terrys and hard water - is there a way round it?

[evilstepmom]

love my terries but not how they go all crispy on the line! am determined to avoid tumble dryer unless dire emergency...any suggestions? am typing with dd (4months) on my lap hence lack of capitals!!!)

calgon tablets?

Vinegar in the wash should help slightly...

I tend to just go with a large fleece liner though so that he isn't feeling much roughness iyswim

Vinegar in the rinse? Small amount of softener? Either/both should help.

i thought softner made nappies less absorbent? thanks for tips though

Other option is line dry and then give them 5 mins in the dryer just to soften them

Softner isn't a good idea, the vinegar is a descaler so will descale the nappies and the washing machine, we live in Reading, which is very hard and every now and then I do a descaling wash on the machine with nothing in it (very hot with vinegar in the powder tray bit), I always get loads of suds!

I must admit I tumble for 10 mins before hanging them out so they aren't too crispy and I've switched to shortpile nappies (onelife/ME) as they stay softer.

But with winter coming, I found the ultimate softner is to leave them out overnight during a frost (snow is even better, but hard to come by in Reading), both nappies and towels come in very soft - a friend has expeimented with putting hers in the freezer but the results weren't the same.

A small amount of softener once in a while has never caused me a problem with my terries or any other cloth nappies. Normal amounts of softener do cause the nappies to be less absorbent. If you did find that the nappies were becoming less absorbent then go back to just vinegar again and it will zap off any build up of softener. Using washing soda also clears build up on the nappies and gets rid of stains.

wow mrswagsnapps - would never have known about the frost thing - will give it a try! thanks all

Apparently leaving them out in th rain softens them, but I am not sure how practical that is!

I must admit, just afew min in the tumble dryer makes a huge dif! I put them in for 10 mins, then either line dry them or put them on airers by the radiators.