Towels hanging dry

[YankeyMCC]

Hello all,

Looking for a little advice on hanging cloths out to dry. I'm finding that even with fabric softener added to the laundry during the wash my cloths are coming out very stiff after hanging dry.

This is mostly an issue with my bath towels, some of my light weight shorts and t-shirts (cotton) end up maybe slightly stiff at the seems or just fine.

At first I thought it was because I was hanging them inside where fans were going (we've had a long spate of rainy, hot, humid weather) but it seems to still be happening even after hanging them outside.

Any advice?

[trotsky]

1. Throw 'em in the dryer for 15-20 minutes on fluff (no heat).

You must have somewhat hard water?

[Lisa0825]

4. I find that even 5 minutes with a dryer sheet softens mine up. nt

[NMDemDist2]

2. vinegar in the rinse should do the trick

just cheap white vinegar instead of fabric softener

[eleny]

8. I'll second that and even a little in the wash water

When Warpy said she uses it in the water for washing whites I found it worked great for bright whites. But it also softened the fabric a little more. Now I add it to towels, too.

I used to be able to keep a bottle of vinegar for ages. Now, a gallon can go pretty quick.

Hi AzDem! :hi:

[NMDemDist2]

9. hi yourself! I've been using in the dishwasher too

it really helps with this hard water

:hi:

[Warpy]

20. Vinegar in the rinse will certainly help

as will taking them off the line while they're still slightly damp and running them through a short dryer cycle to finish and fluff.

If you don't have a dryer, then you're just going to have to get used to stiffer towels.

White vinegar will help a little, though, by washing away more soap scum. They won't smell like a salad once they're dry.

[Dora]

3. Stop using fabric softener on your towels and household linens.

Fabric softener coats the fibers so that they feel "softer," but in the process they become less absorbent. Use white vinegar as a rinse agent instead.

It may sound nutty, but I suspect that fabric softener isn't compatible with line-drying, and actually contributes to stiffness.

[Kolesar]

5. I snap the towels before I hang them up to dry

It makes them softer. Not very soft, and many people would not find the towels to be acceptably soft, but I am happy with the results. I use them gently in a blotting motion instead of "going at it" and rubbing my face like I am trying to strip paint.

I often dry clothes "a bit" in the dryer like Trotsky says upthread.

[hippywife]

6. The vinegar might work

but I don't know. I hang out everything and my nicer towels stay nice and soft. My older, cheaper ones don't. But neither my husband or I really care if they're soft or not. They're dry and we didn't use up a bunch of energy getting them that way. Soft towels are one of those things I think people have been marketed into believing is the only acceptable state for them so people can sell fabric softener. Sure it's nice, but is it really necessary? We use the same towels for the week, they soften up enough after the first shower.

[murray hill farm]

7. Hi...yes I do the same.

Use the same towel for a week...and they do soften up after the first use. I do not mind at all the "stiffness" and the added benefit is that the "stiff" line dried towels minus the softener are a lot more absorbant than the dryer dried ones. Also, like line dried sheets, the towels have that same great out door smell to them that does last the whole week. Also that great pleasure of hanging clothes on a line to dry is an all out feel good experience.

[YankeyMCC]

13. You're probably right

about the skewed expectations.

I'll see if the vinegar and snapping helps though next time I wash just to check and get a little more softness if I can.

[Kolesar]

10. Coming home after school

Riding my bike past the gates of the factories
My mom doing the laundry
Hanging our shirts in the dirty breeze
-- Simon & Garfunkel, 1975, "My little town"

[kittykitty]

11. Well. here's another advantage of "stiff" laundry Read on....

First, the sun whitens whites. And sanitizes the laundry.

I fold dish towels in thirds length-wise, then hang them in half over the clothesline and smooth them with my hand. When dry, they are stiff and smooth as if ironed.

Use the same technique with pillowcases. Of course sheets dry flat, and are easy to fold neatly.

Men's or womens slacks can be hung from the cuffs with the inside seams together so that the pants will have a crease and don't need to be pressed (or very little). Just smooth stuff with your hands.

If you are careful about how you hang almost anything up, it will dry in a way that you have nice, neat laundry. And yes, towels will be a little rough.

[ima_sinnic]

12. I have never owned a dryer and am totally used to the stiffness, which goes away quickly

it is just something you adjust to. After one use, bath towels are softer again.

[YankeyMCC]

14. Thanks

skipping the fabric softener and giving the towels and other stuff too, a good shake or two before hanging them up helped significantly.

[LiberalEsto]

15. The cause of fabric stiffness

I recently interviewed some laundry experts - one for a huge hotel chain - for an article on a different topic, a new commercial laundry technology.

They explained to me that fabric gets stiff and rough because there are residual salts from the detergent that cling to the fabric fibers, even after the final rinse.

Fabric softener only masks this roughness by coating the residue and fibers. It doesn't remove the salts from the fabric fibers.

I'm not sure how vinegar plays into this, but I'm guessing that if it's used in the final rinse, it helps get rid of detergent residue.

Whatever you do, don't use vinegar for rinsing anything that contains latex: bras, Spandex, elastic waistbands, or bath mats that have a rubberized backing. Vinegar causes latex to deteriorate. I once wrecked a nice bath mat by adding vinegar to the wash. The backing broke up into many crumbling pieces.

[NMDemDist2]

16. excellent info

thanks!

:hi:

[Kolesar]

17. Front loading washing machines "rinse better"

Or so the manufacturers claim. They claim that the clothes will look brighter because much more residual dirt gets rinsed out.

Perhaps it rinses the salts better.

[eleny]

18. I use it for all my wash including whites with elastic

I haven't noticed any deterioration of the elastic in underwear or the stretchy stuff in bras. Maybe it'll take a while. I can't use much as it's a front loader and I can only pour it up to a certain line in the dispenser.

I'll be sure not to use it when I do bath mats with rubberized backings. I think the dryer did them in, too. Now I don't use the dryer for any laundry - only air drying and things are working out.

[demokatgurrl]

19. Yes, if you use LESS detergent than the package

recommends (remember they WANT you to use it up fast), clothes will rinse better, and be less stiff. Especially helpful if you have allergies or sensitive skin and get itchy from soap.