Crispy laundry? Help!

[Alieight]

OK this is going to sound really daft...pretty much my entire adult life I've never had a washing machine - hand washed everything (was living on tiny island in Honduras for the last 6 years).

So am back in the UK and yay, have a washing machine due to immense amounts of laundry that DS is producing.

But everything always comes out kind of hard and crispy? I don't tend to iron things (am far too lazy), and washing gets dried either outside on the line or over radiator/bannisters. Other than that, I tend to wash at 40, use fabric conditioner and non-bio (am allergic to bio). We do live in a fairly hard water area, is that it? Am used to washing stuff in rainwater!

Any suggestions for making laundry soft and fluffy? Mainly for DS tbh, as I don't really mind too much for mine

Soda crystals can soften water. Put a scoop of them in your drawer for every wash.

For DSs clothes I would use Comfort Pure and be heavy handed with it. How eco that is I have no idea but there you go. I don't use any fc anymore in our washing just sc in the drum to help with cleaning and one tablet of Fairy non bio.

Rainwater indeed ..... tut!

Distilled white vinegar is also good, put it in when machine is rinsing, it removes all the excess soap and scum.

Do you have a tumble drier?

i find drying stuff inside is so much less soft then drying on my lovely super high washing line, that i use almost all the time (in 3 years i have dried just 5 loads of washing inside )

i dont use fabric softener at all (i hate the idea of putting petrochemicals all over my cloths)

I use washing liquid and a splash of white vinegar in the softener compartment, then line dry on a high line that gets all the sun and breeze

all my clothes really are extreamly soft, and even my towels are softer than most other peoples whose towles i know

Thanks so much for the tips - nannyL I do tend to dry outside whenever possible, but resort to radiators/bannisters if necessary...being a bit weird I even tend to save washing for sunny days so it can dry outside! Do miss living in a country where you can reliably put washing outside...

FourArms I do have a tumble drier but I try not to use it much if poss as it's really expensive to run and money's a bit tight atm. Does tumble drying soften clothes?

Will try soda crystals/vinegar and see what happens - thanks so much everyone!

Tumble drying does really help, so you could perhaps give clothes a quick blast (10-15m) in the tumble drier if you are drying them inside and then hang them on the airers etc. Radiators are the worst for crisping up clothes. Airers are better as they dry a bit slower (which is not always ideal).

You can get shops own brand water softners (Calgon is the branded one, so look near that), which will help soften your washing, and also protect your machine in a hard water area.