completely normal. With heavy use, towels lose their soft texture. How to make towels soft again? You can find out here.
Why are towels hard?
Over time, towels can harden due to a combination of detergents, soap residues and hard water. Residues of shampoo or shower gel left on your skin are rubbed off with a towel after which they remain on the towel. Even after washing the towels, the residue may accumulate. Water hardness can also contribute to hard towels, as that water contains many minerals such as lime.
Making towels soft again: this is how you do it
You can follow a few tips to make your towels soft again.
- Use less detergent
You definitely want to avoid detergent build-up on your towels. Therefore, use only the recommended amount or less. Don’t worry, even with less detergent, your towels will get clean just fine.
- Let the towels air-dry
The dryer can thus avoid damaging the fibres of the towels and making them stiff. In dry and sunny weather, you can also let your towels dry outside in the sun.
- Use vinegar or baking soda
Adding a hearty splash of vinegar or a handful of baking soda powder to the rinse water helps remove soap scum and neutralise odours. If they are already too hard, you can also soak them in warm water and vinegar or baking soda.
It is helpful that you wash your towels regularly to avoid accumulation of dirt, such as soap residue etc.
What is best to avoid?
- Fabric softener
Fabric softener seems like the way to make towels soft, but nothing could be further from the truth. Fabric softener creates a layer on the towel’s fibres after a while, which becomes hard and less absorbent.
- Tumble dryer wipes
Tumble dryer wipes can also leave a layer on the fibres of towels, making them less soft.
- High temperatures in dryer and washing machine
Do you still want to use a dryer? Dry at a lower temperature to make your towels soft again. And also wash them at a lower temperature to damage the fibres less.
Need help from an L&S-housekeeper?
Satisfied with our tips to make your towels soft again? That’s nice! Could you use some extra help in your home? Our L&S housekeepers are there for you with a smile. Contact us here for more information.
