machine washing bathroom towels

I had some new towels I hadn't used. Lovely green/bluey colour and fluffy. Decided to use one and the dye ran. It gave all my light coloured stuff a lovely blue tinge. So I thought OK wash them on their own a few times. Which I have done. They are still fluffy BUT, the fluff drops of or clings to everything including my body, and the dye is still running after at least 10 washes. I think I'll go back to white.

My daughter was doing washing for holiday let's and she was told to Tumble dry towels for 10 minutes and the hang out to dry.
I personally find I prefer a rougher towel, it dries better.

I like fluffy towels, but not due to fabric conditioner (which is what makes them less absorbent). The action and air in a tumble drier fluffs them up. Unfortunately, due to the cost of electricity, I can no longer justify using mine, so line dry them. Gone are my fluffy towel days.

I used to worry about having fluffy towels. It no longer seems important to me.

nadateturbe - I’m with you. So much hot air on this thread about wether or not towels should be soft and fluffy or hard and scratchy!
Am I missing something or are these decisions important enough to to have an opinion?

I wash towels in Bi- carbonate of soda ( about half a cup ) add softener as usual / takes a while for the detergent to wash out - but then they become softer each time x

I wash towels in Bi carb ( about half a cup) then softener as usual ) - takes awhile for the detergent to wash out / but then they get softer & softer . I dry outside weather permitting- saving energy and it doesn’t impact on the planet ! X

Hi there....
I love rough towels ..they exfoliate My skin and I would say for 57 I have pretty soft skin but realise it's your own preference ??

Silver collie...The lady asked our opinion as You gave yours ?

I don’t use softener for towels, but in every wash I use soda crystals and a little detergent.
For very lightly soiled things I omit the detergent.
Have just bought some bamboo face flannels and they are very soft.

I also prefer rough towels but when my children were babies, in the winter I put the towels out overnight ( provided it was not going to rain/snow) and they froze and the wind flapped them about and they were very soft and fluffy afterwards.
Not the thing to be able to do at the moment with this hot weather!
Just about to get my towels off the line now. They will be rough. How about trying to bring them indoors while they are slightly damp and letting them dry there

MaggsMcG

I had some new towels I hadn't used. Lovely green/bluey colour and fluffy. Decided to use one and the dye ran. It gave all my light coloured stuff a lovely blue tinge. So I thought OK wash them on their own a few times. Which I have done. They are still fluffy BUT, the fluff drops of or clings to everything including my body, and the dye is still running after at least 10 washes. I think I'll go back to white.

I had the same some years ago with British Home Stores towels. Fluff everywhere. I complained and sent them back. Another reason why fluffy new towels might not be a good buy! I'm happy with my rough old towel which is years old, although I have some newer ones for guests.

I personally like a rough towel, but I also like fluffy ones.

I have 4 towels that are over 40 years old and they're still soft and fluffy and absorbent. All our towels are washed on a hot wash with liquid detergent (no conditioner) and tumble dried. Over the years I've discovered the type of cotton makes a difference too, and whether it is velvet cut or looped. Egyptian cotton and Bamboo seem to stay softer longer.

I've worked for textile companies in past and always Lancashire cotton! I always get the best quality I can manage something I learned early on. Most of my towels are over 20years old but because top quality Lancashire/Turkish/Indian/Pakistani made they're wonderfully soft absorbent and use tiniest drop of conditioner mainly for the perfume! Always get top quality

Am I missing something or are these decisions important enough to to have an opinion?

Perhaps missing some manners?

I live in a soft water area. When drying towels outdoors they are hard. Rarely if very windy and tge towels are "whipped" the can be reasonably soft. If not I "whip" them myself a couple of times before folding. Doesn't give you tumble dryer softness but it does take a bit of the hardness off the surface of the towels. Never use fabric softener.

I use white vinegar to wash towels, can’t see that one wash (towels) out of many other in the machine can be damaging, it must surely take many years? My towels are beautifully soft and I love this method.

You shouldn't use fabric conditioner with towels ( besides the ads you used to see showing different height piles of towels). After I was told that I haven't added conditioner to my towels. That was 5 years ago and the new towels I bought about then are lovely and fluffy ( and absorbent) the other towels are better but still a bit rough.