How to make your towels soft and fluffy
A soft, fluffy towel can make all the difference to your bathroom routine, giving you a spa-like experience and making you feel more comfortable and relaxed.
However, soft towels never seem to stay soft. With every use and wash, they grow rougher, until it feels like you’re drying yourself with sandpaper. The good news is there are ways to restore your towels and keep them softer for longer.
We spoke to Katarzyna Kurylek, head of laundry at the London Hilton, for her top tips.
1. Shake it out
Before you put a load in the washing machine, there’s one easy thing you can do to set your towels up for success: give them a good shake.
According to Katarzyna, shaking the towel can help it absorb product in the machine. “This opens up the fibres slightly to allow the detergent to sink inside,” she says.
Don’t forget to shake your towels before you dry them as well. Line-dried towels can feel very stiff if you fail to do this. Shaking them thoroughly from both ends before hanging them will open up the fibres and shake out any wrinkles.
It’s a good idea to do this with every item before tumble drying, too, as it helps to remove any wrinkles and speeds up the drying process by separating the load.
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2. Beware of hard water
According to Thames Water, much of southern England is a hard water area. But how does that affect our laundry?
Hard water contains a high level of minerals, such as magnesium and calcium. These minerals can attach themselves to towels and cause them to feel stiff, not to mention they can leave traces of limescale in appliances. Your local water company will have a tool on its website that lets you enter your postcode to check the water conditions in your area.
If you find you live in a hard water area, using a water softener such as Calgon or a supermarket own-brand equivalent should help keep towels softer and will stop limescale from building up in your washing machine.
It’s also a good idea to keep limescale at bay by running the washing machine without any laundry in it every now and again, with just a cup of distilled white wine vinegar added to the detergent drawer, or using a descaler, such as Dr Beckmann Service-It Power Descale.
3. Don’t overdo detergent or conditioner
It might be tempting to put more fabric softener in if your towels are getting rough, but too much product can actually make matters worse.
According to Katarzyna, while fabric conditioner can improve softness and make your towels smell fresh, overusing it can lubricate the towel fibres and cause them to lose their absorbency.
“Always make sure you’re using just the right amount of conditioner to prevent depleting quality,” she recommends.
Too much detergent can also dry out towels and leave them feeling stiff and ‘crunchy’ from the excess residue, so always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
4. Don’t overload the washing machine
When you overload your washing machine, the detergent can’t be applied or rinsed as well as it should. And all the residual detergent will no doubt contribute to hard towels as mentioned above.
Overloading your machine is a bad habit in general because it will put unnecessary strain on the appliance and may prevent it from spinning as well. For guidance, aim to fill it roughly ¾ full.
5. Tumble-dry with care
Believe it or not, popping your towels on the washing line for a short while can help to fluff them up and means you will need to tumble-dry them less.
“Where possible, try drying towels out in the fresh air before popping them into the tumble dryer for a brief spell to fluff them up,” advises Katarzyna. “If drying them completely in a tumble drier, avoid putting them on for too long or using too hot a drying cycle, or they’ll take on a dull, grey appearance.”
Over-drying your towels in the tumble dryer could also damage the material and leave it feeling ‘crispy’. Most modern tumble dryers have a sensory program to prevent you from drying for longer than necessary. If it still feels slightly damp after this cycle, hang it up to dry for the final stages rather than throwing it back into the dryer, remembering to shake it first!
6. Chuck in a tennis ball
Katarzyna’s final tip is a surprising one, but when we tested it out at the GHI, people were able to identify which was the fluffier towel afterwards. “Add a tennis ball or two into your tumble dryer,” she recommends. “As they bounce around, it’s another great way to fluff up your towels.”
Alternatively, try using dryer balls, such as Ecozone Dryer Cubes.
Why do towels lose their softness so quickly?
Towels feel immensely soft and fluffy in the shop, but that soon disappears after washing. That’s because brand new towels have a residual coating applied to the surface (usually silicone) to make them feel softer than they actually are – a bit like fabric softener. This makes the towels more attractive to potential customers.
That’s why the care label often recommends washing before first use. If you use the towel while the residual coating is still there, it won’t absorb moisture as effectively as it should; in other words, it won’t dry you so well. Because of this, you shouldn’t judge a towel on its softness – this won’t last anyway! Instead, consider the fabric type, thread count (the higher the better) and the overall design.
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