Crunchy and rough washing esp cotton baby gros help!

[Preggosaurus9]

Currently using Fairy powder and Comfort softener. Increased the amount of softener but washing still coming out crunchy and rough feeling. Especially cottons like baby's clothes. Socks also particularly bad. This has been going on for years but more concerned now that baby's clothes feel so rough for her delicate skin. Have tried different powders and softeners but nothing seems to work.

What am I doing wrong? How can I get washing that's clean but soft?

Tumble dry it?

Do you live in a hard water area?

Try white vinegar in the fabric softener drawer. Or a scoop of soda crystals.

What temperature are you washing at?

Reduce the amount od powder and fabsoft. Both of them accumulate a deposit in the fabric, especially if you use too much or do cool washes.

To remove the old accumulation, do the hottest wash you can with NO powder, NO fabsoft, and a cup of Washing Soda Crystals in the powder drawer.

You will find the machine foams up a lot.

That's the old residue of soap dissolving in the hot water with soda. The soda helps dissolve soap and grease (fabsolft is wax and prevents towels from absorbing water properly).

Your machine also has a residue of soap and fabsoft in it. You can do empty maintenance washes with hot hot hot water and a cup of soda, or you can put your cotton towels in. They will withstand the heat and (if white) you don't have to worry about fading. They will come out whiter, softer and cleaner than they went in. You don't need to add powder again until the rtesidue is all washed out and they stop foaming (this will take longer than you think).

Soda Cystals You can halve the amount of powder because the soda helps it dissolve and work better.

No tumble drier.

Think water area is medium?

Soda - I see PJ has linked a specific washing machine soda product? Or can I use bi carb?

Wash at 30.

Thanks PJ will try an empty wash on 90.

I'm trying what @PigletJohn says too. Thank you

bicarb is a different chemical. Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3

(washing) soda (crystals) are Sodium carbonate Na2CO3

"Soda" is not a good word to use because it might describe different things.

"Caustic soda" is quite a dangerous chemical NaOH and should be avoided.

My clothes always dry hard unless I tumble them

Found the right chemical in Morrisons for less than £2. Have run it through with soda twice at 90 and a few times empty at 90. Washing genuinely softer! Will run with sofa a few more times as still could be softer I think. Amazing thank you @PigletJohn and @HavelockVetinari for advice!

I use an eco egg for washing it kind of beats the clothes or something when washing them which softens them, I also use Ecover fabric softner, this combination has got my clothes the softest they've ever been, they come out clean and they smell fresh once dry.

Also tumbledrying can help too! :)