Hard towels!

Alas a drier is the only way to achieve soft towels, line drying turns them into sheets of sandpaper.

I agree towels are the main reason I have a drier.

Our towels are always lovely and soft and we don't have a drier. I have found a way of keeping them soft but it's a faff. People have asked me how I keep them so soft and when I tell them they say 'Oh I couldn't be bothered with that'. I put them through the wash as usual then put them into a bowl with diluted fabric conditioner and then pop them back in the machine on 'spin'. Lovely soft towels.

My DH always thinks I have bought the towels at Jewsons!

Ours are soft and fluffy in the Winter after tumble drying, and like sandpaper in Summer, as harrigran puts it. But they dry you so much more efficiently when they're harder, so just console yourself with that, Newquay.

they dry you so much more efficiently when they're harder

They're also very good for the skin when they're harder - as long as you don't rub too hard, of course!

If you are washing them in the washing machine does it not have a compartment in which you can put Fabric softener?
Of course some people do not want to use fabric softeners because of the perfume but I find Fairy works and that is for sensitive skin and does not seem to cause any problems ( would never use a bio washing powder for instance as I have had a reaction to those)

I thought you weren’t supposed to use fabric conditioner on towels as it makes them less efficient at drying? (Have I got that wrong?)

--Tell her to--Suggest she brings her own.

I prefer a sun dried hard towel - just saying!

Fabric conditioner does make them less absorbent. I bought new towels three years ago - they get put out for visitors, but I am still using the old hard ones - much nicer for drying yourself on after a shower.

A cup of vinegar in the final rinse is supposed to be good for towels. (No it doesn't make it smell).

Pre fab con, we managed nicely and had no need of body or face scrubs.
Pre ready meals and fast food we managed nicely, by planting, picking, washing, chopping and cooking.
Now we walk around with more skin problems than ever before, thicker waists and clogged arteries.

Sadly yes- without a dryer you are condemned to hard towels. I line dry mine whenever possible, but despite conditioner they are similar to Ryvitas. A five minute tumble and they are like new again. Still, as others say they are supposed to dry you better when rough, and of course they exfoliate your skin, but even so, give me a warm fluffy towel from the radiator any day in preference.

So nice to read the replies here - I posted a similar question previously, and got a very nasty post along the lines of 'why are you worrying about such a ridiculously trivial thing?'

These responses were more what I was thinking of - though they don't solve the problem for me as I don't use conditioner and don't have a tumble drier

I've just put my towels in the washer on 90 deg with no conditioner to try and get one in particular to stop smelling as soon as it's wet. I've been told that it's the fabric conditioner which causes this. If they're line dried they do go hard but as everyone says they dry you better. I always tumble them in winter though.

A tip I got from a market trader many years ago is to soak the towels in salted water and then rinse. It does work and leaves them both absorbent and soft-ish.

They are great for exfoliation though??

KatyK Yes we know about fabric softer and spinning but how do you dry your towels.? My towels could be spinning all day but they are still damp when the spinning stops Do you dry them off indoors which can make them stiff as a board or outside in the fresh air which if hot and sunny or a non windy day also makes them stiff. I have found nothing better to soften towels than a windy day not always around but when they just hang there you know they are going to be scratchy and not as absorbent as you would like even using fabric softener. Tumble dryers are expensive to run so the less I use mine the better for my pocket..

It's the tumble drying that does make them softer but they don't dry you any better than line dried ones. Often on a very windy day the towels don't seem as hard as when they are just still. Before having tumble dryers it never seemed to worry us as we did,nt know different. The only thing as suggested by someone else is to give an extra soak in a solution of fabric softener and re- spin.

Another tip for soft towels, mainly in summer and unless rain forecast, is to hang outside for overnight drying.

I too don’t mind hard towels, they are very good for exfoliation purposes !!

Sorry you got such a snarky response humptydumpty - how fortunate that we are not all so high minded and detached from the minutiae of everyday life that those small domestic matters are beneath our contempt! I find it both soothing and satisfying to deal with household things - to make home as comfortable as I can for the family and to read about what other people do to achieve the same .

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

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.