HELP - crunchy towels!! What fabric conditioner do you use in hard water, like London, without a tumble dryer??

[loveyouradvice]

Years ago we decided not to have a tumble drier as one of our "environmentally - friendly" things to do.... I am rather regretting this!

So.... soft towels and clothes... surely we can get these with a good fabric conditioner and air drying?

Comfort and the ecover ones don't work for us... what works for you?

I like mine crunchy.
But you could try soda crystals and less detergent. Good for the washing machine, anyway.

Use some soda crystals in your wash

Envious of those of you that can line dry. If I hung my towels out to dry they’d be crunchy from being frozen solid. Not sure how anyone coped before tumble dryers. Presumably they didn’t wash or dried things in front of a fire!

(Northern Canada. Currently an unseasonable -7. Usually -30 or so with the wind chill)

@MooseBeTimeForSummer

Envious of those of you that can line dry. If I hung my towels out to dry they’d be crunchy from being frozen solid. Not sure how anyone coped before tumble dryers. Presumably they didn’t wash or dried things in front of a fire!

(Northern Canada. Currently an unseasonable -7. Usually -30 or so with the wind chill)

They’d probably still dry quite well as cold air tends to be fairly dry, and wind is a great desiccant. I tried clothes outside when I worked in northern Finland.

Another white vinegar user

@SpaceOp

Pressed Post too soon.

My issue is the kids' school uniforms. I can't tumble dry their jumpers because the logos go all funny. But the jumpers are HARD as rocks after just a few washes. I hate it.

Cunningly under the description of limescale removers - Sainsburys own MUCH cheaper than calgon - helps your washing, not just your machine.

Add some washing soda crystals to the drawer or a cup of white vinegar. Either will deal with the crunchy feel in hard water areas.

Much less expensive than fabric conditioner and cuts the number of plastic bottles too.

Oh wow ... my washing machine and my towels are going to be thanking me this year... off to try these options... and like the gym workout of shaking them all well before hanging!

Look forward to hearing if anyone else does something different... and actually about fabric conditioners for clothes since Im not going to be using them on my towels now!!

Just picking up this old thread - first of all, never, ever, ever use fabric conditioner with towels (or indeed any of your clothes that you need to absorb sweat or water). Not only will it make them twenty times worse over time because of the build up of residue, it will also make them much worse at absorbing water, and builds up a layer which prevents them from being washed properly by your detergent. What you need in hard water areas is a water softener with each wash - you should use this with everything you wash as not only will limescale build up with each wash if you don't, the limescale can also damage your stuff. You can get the water softener tablets quite cheaply from all the supermarkets. It's also a good idea to the Dettol or supermarket own brand antibacterial laundry liquids to make sure all bacteria is killed. Detergents will not do this unless they are powders which contain bleach.

Here is a short video from the consumer association "Which" explaining why using fabric conditioner on your towels really destroys them over time:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1389914522384945&vanity=whichuk