Towel help, please--a spiritual confession (long)

[lenswyf]

About 8 years ago, I invested in really some nice towel sets at Costco--big, thick, good quality--each full set a different color for when we have guests. They have never saw fabric softener and were a delight to use--soft, absorbent.

Three years ago, we hosted some friends for about 8 months who had found themselves homeless--mom, dad, 3 teens. They were going to be missionaries in Thailand and then discovered that the mission was not as advertised, so they aborted. That's all good an well.

I had enough towels for them, but not extras. Basically, they took custody and charge of using and cleaning them. Perfectly fine.

However, they insisted on using Bonner's for everything. I didn't have a problem with that. I'd never used it, they had for years, said it was fine, and they weren't using softener. Well, when they left and I returned linens to their original location, I discovered that the towels were no longer soft and fluffy. The pile is hard and spiky. And one towel had disappeared.

I didn't get upset. I figured that if I washed them my usual way for a while, they'd get soft again. Wrong. Two years and they are still hard. I've tried washing them with vinegar--no change.

I don't know what to do. This doesn't rule my life, but whenever I wash towels or whenever I get a clean towel from the closet, I get a bit upset all over again. I scrimped and saved to get nice towels, did everything I knew to do to keep them they way I wanted them, and someone else changed them.

Do any of you have any counsel for me? Is there any way to "save" these towels? If not, they still dry bodies and look nice. But I was excited to have nice towels for my guests, a little bit of luxury. I want them back.

[3boysforme]

Have you tried stripping them?


I can totally relate btw, I grew up with thin, yucky towels. I have a small obsession with nice towels :yes

[lenswyf]

How does one strip them? I thought that was what I was doing when I tried a couple of rounds with vinegar.

[FaithnPraise]

Ooooh, RLR might work! :think

Praying for you, I understand. I think for me personally I would reserve my super nice towels for my personal use, but I have issues with people using my stuff. :O

[lenswyf]

What is RLR?

See, I'm exhibiting my laziness. There's probably an answer embedded in these forums, and I'm just cutting to the chase by asking.

[FaithnPraise]

What is RLR?

See, I'm exhibiting my laziness. There's probably an answer embedded in these forums, and I'm just cutting to the chase by asking.

It's a laundry treatment (not sure what the letters stand for), most people use it to strip the residue from cloth diapers :yes

[lenswyf]

Off to look it up.

---------- Post added at 12:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

Glimmers of hope!

[houseforjoy]

http://www.amazon.com/RLR-Laundry-Treatment-Pack-5/dp/B007E2E706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367861273&sr=8-1&keywords=rlr+laundry+treatment

you can also try dawn blue dish soap

they also might need softner at this point. dr bronners is awesome, and i use it for lots, but it might have stripped the oils from the cotton, so you might need to just try stripping, and then after a soak in softner.

:hug

[lenswyf]

I'm going to order some and give it a shot.

I used Dawn in the kitchen, but I'm not sure how that would work suds-wise in a frontloader. Thoughts?

Thank you, ladies! I should have asked two years ago.

[expatmom]

I was sad to discover that you aren't supposed to use Dawn in a frontloader.

[Quiteria]

I've had good luck with stripping using oxy clean and vinegar...I *think* I remember using it on some stiff prefolds that a friend loaned me, but I'm struggling to remember for sure. I know we did notice how mine were softer than hers; I just can't remember whether that included borrowed ones, or only ones I'd bought new. She used Bronner's, too.

---------- Post added at 01:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:44 PM ----------

Yeah...you aren't supposed to use Dawn in a front loader...you'd have to use your tub or the laundrymat. Some frontloaders have a suds sensor for situations like Dawn, to stop the machine as the suds get out of control...and I'm pretty sure that setting it off would void your warrenty if you have one.

[lenswyf]

I think I tried the Oxyclean after the vinegar and didn't see a difference. Maybe it was because I didn't combine them? I'm totally up for ordering RLR. It sounds quite promising.

[houseforjoy]

hmm yeah no advice on dawn in a frontloader.

[Quiteria]

Yeah, I specifically combine them. But, I would try the RLR first, too. Unless you have the oxy and vinegar already...then I'd try them combined while waiting for the RLR to be delivered. :shifty

I usually soak with oxy, then rinse with vinegar, so that it combines that way.

[WildFlower]

I don't think it was necessarily your guests that made them stiff and crunchy:shifty We have issues with all our towels doing that too. We use regular detergent and a front loader. All our towels are NOT soft too. We bought new fluffy soft towels and were really careful and they still got crunchy and rough:( We didn't use softener and dried on medium and they still were crunchy. So we gave up and wash them on hot and dry on hot, but still use our regular detergent. I tried vinegar without luck. But I've never stripped. Anyway, my point is, I don't know what caused it but it's not necessarily their fault.

[charla]

I've always wondered why my towels get crunchy. So it sounds like from this thread what causes towels to become crunchy is using fabric softener and high heat. Is that correct? Or is it something else? I've thought of buying new towels but don't want them to become crunchy too.

[lenswyf]

I think its soap buildup that makes them crunchy.
Softener makes them less absorbent because it coats the fibers.

[PaperMomma]

Would nice towels really stay nice for 8+ years, though? :think Are they not used regularly?

[Llee]

:shifty

We use fabric softener and wash and dry on hot and the towels are still soft. :shifty

[mom2boys]

:shifty

We use fabric softener and wash and dry on hot and the towels are still soft. :shifty

Me too. I just discovered that kirkland's fabric softener in my downy ball makes everything suuuuuper soft. My boys have commented so many times this week, "wow mom...these towels are SOFT!!" :lol

:hug I'm sorry you have to mess with it. I would be upset, too, in your shoes. as far as letting it go but being upset each time I opened the linen closet. :hugheart

[expatmom]

I've never used fabric softener and have crunchy towels. :P~ I think ours was crummy water from overseas.

[Auroras mom]

It sounds like hard water build up - It is an actual mineral scale w/ oils mixed into it (and soap scum, possibly) It can be difficult to remove at all from coarse fabric like towels. If you could soak them in hot water in a strong solution of swimmer's shampoo (make sure it has EDTA in it), maybe that would help. Vinegar and oxy might help too.

I am sorry about your towels. :(

---------- Post added at 04:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------

I've always wondered why my towels get crunchy. So it sounds like from this thread what causes towels to become crunchy is using fabric softener and high heat. Is that correct? Or is it something else? I've thought of buying new towels but don't want them to become crunchy too.


No, fabric softener and high heat won't do that. The high heat can break down the fiber content and make them flatter and coarser though.

[lenswyf]

Would nice towels really stay nice for 8+ years, though? :think Are they not used regularly?

I had had the towels for 5 years before our guests arrived, and they are our regular towels. The towels that we were using while they were here, the towels that I was washing, are still soft and fluffy. That's why I feel reasonably confident that it was the soap.

I've ordered the RLR. I'll try to remember to report on the result. I do have vinegar and oxyclean in the house, so I may give that a go in the meantime.