How can I make new Egyptian cotton towels feel softer?

[PinkOrchard]

Morning!

I've recently bought some Egyptian cotton towels in a sale to replace our old ones. I washed them exactly as instructed (no fabric conditioner, line dry, 40° etc) and as they've dried, they just feel horrible! No different to our much cheaper ones..

Looking online, I'm getting various different advice; use fabric conditioner, don't use fabric conditioner, use white vinegar, use baking soda, do a handstand and dance around 25 times and you'll get magical towels.....

Does anyone actually have any real life tips to trying to rescue these towels please?!

Just to add; I live in a now 'very hard' water area, use Fairy pods (I have babies so it's all sensitive washing etc) and haven't got access to a tumble dryer.

Thanks in advance!

Same problem here! No tumble drier. I do use fabric conditioner but it doesn't help much anyway. Tempted to have a water softener installed 🤔

Ok, so fabric conditioner coats the fibres leaving fragrance and chemicals that lead you to think the towels are soft.

Vinegar removes any remaining detergent residue so the fibres are cleaner and then naturally soft.

I actually use a vinegar rinse along with soap flakes, nothing harsh: www.frenchsoaps.co.uk/products/fabric-softener-fresh

You will still get mineral deposits from the water, you need to be removing those. Which is where vinegar or citric acid come in. Tumble dryer not needed.

I believe what you're saying but it just hasn't worked for me! The only time my towels have felt soft is after tumble drying them at my mum's house (who also lives in a hard water area but has lovely soft towels).

I thought all towels go stiff if not put in a tumble dryer.

Before you line dry them, shake them hard. Then turn them 180 degrees and shake again. They won’t be massively fluffy but they won’t feel like cardboard!!

You could try shaking them while line drying. So let them dry a bit then shake.

I never line dry towels. Unfortunately it makes them crispy.

I wash them on 60 degrees with washing powder and white vinegar. Line dry them or tumble try them. Tumble drier always makes them feel softer but if I line dry them I give them a good shake after they’ve dried and it softens them up a bit

never use fabric softener on towels or cleaning cloths, it leaves a coating on them and they’re less absorbent

Give them a good shake before you hang them out. I find that even if they are crispy they soften up when you use them.

I love crispy towels, they’re more absorbent

Can you take them to a tumble drier in a laundrette? I’ve done that in the past.

How much white vinegar needs adding to the rinse?

I always line dry and towels are as stiff as cardboard.
i never use fabric conditioner and live in medium water hardness area. I’ve tried the white vinegar but it didn’t seem to do anything so just wondering if I used enough. Guessing I used about 25/50ml

I opened a flat sheet that I have had for forty years and is wonderful, thick, quality cotton. It’s done two summers now. It gets washed in a front load washing machine and line dried. Often with bicarb in the drawer and sometimes vinegar in the rinse. And it’s still stiff, thick and a bit scratchy. I love it. It has softened a bit with use but it’s a work in progress.

A thick (fresh) quality fibre tightly woven won’t have a lot of room to flex and become soft until some of that fibre wears away. And that takes time.

Double rinse, no fabric conditioner

Egg cup of vinegar

Vinegar helps flush the soap out , its the soap that makes the fibres hard

Crispy towels are the best! I hate when I can’t line dry them and they go soft. That’s no help to you though - sorry!

You need to tumble dry them

Tumble dryer balls, I've just bought the same type & they are baby soft after tumbling them with the balls.

I love towels that basically take your top layer of skin off! The only way I know to make them soft is via the tumble drier for 10 mins at the end, which I hate but DH loves. Using fabric conditioner will make them less absorbent rather than softer.

I like a crispy towel, it’s the best way to dry!!

I was thinking of treating myself to some new towels yesterday, but thought, there's no.point as all my towels are abrasive- and that's living in a soft water area

Any cotton - whether it’s cheap towels from Asda or “Egyptian” - is going to go crispy if you wash it properly. Tumble drying is the only way to make them slightly softer (and you could use dryer sheets).

I had the exact same issue recently OP. Had done a separate towel wash of my fluffy new towels (usually just bung them in with a clothes wash) and hung to dry on an indoor clothes horse and they were worse than the old towels they replaced!

Didn't know about the shaking thing. But after tumble drying for a short time, they fluffed right back up again. I think there was too much powder (plus I put stain remover powder in too) and I used my usual high spin which didn't help.

Hope you manage to sort them out.