Next, you will want to add something to sanitize the towels. They are often covered in germs and bacteria so you will want to either use bleach or a laundry sanitizer.
For white towels, I recommend 1 bleach tablet or 1 cup of bleach for a large load. If you have towels that are different colors you can either use color-safe bleach or I prefer Lysol laundry sanitizer.
Add your towels to the laundry and let the machine spin a few times. Then stop the load and let the towels sit for 15 minutes.
Letting the towels sit for 15 minutes is a tip I picked up when my husband had a stomach virus a couple of years ago. It turns out that is how long it takes for the towels to be disinfected by the bleach in the water. If you just add the bleach and run the load your towels won’t be completely disinfected.
After 15 minutes start up the machine and let it run as normal.
When the load is done remove the towels and shake them out. Move the towels to the dryer.
Drying Your Towels
Run the dryer on a regular heat cycle, or cotton if you have it. You don’t want to use too high of heat and damage the cotton in your towels.
If you have wool dryer balls I highly recommend using them while drying your towels. They will not only help the towels dry faster, but they will also help your towels feel even more fluffy and soft.
Just like when you are washing your towels you don’t want to add a dryer sheet to the dryer with your towels. The dryer sheets will also make your towels less absorbent.
When your towels are dry you can remove them and use them like you normally would. However, make sure they are 100% dry before you remove them.
Even just a little bit of moisture left in the towels can easily become a breeding ground for mildew and mold.
Making Scratchy Towels Feel Soft Again
Now that you know how to wash towels to keep them soft and fluffy you might need to fix those old scratchy towels and make them seem new again.
Towels tend to get scratchy and lose their fluffiness from too much detergents and fabric softeners. Plus, body oils can get in the fibers and make them greasy. To make them feel like new again you will want to wash them with some vinegar and baking soda.
Start a load of towels in the machine with hot water. Make sure you don’t overload the towels. You want them to have plenty of room to agitate in the washing machine.
Add a cup of vinegar to the washing machine load, but don’t use any soap. Let the machine run like it normally would.
After the cycle is done then add a cup of baking soda and once again run the machine like normal.
The vinegar will get rid of any soap that is still in the towels, plus get rid of any funky smells. Don’t worry, your towels won’t come out smelling like vinegar. They will dry scent-free.
The baking soda will help break up any body oils that are in the towels and also get rid of smells.
Once you are finished with both of the loads you can wash your towels per the instructions above.
You can do this whenever your towels start to lose their absorbency. Keep in mind that hard water will make your towels feel hard and crunchy so you may need to do this about once a month if you have hard water.
What To Look For When Buying Towels
If you are buying new towels there are a few things you can do to make sure the towels you get stay fluffy and soft.
To begin with, I always recommend buying cotton towels. Cotton towels are very absorbent and cotton is also durable. Some towels contain polyester or other fabrics and they won’t be as soft wash after wash.
It also helps if all of your towels are a similar color. You don’t want to be doing load after load. I love having all white towels for everywhere in the house. Fewer loads of laundry is always nice!
Say goodbye to scratchy, rough towels with these simple tips on how to wash towels to keep them soft and fluffy. You can keep your towels soft and absorbent for years after you buy them.
