If you live in an area that is plagued with hard water, even one laundry wash could turn high-quality cotton towels into bristly fibres.
Hard water is when the water has a high amount of dissolved minerals, such as calcium and magnesium.
The higher the content of dissolved minerals, the harder the water becomes, and the more trouble it can cause in your household, including rough towels.
While fabric softener can work wonders in the beginning, after a while, it may seem not to work.
What really needs to happen is that the towels need to have any residue stripped away.
In order to do so, The Spruce recommended doing away with any detergent and fabric softener for one wash.
Instead, add two cups of distilled white vinegar, which you can buy a 568ml bottle from Sainsbury’s for as little as 40p.
The Spruce explained: “The vinegar will help strip away the residue left in the towels that is causing them to feel stiff.”
How often to do a vineger wash?
A monthly deep clean with vinegar would be all that is needed to help towels be soft.
However, if you’re plagued by an area of extremely hard water, it will take more than distilled vinegar to make towels fluffy.
Thus, in place of vinegar, The Spruce suggested one cup of household ammonia which, unfortunately, is much pricier.
You can purchase household ammonia on Amazon for £6.57, or other reputable websites.
It’s vital that you do not add anything else to the wash aside from ammonia, otherwise it could cause “toxic fumes”.
There are other key washing and drying tips to help towels be gentle and soft to touch.
One of the most important tips is to not overload the washing machine, as towels need room to move in the drum.
Once washed, give towels a quick shake and if using a drying rack, once dry, knead the towels to help loosen the fibres before folding.
People who live in hard water areas would benefit from installing a water-softening system.
