How to make towels soft – here’s how it works
How towels become hard
Was your favorite towel once fluffy and soft, but has become hard after several washes and no longer feels cozy? This is often due to limescale deposits in the fibers; this effect is especially common in areas with hard water, particularly when too little detergent is used.
Other reasons why towels become hard can include:
• Using too much detergent (fibers stick together)
• Overloading the washing machine
• Excessive use of fabric softener
• Improper drying
• Ironing terry towels
Fortunately, there are various methods to make your towels soft again. Here’s how.
How do you make towels soft?
The easiest and probably most effective method to make hard towels soft again is using a tumble dryer. The warm circulating air helps the fibers in the towel stand up again, making the towel fluffy once more. See also our blog post: “Can you dry towels in a dryer?”.
If you’re wondering: “How can towels be made soft without a dryer?”, there is a solution as well. Without a tumble dryer, it’s best to let your laundry dry in a light breeze. The air circulation ensures a gentle drying process that helps keep towels soft and fluffy. If this isn’t possible—for example, if there is no wind or you can only dry indoors—you can mimic the effect yourself: knead and shake the dry towel to make the fibers more flexible. Giving the towel a good shake before hanging it up also helps.
Making towels soft: home remedies
Limescale buildup in towel fibers is a common cause of stiff, hard towels. A simple home remedy can help: vinegar. If your water is particularly hard, you should soak the towels in vinegar water for about 30 minutes before washing. After a short rinse, wash them as usual and enjoy wonderfully soft towels. Alternatively, you can add about 30 ml of vinegar directly to the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine. The acid helps counteract hard water and reduces limescale. You can also dissolve about 3 teaspoons of baking soda, baking powder, or washing soda in 100 ml of water and use it as a natural fabric softener alternative. Citric acid dissolved in water also helps, but due to its bleaching effect, it is better suited for white towels than colored ones.
By the way, fabric softener does not actually make towels soft (again): it causes the fibers in terry cloth to stick together—similar to using too much detergent—preventing them from fluffing up during drying. In fact, fabric softener can make towels harder and should, if used at all, be used sparingly.
How to keep towels soft
With these tips, you can make your towels soft again and keep them that way. Proper detergent dosage and correct loading of the washing machine are always important—not only for the towels but also to protect your machine. Since environmental agencies advise against unnecessary use of fabric softener for ecological reasons, using vinegar or baking soda occasionally can help keep towels soft and remove limescale from the fibers.
However, it may happen that your favorite towel simply becomes less soft over the years despite good care. Even high-quality towels can lose their fluffiness over time as the structure of the fabric changes and the towel becomes harder. Maybe it’s time to replace it? If you love extra-soft towels, we recommend our MÖVE SUPERWUSCHEL collection with a particularly high fluff factor!