OT-stiff washcloths

stitchwitch · 05-29-2007, 04:48 PM

Somehow over the past couple of weeks my favorite bath washcloths have become discustingly stiff and full of soap residue that no amount of hot water washing will get rid off. Instead of trashing them I was wondering if anyone has any tricks up their sleeves to get rid of the stiffness and overall nastiness of them. I can't imagine what happened to them as I haven't used any new soaps, etc. Help.

turtlegirl76 · 05-29-2007, 09:59 PM

Perhaps some vinegar will help with the soap residue.

AnreeAce · 05-29-2007, 10:00 PM

Sounds to me like you've got a soap and/or softener build-up.

First things first, don't use fabric softeners on your towels.

My favorite trick is to wash all my towels and washcloths together (separated by colors). I add about 1/3 cup of distilled white vinegar when the rinse cycle starts.

It might take a couple of tries, but it rescued some pretty nasty washcloths for me!

PS, turtlegirl beat me to it!

Jan in CA · 05-29-2007, 11:09 PM

I'm not sure there is any rescue, but the vinegar is good thing to try.

What I do when I wash towels and washcloths is wash them normally with detergent, but no softener. When the cycle ends I do one of two things depending on the load - I reset it to the rinse cycle and add a tiny amount of fabric softener or I set it to a very short wash cycle an then add the tiny amount of fabric softener to the rinse. It takes more time and water, but my towels are soft and not stiff.

stitchwitch · 05-30-2007, 12:13 AM

I think I might have doomed them with the fabric softener then. I like soft fluffy towels but I think I gacked them with too much.

I'll try the vinegar thing and then from now on take Jan's advice on how to wash them. I never knew that fabric softener would do that. Thanks.

LibraryLady · 05-30-2007, 12:40 AM

I wash clear shower curtains with hot water, detergent and baking soda. I add vinegar in the rinse cycle. All the soap residue is gone. Don't see why it wouldn't work for towels to get rid of the soap/fabric softener build-up.

I'm the same as Jan, no fabric softener in towel loads.

LL

KnitClickChick · 05-30-2007, 02:22 AM

This might sound funny, but maybe you should wash your washer. Maybe there is hard water build up in there and it isn't doing a very good job cleaning. Just pour half a gallon of white vinegar and let the machine run for a full cycle -- with no clothes! That should remove any soap scum and hard water stains hanging around inside the washer. (I found this tip somewhere or other a while back when my washer started to smell kinda funky and I thought it should probably be cleaned. I have hard water too and there was some build up. )