If Your Towels Are Stiff After Washing, You're Probably Breaking This Unspoken Rule

You might buy an expensive, branded towel, wash it regularly, and still end up drying off with something that feels more like a car-wash rag than a spa towel. Few things are worse than buying an expensive Turkish cotton only for it to go stiff and/or scratchy within a few washes. Easy and free laundry hacks can alleviate this issue, but it can be a pain when you need to do them so often. If this sounds familiar, the culprit might not be the brand or the fabric. Instead, the problem may be closer to home than you expect: dumping too much detergent into the machine when washing your towels.

You might wonder how that's possible. Shouldn't a smidge of extra detergent lead to cleaner towels? Besides, nothing on the detergent bottle itself suggests otherwise. But too much of anything can be bad, including your detergent, however mild it might be. You have to use the right amount to solve your stiff towel problem. And once you fix this, rethink another laundry habit you've probably never thought twice about: fabric softener. You'd think that adding fabric softener would just soften the fabric of the towel, as the name implies. Instead, it flattens the towel's cotton loops in a wax-like layer, making the case worse over time.

You might be using America's top-selling laundry detergent brand, and even that could keep you from enjoying soft, fluffy towels if you're using more detergent than recommended. It happens because the extra detergent will clump in their folds, leaving them feeling like sandpaper. This problem will persist (or get worse) if you continue committing this mistake. So, be cognizant of the amount of detergent you're putting in. Wondering how much powder or gel you should actually add to your washer? Take cues from the guidelines mentioned on your detergent pack. In most cases, two tablespoons (regardless of whether it's powder or liquid) is enough for a full load.

Keep in mind that the hardness of the water will also affect detergent requirements. To elaborate, if the water in your area is hard, increase the detergent amount. Similarly, if it's soft, use less. Basically, treat the number on your detergent bottle as a starting point, not a fixed amount. And if following the recommended amount on the package leaves your towels stiff, cut back on the amount (halve it to err on the side of caution) to naturally soften your towels. Even if you follow this laundry rule, remember that your towels won't last forever. But with proper care, high-quality towels can last as long as two years before they'll need to be replaced.