My dear readers….I don’t know if you have the same issues I do with my bath towels, ….but I am guessing you do. After many, many washings, the towels just seem to have lost that fluffiness….and with guest season on it’s way here in Florida, I thought you might like to see a few tips I have learned over the years.
Several years ago, I decided that all the towels in my home would be white! It took a few years, but eventually all the colored towels that matched each bathroom wore out (or were delegated to the rag bin) and were replaced with beautiful, white fluffy towels.
I pulled out a couple previous posts showing my assortment of colored towels.
De-cluttering The Linen Closet!
Now that I have all white towels…..with a new found determination, I vowed to keep these towels as white and fluffy as the towels in upscale hotel rooms.
Below are 6 tips that you might find useful in keeping your towels fluffy.
#1. Don’t use fabric softeners! I know what you are saying…..all the ads and everything we have been taught about soft, fluffy laundry… centers around using fabric softeners. Actually, fabric softeners will stop being effective after several uses and can actually damage your towels. Softeners collect on your towel and will eventually push the fibers of the fabric down. Your towel fibers then stiffen and become less absorbent because they are full of buildup from your softeners.
#2. Vinegar Removes Buildup! If you add about 1 cup of white vinegar with your laundry detergent, the vinegar will pull out the chemical buildup and hard water that sticks to the fibers of your towels. As the fibers fluff up again, you will begin to feel the softness and the absorbency they once had.
#3. Tennis Anyone? Ok, not the game of tennis but a few clean tennis balls tossed in the dryer along with your towels will also aid in keeping the towels fluffy. The sound however, might be a little annoying. Not sure if those store bought dryer balls work any quieter. I guess it is the price we pay for fluffy towels.
#4. Baking soda has so many uses….and your laundry room should have a large box of it sitting along side your detergent. For softer towels, add about 1/2 cup of baking soda mixed in with your detergent. The baking soda loosens the towel fibers which in turn cleans off chemicals or grime on your towels. If you have experienced musty towel odors….as we sometimes do with swimming towels here in Florida, you will find the baking soda makes them smell fresh and clean.
#5. This next tip is one of the easiest to utilize, but for me it is the most difficult. Wash fewer towels in each load. If you are like me…you want to get the laundry done in as few loads as possible. I, personally do not like being tied to the laundry room when I have places to go or people to see….or I just want to settle in with a good book. However, trying to wash and dry too many towels at once will not only hurt your washer and dryer, but it also interferes with the dryer’s ability to dry your towels properly. The larger the load of towels (or any clothing for that matter) the less air circulation and this results in towels with packed, matted down fiber …also know as not fluffy…as well as really stiff towels.
#6. Less is more when it comes to detergent. As you use less detergent, you’ll find that the rinse cycle will wash out all of the detergent that could potentially create a residue on your towels. I use a liquid detergent rather than a powder (I think most people do these days) and I find this works much better than the way my Mother and Grandmother did their laundry.
So there you have my 6 tips for fluffy towels. I would be interested to know if you have any special tips you would like to share.
Blessings always….
Lint for the birds… sounds a fun slogan and a lovely idea.
Hugs xx
ah… there is nothing nicer than a fluffy towel.. remember to clean the lint from from the filter each time and marvel that there is any pile left on the towels after that much fluff/lint has shed.
I purchased some new neutral colored guest towels recently too and they are washed and tucked away. I could have stuffed a cushion with the first shedding of fluff though.
However my favorite towel currently is a vibrant striped towel sheet that is all encompassing… Fluffy and very large is the way forward…
Don’t you just hate those hotels that provide regular sized towels… which is probably why you have so many guests queuing at your door.
love and hugs from across the pond xx
Hey Ross….I wonder if there is anything constructive we can do with all that lint? Leave it for the birds to build nests perhaps? I love fluffy towels and hope to keep mine that way.
Hugs right back at ya!