I don't know about you but the water we have in our house takes the softness out of our towels and kind of gives them an off smell. This drives me crazy so I started looking for how to keep towels soft and keep the smell out. Here are some tips that don't include using fabric softener.
5 Ways to Keep Towels soft without using fabric softener.
1. Vinegar – The first way we can make our old towels like new is by looking at our old friend plain white distilled vinegar. Just toss your towels into the wash with a single cup of vinegar and let it run. If the vinegar scent is too much for you, just put the towels through another wash without the vinegar.
2. Wind Drying – The second way you can have softer towels is a rather old-fashioned method of drying your clothes. Just wait around for a nice, windy day and hang your clothes out on a clothesline outside. Try mixing this drying method with the vinegar washing method; it just might make your towels even softer!
3. Brushing – This next method is a little unorthodox, and it doesn't involve washing or drying. Go and grab a big brush, maybe you can clean off Fido's expensive pet-brush or you can grab the giant styling brush you got for your birthday, and lay your towel flat on a bed. Using long strokes in one direction, brush the entire side of your towel, flip it over, and brush it again. If you did it right, your towels should be as soft as the day you bought them home.
4. Baking Soda – Ahh, our ancient companion, baking soda; you're always there when we need you, especially when our towels have become stiffer than plywood. You can soften your towels with baking soda by mixing roughly half a cup of the stuff in with your detergent before running the washing machine. As an added bonus, considering baking soda's reputation for making anything smell good, those sweaty, smelly gym towels will smell bearable once again.
5. Tennis Balls – Now, this one may sound a little weird but it's proven to be effective in most cases. Go out to your local sports supply store and buy a few tennis balls, and toss them in with your towels; the slight bouncing of the balls will knock out lumps and fluff your towels a slight bit (You'll still have to do some fluffing but, hey; they just softened up your towels for you…). If you're willing to shell out a little bit more money, you can always go out and buy a couple of dryer balls.
A Few Tips extra tips on how to keep towels soft
I'm not going to go on the record here and say DON'T use fabric softeners, you can still use them, just don't use fabric softeners in excess; too much starts to dull the effect over time and it effects the absorption in towels. Second; try to put fewer towels into your machine at a time; it's better on the machine and it increases the effectiveness of the methods mentioned.
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I had heard of most of the methods, except for the baking soda. I want to try this. You have to love how great baking soda is.
Thanks for sharing,
Bev
Hi Danielle, Thank you for linking up on Thrifty Thursday last week! You were a featured blogger this week! Come see your feature, link up more great posts and we will be tagging your FB page a little later as a feature! Thanks again! – Cassie
The vinegar works really well, I put it in the bleach compartment and use way less fabric softener.
I hang my clothes on the line. Try to take them off when they are still a bit damp, throw them in the dryer….voila soft towels. You can make your own dryer balls with yarn. You should use wool, but I used acrylic inadvertently and they work fine. I also always put one towel, the same one always, in my dryer to help dry the clothes more quickly. That works great.