Cardboard towels.

[Effjay]

We live in a hard water area and repeated washing has left my towels rather unfluffy. They are fine other than that and I would like to rejuvinate them if possible. Has anyone tried vinegar in the washing machine with them to remove the limescale? Does it work or does it make your towels stink? Is there anything else I could do?

Ooh I also would like to know the answer - my tumble dryer is broken and since that died I also have cardboard towels and like you live in a hard water area.

fabric conditioner

Yes, I use fabric conditioner with every wash - still Cardboard towels

I did read once that you can iron them to make them soft.

I have no idea if this works as personally I would rather use a cardborad towel than piss about waste time I could spend with the family, ironing it.

Tumble dry them with Bounce sheets?

If you don't have a tumble dryer - I don't know...

I thought fabric conditioner affected their absorption.

Vinegar won't make them stink at all (make sure it's white vinegar), but I'm not sure it ever made much difference to mine.

Our water is only medium hard, though, so our towels aren't too bad anyway.

hehe - my mum has cardboard towels but thats because she has kept the same ones from when we were little -im nearly 30 now

No you shouldn't use fabric conditioner on towels. It stops them absorbing water.

Tumble dryer is the only way I know of stopping them being cardboard.

Cardboard towels are lovely! Nice and scratchy and actually dry you properly. Boo to fluffy towels!

ooh yes another vote for caardboaard scrathcy towels, fab cond makes them feel slimy and doesnt dry you so well.

White vinegar is supposed to be an excellent softener.

i like em rough

arf

i try twice a week
deffo once

twice a week

Don't use fabric softener (including 2 in 1 powders/tablets etc), dry outside if possible.

Sorry to be brief

It sounds loony, but I iron mine - I have steam generator iron and a quick run-over with loads of steam gets the pile up and makes them much fluffier. Takes a couple of seconds and it's worth it.

I don't think it is anything to do with the hardness of the water, is it?? Clueless, me, obviously.
I get this problem too and live in a v soft water area. As I do not want to iron anything towels I put them in tumble dryer for 5-10 min just to fluff them up and then hang them up; ideally outside but this summer (use the word in its loosest possible sense ) usually inside.
Without tumbly, dunno....

I think I'm going to learn to love my cardboard towels and they don seem to dry better - fair point, well made! Thanks for the posts

bold 2 in 1 is fine, have used it on nappy washes for over a year and put in towels too with it, the conditioner that is included does not affect absorbancy. I live in a v hard water area too, my towels aren't exactly soft but they aren't too cardboardy.

Mine are the same.
I dry them outside then tumble dry, on cool for 10 mins just to ruffle them up. It works.