How to strip wash towels

[GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat]

Any tips on how to strip wash out towels? They are white (first mistake) and starting to look grubby and not as fresh as they were. Keen to try a strip wash before I look at replacing them.

Thanks.

What is a strip wash (of towels) ?

I know what a strip wash (of a person) is.

It's a deep clean to strip them back from all the detergent and soap build up. I know it's done regular to reusable nappies but I've never done it. Googled a few tips but they all say to use borax which I don't think you can get in the UK.

Ooo like that stuff people used to soak net curtains in when people still smoked indoors?

Could try some glo white.

To bring them back to white i would wash on your longest hottest wash with loads of vanish stain remover and line dry outdoors on a really sunny day.

Perhaps add a cap of bleach in the wash, only if they are true white and not dyed.

I had 4 in terry nappies and never heard of strip wash for them.

Get on the cloth nappies threads OP. We are always comparing our strip wash methods! The nappy lady website has some info too.

Wouldn't even know where to find cloth nappy threads! Can you link to a method please?

I just dyed mine grey with a dylon machine dye.
Does strip washing make them fluffy again?

Instead of using detergent use bioc as resonate of soda or white vinegar in wash. Wash at highest temp. Then if you can, tumble dry.

You shouldn't really use detergent for towels as it clogs them up and the 2 methods I mentioned above are much more effective at cleaning them

Not sure if this is strip washing but I soaked my whites in napisan overnight, wow, the water was revolting but everything was looking great and I then followed with a hot wash and more napisan in the machine

I wash my white towels on 90C wash with laundry bleach in the wash, and dry in the sun. Stay nice and white! Not as fluffy as I’d like but don’t know how to get fluffy without a tumble dryer.

I have white towels that I wash at 60 degrees with ordinary detergent. I dry them on the line in the sun when I can. After eight years they’re still white as white. And it’s a long time since I used terry nappies, but they needed no more than an occasional soak in bleach and a hot wash to keep them white.

To do it properly you're supposed to use borax with soda crystals and leave soaking in a bath with hot water. You can't buy borax in the UK but you can buy something called borax substitute and use that instead.

Once they've soaked and the water is cold wash as usual with washing powder and NO fabric softener.

I'd wash with bleach for white towels. we have a mixture of towel colours so do a 90 degree wash every so often.