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Laundry Tips: How to Keep Towels Soft and Fluffy

Benjamin A.

While machine-washing your towels will get them clean, eventually their colors seem to fade, along with their softness. How to keep towels soft and fluffy but clean and fresh? Using the right water temperature can preserve their color while drying with wool balls can restore fluffiness. Learn what to avoid when washing towels, as well as the right cleaning techniques to make them stay softer and last longer.

How to Keep Towels Soft? Use the Right Washing and Drying Methods

It doesn’t take complicated techniques or special products to keep towels looking like new. Rather, knowing how to keep towels soft requires some simple adjustments to your washing and drying methods. But before we detail how to wash towels, here are some common problems and mistakes to avoid.

Common Problems With Towels After Washing

When towels don’t look or feel the same, it may not seem like machine-washing is the problem. However, the wrong washing methods can actually break down towels, making them feel different and less functional.

These common towel problems can occur when they’re washed incorrectly :

  • Musty smell
  • Shedding lint
  • Fading
  • Roughness
  • Lack of fluff

Towel Washing Mistakes to Avoid

Proper washing techniques do more than just keep towels soft and fluffy. They can make your towel last longer and increase absorbency, saving you money and working more effectively.

Avoid these 5 towel washing mistakes for cleaner, fluffier, and more functional towels :

  1. Using too much detergent: This can actually stiffen towels and leave behind a residue that can lead to a musty odor.
  2. Adding fabric softener: Fabric softener can also build up in towels, lessening their absorbency.
  3. Removing makeup with towels: These stains are hard to remove, leaving lingering spots that make towels look dingy.
  4. Setting the wrong water temperature: While washing towels in cold water is fine if they’re colored, white towels stay brighter when washed in hot water.
  5. Improper drying: Overdrying destroys towel fibers, leaving them faded and rough, while under-drying can lead to smelly mold and mildew.

Washing Tips to Keep Towels Soft

Wondering how to soften towels in the wash, increase absorbency, and keep colors from fading? A few simple adjustments can keep towels looking and feeling like new.

These washing tips can keep towels soft and fluffy :  

  1. Wash new towels before using: This removes any chemical additives that can make towels look fluffy but limit absorbency.
  2. Use white vinegar: Adding white vinegar to half the recommended detergent amount will set colors and remove residue.
  3. Clean regularly: Washing towels every 3-4 days will keep them clean and soft.
  4. Keep clothing separate: Washing towels separately from clothes will prevent germs from transferring to other items and enable towels to dry faster.
  5. Shake before drying: Shaking loosens towel fibers, making them fluffier and shortening drying times.

How to Wash Towels the Right Way

Knowing how to keep towels soft, clean, and absorbent involves the right water temperature, detergent amounts, and drying techniques.

Follow these steps to machine-wash towels correctly :

  1. Separate colors: Washing colored towels separately from white ones will prevent discoloration over time.
  2. Use the right water temperature: Wondering how to clean dingy towels? Keep white towels bright by washing in hot water. The best wash cycle for towels that are colored uses warm water.
  3. Add the correct amount of detergent: Use the least recommended amount of detergent and add non-chlorine bleach to white towels to preserve their brightness. The best detergent for towels that are colored contains a color-safe bleach to keep them bright.
  4. Skip the fabric softener: Use ¼ cup of white vinegar instead of fabric softener to prevent a buildup of residue.
  5. Dry properly: To keep towels fluffy, shake them out before placing them in the dryer. Add wool dryer balls before starting a drying cycle to further increase fluffiness. Always make sure towels are completely dry folding and storing to prevent musty odors and mildew.

From how to keep towels soft to how to wash a winter jacket, Reliable Appliance Service has the answers! Call us when you need a washing machine repair service or for any laundry appliance concerns.

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