After a while, some of our towels begin to feel hard, or "crunchy." They didn't start off that way, I wonder if too much detergent or softner was the culprit. How can I restore my few-year-old towels to their original softness?
Wash them in plain water with a bit of vinegar a couple of times. It is a build up of product used.
It won't make them "curnchy," but do not use softener on towels. It makes them less absorbent.
It could definitely be too much detergent or it not being rinsed out thoroughly before drying. A cup or two if vinegar in the rinse cycle will also help soften them up.
I put a tennis ball in the dryer.
Wash with regular laundry detergent. Do not use the amount as stated - use much less. Add vinegar to your rinse cycle (about 1/4 cup) and you will have soft, clean towels.
Rewash them in hot water, it sounds like a softener issue, maybe too much. I use the generic store brand dryer (others are too $) sheets on towel loads and only one per load. THe towels come out nice, fluffy and soft. Hope this helps.
I hope someone else can clarify this for me, because I have the same problem. When you say put vinegar "in the rinse cycle," do you mean just listen near the machine and dump some in when it sounds time? Or is there a more automatic way or some compartment in the machine I'm missing?
I think you're right on with the detergent build up theory. Try using a natural soap or, I recently tried soap nuts and a blanket that I was going to throw out got so soft, I couldn't believe it!!! I think you can get them on Amazon too.
No fabric softener! It coats the fibers and makes the towels less absorbent. Also skip it for kitchen towels and even undershirts.
Washing in hot water helps, too, as does a tennis ball in the dryer. I've found that towels do come out "crunchy" if they're dried outdoors instead on in the dryer, but that fresh smell is so great it's worth the crunch.
I haven't read the other responses, but when did you last have your drier vent cleaned? It gets full of all kinds of lint and causes lots of problems that many people notice initially with their towels. Those who clean drier vents for a living suggest you do it annually, but most websites say every other year is fine... If you haven't had it done, you really should as it's a huge fire risk. We did it last year (we thought our drier was broken!) and the result was incredible. Everything dried faster and our towels were softer and smelled way better.
Wash them with a cup of borax as this is a detergent booster and will help pull residual detergent out and then add up to 1 cup of white vinegar to a full load rinse. You have to keep an ear out for your machine. Dry them without fabric softner in either load.
I think you might be using too much detergent. (?)
Also I make sure to fold my towels right out of the dryer.
Every so often I do a load of only towels on hot and that seems to help fluff them back up.
