To keep towels soft, use only half the recommended amount of detergent and skip fabric softeners, as they leave a waxy, absorbent-ruining residue. Wash towels in warm water (avoid hot) and periodically replace detergent with 1 1 cup of white vinegar to break down stiff mineral or soap buildup.
How to wash your towels and keep them soft and fluffy
Use both, but in separate wash cycles. Baking soda neutralizes odors and whitens, while vinegar softens fabrics and breaks down detergent buildup.
To restore the softness of bath towels, strip away built-up detergent and fabric softeners by running them through two consecutive wash cycles: first with 1 cup of white vinegar (no detergent), and then with 1 cup of baking soda. Always avoid commercial fabric softeners, which coat fibers and reduce absorbency.
Hotels keep towels soft by using high-quality materials (like long-staple cotton), precise warm water washes, and commercial-grade detergents. Crucially, they avoid standard fabric softeners and dryer sheets, as these leave waxy buildups that make towels stiff and reduce absorbency over time.
Hotels typically use commercial-grade, heavy-duty alkaline or enzyme detergents, such as Ecolab or Tide Professional. These are paired with industrial laundry chemicals like oxygen bleaches and souring agents (acids to neutralize alkalinity) injected into commercial washing machines.
Towels are the most commonly stolen item from hotels, with nearly 88% of hotel staff and owners reporting they frequently disappear from guest rooms.
Yes, vinegar is highly effective at softening towels. Instead of coating fabrics like commercial softeners, white vinegar strips away stiff detergent and hard-water buildup that makes fibers rigid, while completely eliminating musty odors.
Dryer balls are most commonly made of tightly compressed wool, but can also be made of plastic or rubber. They help prevent laundry from clumping together in the dryer by tumbling between layers and separating fabric. This action allows warm air to circulate better which can even help reduce drying time.
Traditional fabric softeners are generally not recommended for towels. They coat towel fibers in a waxy, hydrophobic (water-repelling) residue that ruins absorbency and creates a breeding ground for musty odors over time.
How Often Should Towels Be Washed With Vinegar? “Whenever they start to lose their fluff or you notice a musty odor, it's time to wash with vinegar,” suggests Eichholz.
You may not want to use baking soda on certain delicate or sensitive fabrics like wool, cashmere and silk. Add baking soda to your washer tub before a laundry load, but you may want to avoid using it in the rinse cycle as it can cause fabrics to stiffen.
Baking soda acts as a natural fabric softener and odor neutralizer. Its alkaline properties help to eliminate odorous particles. This helps to make fabrics softer and fresher, eliminating lingering detergent or musty odors.
Using a high-quality enzyme detergent helps preserve their softness and absorbency. Enzyme detergents are the best choice for towels: Enzyme laundry detergents break down protein, starch, and oil stains at the molecular level, delivering a deeper clean without damaging towel fibers.
To make towels soft again, you need to strip away built-up detergent and hard water minerals. Wash the towels on a hot cycle with 1 cup of white vinegar instead of detergent, then run a second hot cycle with 1/2 cup of baking soda. Finally, dry them on a low heat setting.
You don't necessarily need a tumble dryer to keep your towels soft. By drying your towels on a clothes horse next to a heater, you can also keep them at their fluffiest.
Putting a ball of aluminum foil in the dryer is a popular and cheap laundry hack used to eliminate static cling and reduce drying time.
Instead, most Amish families rely on clotheslines in the summer — and they still work in the winter, Williams said. According to appliance company Speed Queen, "Drying on a line in winter is actually a form of freeze-drying thanks to sublimation — or ice evaporating from a solid state.
Fabric softener: Instead of commercial fabric softeners, pour 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the fabric softener compartment of your washing machine.
Vinegar
How to Wash Towels to Keep Them Soft
While it is impossible to name a single item as the "most stolen" due to Walmart carrying thousands of products, theft trends show that shoplifters and organized retail criminals target specific, easy-to-conceal, or highly resalable goods.
Burglars hate anything that makes a break-in noisy, time-consuming, or highly visible. Criminals look for the path of least resistance; if a target requires too much effort or poses a high risk of getting caught, they will simply move on to an easier home.
Travelers usually put tape over hotel outlets for two main reasons: to block distracting LED lights from electronic devices and ensure a dark room, or as a makeshift childproofing measure to prevent small children from poking foreign objects into the sockets.