If your bath towels have lost their cosy softness and feel more like sandpaper than a luxury, you are not alone. This common household frustration has a surprisingly simple and natural solution sitting in your kitchen cupboard.
The Secret to Softness Revealed
According to five leading cleaning professionals, the ultimate weapon against stiff, scratchy towels is white vinegar. The absorbent nature of towels makes them prone to collecting stubborn residues from detergent and fabric softener, as well as mineral deposits from hard water. Over time, this buildup reduces their absorbency and creates an unpleasant, rough texture.
Michael Bogoyavlenskiy, CEO of Cleaning Express, advocates for this natural method. He suggests adding about 100ml of white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine during a towel wash. He confirms that the vinegar effectively "helps to dissolve oil, detergent, and mineral build-ups" which are the primary causes of crusty towels.
Expert Methods for Maximum Fluffiness
For towels in a particularly bad state, a more intensive treatment is recommended. Michael advises a pre-wash vinegar soak. Fill your bath with enough water to submerge the towels and add 150 to 200ml of white vinegar. Let them soak for a few hours before draining, giving them a quick rinse, and then washing on a normal cycle. He assures that "your towels won't smell like vinegar by the time they're clean and dry."
Danny Leung, founder of Detoorp and a natural home routine advocate, calls white vinegar the "most natural and simple solution." His technique involves running a wash cycle with half a cup of vinegar and no detergent, allowing the acidic liquid to cut through the residue. He then recommends a follow-up hot wash with half a cup of baking soda to neutralise any remaining vinegar and restore the towels' pH balance.
This two-step process is a favourite among experts. Scott Schrader, a cleaning expert at Cottage Care, clarified that the vinegar wash "dissolves detergent residue and breaks down minerals", while the subsequent baking soda wash "deodorises, while also refreshing the fibres."
Why This Natural Hack Works Every Time
Other experts echo this powerful endorsement. Jared Sarbit, CEO at Picture Perfect Cleaning, asserted that white vinegar is "extremely effective" because it resets the towels without contributing to further buildup.
Jessica Gonzalez, chief operating officer at Sparkly Maid San Antonio, also named vinegar as her go-to solution. She highlighted the importance of using a hot cycle – "the highest cycle you have on your machine" – with one cup of vinegar to de-stiffen hard towels effectively. While baking soda can be used for extra softening and deodorising, all experts agree that the vinegar step is the most crucial for achieving soft, fluffy, and highly absorbent towels.
