If you want to preserve your towels’ plush softness, this chore deserves a little more attention. Photo / Getty Images
Fed up with stiff, scratchy towels? Follow these steps to revive them to their soft, fluffy best.
Nothing beats wrapping yourself in a fresh, fluffy towel straight out of the shower, which makes it all the more pitiful when yours feels more akin to sandpaper than a velvety cloud. Washing your towels might seem like the sort of mundane task that barely warrants a passing thought, but if you want to preserve your towels’ plush softness, this chore deserves a little more attention.
In my opinion, there are two camps of people in this world: those who like stiff, crunchy towels, and those who are sound of mind. I recently found myself raiding my airing cupboard in search of the soft and fluffy variety, only to come up empty-handed. What were once sumptuous, absorbent towels had turned stiff and scratchy. The culprits? Detergent build-up, fibre damage, and hard water mineral deposits – all entirely avoidable if you know how to wash your towels properly.
The good news is that softness can be restored in even the stiffest of towels. If, like me, you favour a sumptuous towel that feels worthy of a five-star suite, there are a few things worth knowing. From the best detergent to use to the ideal washing machine setting, here’s how you can keep your best bath towels fresh and fluffy for longer.
Crispy towels lurk in every linen cupboard, but what exactly causes them to become something better suited for exfoliation than indulgent drying?
James Lincoln is the managing director of Royal Jersey Laundry, responsible for laundering towels at some of London’s most prestigious hotels, including the Mandarin Oriental, the Ritz and the Peninsula. He says that a mixture of detergent residue, hard water and over-drying is typically to blame. “Too much detergent leaves residue in the fibres, and minerals like calcium and magnesium also bind to them, making towels stiff,” he says. “High heat in the dryer or on radiators also bakes the cotton loops until they feel rough.” In short, your worn towels are a result of hasty washing and human error.
A few tweaks to our washing habits can prevent towels from becoming stiff over time. One of the best laundry tips is to reduce the amount of detergent used. Generally, one or two tablespoons of powder or liquid is all that’s needed. If you live in a hard water area, err on the higher side, and you may also want to consider adding water softening aids into your laundry routine to prevent the build-up of mineral deposits on your towels.
Claire Hester, product director at heritage towel brand Christy, has a surprisingly simple trick up her sleeve: wash your towels separately from your other laundry. “Keeping them apart prevents pulls and pilling, which over time can make even the plushest towel look worn and feel rough,” she says. Heavy, waterlogged towels can also damage the fibres of the other clothes in your drum. As it turns out, a dedicated towel wash isn’t fussy – it’s actually the key to a better-quality clean.
If your existing inventory of towels is already more stiff than soft, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s possible to reverse that scratchy texture. To revitalise worn towels, Lincoln recommends deep-cleaning them once a month with baking soda to deodorise and brighten the fibres. (This will also help clean your washing machine at the same time.)
“Sprinkle one cup (about 150g) of baking soda directly into the empty drum before adding the towels,” he says. Next, wash your towels on a warm cotton setting with no other detergent. “This raises the pH of the water, helping to break down oils, acids and stains,” he explains. “The baking soda also breaks down any hard mineral deposits on the towels.”
To restore softness, he suggests following up with a softening rinse using vinegar. “Leave your towels in the drum and pour one cup (250ml) of white vinegar into the detergent drawer or directly into the drum,” he says. “Run a full wash on another warm wash cycle. The vinegar will cut through any excess soap left on the towels and relax the fibres, making the towels feel fluffier again.”
If you’re wondering how often to wash towels, once a week – or every three to five uses – is the standard advice. When it comes to the best temperature to wash them, however, cold washes won’t do. As Lincoln suggests in his monthly rescue treatment, a warm temperature such as 40C is best for washing towels. “It’s hot enough to dissolve oils and kill bacteria, but gentle on fibres,” he explains.
While hotter washes of 60C might be needed for soiled kitchen towels, Hester recommends avoiding extremely hot washes. “Very hot water can weaken cotton fibres over time, but you want it just hot enough to kill off any bacteria and remove loose towel fibres,” she says.
As for the best washing machine setting, a standard cotton setting will suffice. You should avoid fast run times or programmes with short rinse cycles. “These won’t rinse the towels well enough and will leave soap residue in the towel,” Lincoln notes.
To ensure your towels stay soft and clean, a powder or liquid detergent is best. Capsules should generally be avoided as they might not dissolve completely, and all-in-one varieties contain softener which, counter-intuitively, can actually damage the fibres (more on this later).
It’s also easier to control the dose with liquid and powder detergents. “I would recommend half the dosage of detergent for towels because towelling is made from a looped pile rather than a tight flat weave like percale sheets, duvets and pillowcases, which don’t usually trap stains in the same way,” says James. “Less is better because too much soap clings inside the loops and leaves them stiff.”
When detergent isn’t rinsed out of your towels completely, it can create a greasy film that traps sweat and oils, creating a musty smell. If towels are put away before they’ve fully dried, trapped moisture also creates a breeding ground for bacteria to grow.
Fortunately, there are a few hacks you can try to ensure your towels smell fresh after they’ve been washed. “A simple trick to stop them from smelling is to add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda to the wash to neutralise odours,” suggests Hester. “A few drops of tea tree oil can also help tackle bacteria, and air drying in the sun keeps towels fresh naturally.” To maintain a gentle fragrance while storing, she recommends using a lavender sachet in your linen cupboard, too.
Experts agree that fabric softener should generally be avoided when washing towels. Not only can it trigger allergies (a risk that increases when rubbing your bare skin with a towel), but it also causes a build-up of residue on your towels – especially the microfibre kind, which are easily clogged. If your towel has ever felt waxy or oily after a wash, fabric conditioner is probably to blame. “The softener coats the loops, making them less fluffy and affecting the absorbency,” says Lincoln. As an alternative, consider using white vinegar in the softener dispenser instead, to prevent stiff, waxy towels.
Where possible, it’s best to air-dry your towels. Not only is this a gentler method than tumble drying, but the UV rays will help kill any remaining bacteria. The sun can also act as a natural bleaching agent, helping to keep white towels bright and fresh.
When you are forced to resort to a tumble dryer during the winter months, there are a few steps you should follow to keep towels fresh and fluffy. Hester says a low heat setting is always best. “I recommend shaking the towels before drying to keep loops fluffy,” she adds. “Also, avoid over-drying them, which can give your towels that stiff feeling.”
Lincoln adds that dryer balls can also boost airflow in the drum and stop your towels from clumping together. “Wool or rubber ones work best,” he says, but a tennis ball makes an excellent substitute. Dryer balls can be especially useful in combination machines, as even the best washer dryers come with limited drying settings.
And for that ultra-plush hotel level of luxury? “Try air-drying your towels until nearly dry, then finish them off in the dryer for the last 10 minutes,” Lincoln suggests. Follow these steps and every shower will feel like a spa day.