how to wash/soften towels/terry

[Mab]

All of my towels, as well as some terry towel fitteds I own, are becoming harder and uglier with every wash. I'm not washing with very hot water, nor using fabric softener. Should I? I've using vinager as softenern but maybe I'm not using enough? I remember a time when I had to use the laundromat regularly and the guy got my towels so, so soft. How do they do that?

TIA!

[Naturalyst]

Are you, possibly, overloading the machine? If "yes", then it's likely that all the detergent is not being removed in the rinse cycle. All your clothes should be able to tumble and churn easily in the machine.

You don't want to use fabric softener on your towels because they will be less absorbent. Fabric softener leaves residue that repels water.

This is what I would suggest trying:

1) Fewer items in the load

2) Warm water, if you aren't too concerned about the energy consumption; and,

3) A good detergent, one that doesn't leave residue (no optical brighteners, no softener added claims, etc. - these things are left on your clothes after the rinse).

4) Keep with a 1/4 cup of vinegar in the rinse.

Personally, I wash my sheets and towels with soap, which leaves them softer than washing with detergent. Soap doesn't clean as well as detergent on dirty clothes, but its more than sufficient for towels.

A lot of people on MDC make there laundry soap by mixing Fels Naptha soap gratings with washing soda and borax. I don't like Fels Naptha because I don't want to use a product with naptha, a petroleum derivative, and I detest the fragrance of this soap. But, mine, is a minority opinion on MDC.

I use Ivory soap when I've run out of homemade soap. Others on MDC have posted about using Dr. Bronner's soap, which I'm sure works fine, but it's fairly pricey. While you can do it by hand, I grate the bar of soap in my food processor. Then, I attach the steel chopping bade, add a cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax and process until its all a find powder. About 1/4 cup in a large load of wash works very well. Depending on your washing machine capacity, you may need to add more or less.

Others here have praised Charlies Soap, which is available direct from the manufacturer online. I've also seen a few claims that it has been irritating for some. I've not tried it. Just know that it's not really a soap, it's a detergent - which is not a bad thing. The manufacturer claims that it doesn't leave any residue. If true, then it should leave laundry soft.

Hope some of the above helps.

Good luck.

[brittneyscott]

I use homemade laundry detergent: 1/2c borax, 1/2c washing soda, but I use 1 bar grated Ivory soap instead of Fels Naptha. I use 1/4c-1/2c vinegar in a downy ball for fabric softener, and a couple drops eo on a flannel wipe as a dryer sheet. My laundry is clean, soft, fresh, and smells pretty. Cloth diapers too. I haven't had any trouble yet. I only use 1-2T of the detergent in the wash depending on the size of the load. No trouble with detergent build up or absorbency.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by Naturalyst

I don't like Fels Naptha because I don't want to use a product with naptha, a petroleum derivative,

AFAICT, there's no longer any naphtha in Fels Naphtha soap.

Others here have praised Charlies Soap,... Just know that it's not really a soap,

So they're even.

Robert
What, no girl scouts in girl scout cookies?

[Mab]

Thanks for the recipes, I need to find out where to buy those ingredients where I live.

and Naturalyst, I think you nailed my problem. I was using this half load button all the time in some attempt to be more eco friendly and clearly that was the problem: not enough water and lots of detergent build up. I'm usar a regular water cycle now and the dipes come out much, much softer. Thanks a lot mama!!!!!!!!!!!