Hard towels!

I hate hard towels and even in the Summer will always dry them indoors. I get them about half dry in the tumble dryer then put them on the airer to finish off, they are always lovely and soft and I don't feel guilty about having the tumble dryer on for ages either!

I fi nd 15 mins tumle drying either before putting on the line or after is enough to make them soft!

I remember a discussion on here about how we hang our washing out and do we make sure the pegs match on each item. I took great delight in reading all the posts and, luckily, no one made any nasty comments. So lets keep on enjoying the threads about our daily life and ignore the people who only want to talk about 'serious' subjects!
I'm thinking of putting a thread on about how often we wash our hair brushes/boil our tea towels or wash our dogs/cats bowls

Like others here I use white vinegar as a rinse, I put essential oils in but not necessary. And like welshwife I give them a really good shake before I hang them on the line and a good shake/crumple before I fold them.

I do have a dryer but prefer to line dry as often as I can.

Personally I love a bit of rough.

Sorry if someone's already suggested this:

Get hold of each edge in turn and give the towel a good hard shake.
OR
Stuff them in a pillow case and give them a hard shake.
OR
Put them under the chair cushions and sit on them.

My towels are always fluffy I always line dry. I do what my mum did. I wash my towels and then rinse with distilled white vinegar. No they don't smell like a chip shop

Humptydumpty/Toscalily please don't be put off contributing on here because some mean spirited people can't help being nasty. I made my first contribution and some misery guts said " haven't you got more important things to worry about?" it certainly hasn't put me off though!
The world is full of things to worry about but isn't it nice to detach from it for a little while and engage with like-minded people on this site and just talk about things that interest us or just have a bit of fun? Life's too short, as Thumper the rabbit's mum said " if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"!

I am unlucky to live in a tiny flat with no garden. But I'm lucky to live across the road from a clean and well kept launderette! With their huge tumble driers I have soft towels in 15 min for £1 a few times a month.

I compromise as I love soft fluffy towels. In the summer, I give them a short 10 minute blast in the tumble drier then hang them out to dry. That way they are soft, but smell nice from drying outside. In the winter, I do the same short blast but them put them overnight on the airer in the utility room, nice and warm with the boiler. Seems to work for me.

I hang out washing summer and winter, weather permitting, but we moved from an area near the sea, but uphill, to lower, near a river, and I quickly realised that my washing wasn't drying so well. On a still day, it is still damp after being out for hours. I then hang it in the garage, followed by 20 minutes in the tumble dryer. At times, rather than use the dryer, I do iron towels, and this does soften them to some extent.

I like hard towels especially when I get out the shower, good rub down helps to get rid of flaky skin, and good for the heart, keeps it pumping?
Have a hand towel I bought from primark, so soft when you wash your hands takes ages to dry them.
Doesn’t need conditioner but then they say don’t use conditioner.

They soften up as you use them anyway .I always dry mine on the line.

Thanks Rosina - I've got plenty of bigger things to worry about, it's really nice to be able to think about everyday problems for a change!

I don't use conditioner on my towels as it reduces the absorbancy. What I do use is vinegar in the final rinse - and no, they don't smell of fish and chips!
Good shakes before and after hanging - Result.
I do use the drier in thw winter as my hands get SOOOooo cold outside in the damp and wind.

I'm another one who is happy with my hard towels and I think they dry me better than soft ones I've used when staying with others.

I don't need or want a tumble dryer because of all the energy it uses (although I probably would if I still had a family to wash for). I don't see the point of paying for unnecessary products such as fabric conditioner, especially since I believe it contains chemicals harmful to the environment and it comes in a plastic bottle while I'm trying to reduce my use of plastic.

As someone else says, I'd suggest to DD that she could bring her own soft towel.

Much prefer hard towels, dried outside and smelling fresh. They dry ( a person) much better than soft towels.

I never line dry anything ,I can wash dry and have the towels back in the linen cupboard in less than an hour ,just how I like it an dthe towels are always soft .No fabric conditioner involved .

I am another one for shaking the towels if they are going on the line. I gave them a good shake before hanging them and then a bit of a shake when on the line and another very vigorous one when bringing them in and folding - this also helps to make them straighter along the top and bottom edges.
In the winter I use the tumbler as apart from the hardness they take so long to dry indoors and you get all the dampness in the house. I find that more and more clothing says not to tumble dry which is a bit of a pain at times.

PS And I never use fabric conditioner.

I've a dryer but I just can't bring myself to use it when towels can go on tbe line. I give towels a really vigorous shake before hanging out, then I hang them a bit "huddled up", rather than "straight & stretched out". This seems to help!

Love hard towels, good for the skin.

Get cheap towels and use them for rags as soon as they're too hard.
If you put them in a clothes bank they'll be used for rags.
Ask for towels for Christmas and save them for guests.

Further to my earlier post. I don't always use fabric conditioner as I don't mind hard towels, tend to use the older ones for myself a lot of the time & keep the softer ones for guests. I would not want or feel the need for a dryer, have a washing machine with a good spin and everything seems to dry quite quickly outside, or inside when necessary.
Rosina I do agree with you about the sarky or unpleasant comments which so often seem to occur on a very innocuous or simple request for information. Are some people only content when they can be unpleasant, it does put me off contributing to discussions more often.

I wonder if ironing them would soften them? I prefer everything line-dried as it smells nicer.