Few things are less pleasant than stepping out of the bath and reaching for a towel that feels like cardboard. Stiff towels are a common complaint, and they are rarely a sign that the towel is worn out. In most cases the fibres are simply clogged with detergent, minerals or a build-up of residue, and a few changes to the way you wash and dry them will bring the softness back. It takes patience rather than effort, and the results show after only a few washes.
Rinse away what makes them stiff
The most frequent cause is too much detergent. Towels are thick, and the extra soap does not rinse out easily, so it stays in the loops of the cotton and makes them feel harsh. Use a little less than you think you need, and add an extra rinse cycle if your machine has one. Do not overfill the drum either, because towels need room to move if the water is to pass through them properly.
Wash towels together, away from clothes with zips or hooks that could catch the loops. Choose a moderate programme, and avoid an excessively fast spin, which can press the fibres flat. If your towels have been stiff for a while, run them through a wash on their own, with no detergent at all, to help flush out old residue. Then check how they feel before you dry them.
Drying matters just as much. A towel dried in the fresh air on a line often feels a little rough at first, but a good shake before and after gets the pile standing up again. In a tumble dryer, use a gentle setting and take the towels out while they are still slightly damp, then finish them on a rack. Over-drying leaves the fibres brittle and stiff.
Give the loops a chance to recover. Shake each towel briskly before hanging it, and again once it is dry. If you live in a hard water area, towels can turn stiff over time whatever you do; in that case, wash them a little more often and rinse thoroughly. Store them folded loosely in a dry cupboard, and rotate the pile so that all of them are used evenly and none is left forgotten at the bottom.
