Can't get my towels soft

[AutumnBliss]

I buy really decent towels e.g. White Co. John Lewis. However, as soon as I wash them they turn to sandpaper. I have a water softener machine, so that should help, but it doesn't.

Please share your super soft towel tips.

Always used fabric conditioner, line or tumble.

I have some cheap asda towels that only soften in tumble.
Dunelm ones are soft no matter what

Never use fabric conditioner as it makes towels feel slimy when you use them. Use a lot less washing powder than it says in the pack and a hot wash. Tumble dry for maximum fluffiness.

Dryer balls in the tumble dryer. Made a huge difference when I started doing this.

Don’t use fabric conditioner for towels. Stops them absorbing water. Just use powder and then tumble dry.

Many a year ago, when I sold painfully expensive homewares as a teen, I went on a training course that insisted we told all customers of their wildly expensive towels to never use fabric conditioner and to tumble dry for softness. The fabric conditioner affects how absorbant the towel fibre is apparently. (It was a very dull training course so the finer details escape me.)

Anyway, I prefer them rough, but that was what Missoni say about theirs.

fabsoft adds a tiny film of oil or wax to the cotton fibres, which builds up, making them feel soft, but reducing their ability to absorb water.

Washing soda crystals and hot water will wash it away, and also the deposits of soap scum that arise from washing powder and hard water. These deposits help make towels and garments feel hard. Cleaning them off will make the towels softer, and more absorbent.

A relative of mine takes hers to a dry cleaning place and I don’t know how they wash them but they are the softest towels I’ve ever used. Ours are like the wheatabix description earlier