There are a few reasons why towels can become stiff and rough. One reason is using too much laundry detergent.
When you use too much detergent, it doesn’t all rinse out in the wash cycle. This leaves a residue on your towels that can make them stiff and scratchy.
Another reason is not using enough fabric softener. Without it, your towels can become stiff and difficult to work with.
What’s more, not washing your towels often enough can also lead to stiffness. Towels are designed to absorb water and they will do just that – even if it’s from the air around them. This can also lead to musty odours.
Taking to her TikTok account @mama_mila_, Chantel Mila shared a cleaning hack to “instantly soften musty towels”.
She captioned the video that gained over 107,000 views: “Make your towels feel like new again.”
To transform the towels, Chantel uses white vinegar, but combines it with another ingredient – and it’s not baking soda, but an essential oil.
The acidic properties of vinegar break down any leftover detergent residue that can make your towels feel stiff and less absorbent.
This is particularly important if you have hard water or use a lot of detergent (and actually, many people use too much) as these factors can make it difficult for your towels to fully rinse clean.
By removing all this detergent residue with vinegar, your towels will go back to being springy, soft and more absorbent.
The first step is to mix two cups of white vinegar with four drops of essential oil in a container.
Next, pour the mix into the drum and wash the towels separately from other laundry on a warm setting – 40 to 60 degrees is “perfect”, according to the influencer.
Chantel said: “Towels become stiff from a buildup of detergent and oils in the fibres. Vinegar is acid and helps to strip away this residue and refresh towels.”
While Chantel hasn’t mentioned how to go about drying the towels after washing them, it is often best to air dry them, and then just use the tumble dryer for 10 minutes to fluff them up.
