It's a question we get all the time: how do you keep your towels softer and cleaner for longer?
It is inevitable that over time, as they are used constantly at the fabric wears down, that towels will lose some of their original softness.
But if you take on board some of these hints and tips, we think you will be able to keep your towels softer and cleaner for longer.
Not only will they keep you satisfied but it will also save you money, as you won't need to go out looking to buy even more towels for your home.
Simple tips to remember
There are a few simple things that we can all try to remember to try and help keep our towels as soft as possible.
Try not to put too many towels in your washing machine in one go. Keep your load as light as possible.
The larger the amount of laundry, the less room your washing machine has to remove all the detergent and those pesky bits of dirt from your towels.
The same applies when you put your towels in the tumble dryer.
If you put fewer towels into your tumble dryer, the will be more air available to properly dry out the fabric and give your towels a fluffier and softer feel.
Many of us have the urge to use fabric softener on our towels to try and get them feeling silky smooth against our skin.
Fabric softeners are able to reduce friction and static, which will in turn give your towels a much fluffier feel.
But beware, fabric softeners contain silicon which will coat the towels exterior and hinder its absorbency levels.
This coating will also mean that you will find yourself washing your towels even more frequently, which is inconvenient for you and not good for the environment.
You can also use bleach and optical brighteners on your plain white towels.
Using bleach not only eliminate any stains and keeps your towels bright and white, it also kills germs and bacteria that are still living on your towel.
However, we would caution again using bleach on coloured towels, as it may lead to the colour running or fading.
This ties in with the fact that you should try and wash colours separately where possible, to try and avoid any colour running from dark to light fabrics.
If you have just ran a wash of darker items, we would advise you to run a short 15 minute cycle with nothing in your machine.
This will help your machine wash away and remaining loose fibres, and eliminate the chance of any colour run if you want to wash some lighter colours next.
Different types of detergent
We use detergents because of the speed and effectiveness when cleaning our laundry.
They are synthetic products whereas soap is made from natural ingredients such as plant oils and animal fats.
The supermarket shelves are often stacked with a wide range of different detergents, and it can often be confusing which is the best option for you.
Here we will outline some of the pros and cons to the different detergents you can choose from, helping you pick out what's best for you and your family.
Biological detergent
Biological detergents contain protein-digesting enzymes and are powerful stain and dirt removers.
These enzymes help to break down stains such as blood and sweat which are, you guessed it, proteins, making your towels look almost as good as new.
They are also effective when used at relatively low temperatures (even in quick wash at 30 degrees!), helping to remove stains which would otherwise need higher temperature washes.
That means that using biological detergent is a good way of saving time and also energy, and in turn, helping the environment.
Make sure to use sparingly on coloured towels though, as regular and excessive use may eventually lead to the colour fading.
Non-biological detergent
This is the perfect option for families, people with sensitive skin, allergies or eczema.
Non-biological detergent doesn't contain any man-made enzymes so is much less likely to irritate your skin.
Instead, they use more conventional ingredients but they will still be successful removing those pesky stains and dirt.
However, you may need to use a slightly higher temperatures when using non-bio detergents, particularly if you are taking on particularly tough and large stains.
Colour-safe detergent
You may notice on of many of our towels that we urge you to use detergent recommended for colours.
These detergents have a special formula that is created to preserve colour brightness and help to prevent colours from fading prematurely.
Colour-safe detergents typically still contain enzymes, so they should perform well when trying to remove stains and dirt from your towels.
Don't overdo it
Do you find that your towels are coming out of the wash hard and stiff?
This may be because you are using too much detergent when washing your towels.
Towels will become stiff if they build up a soapy residue coating, so by using a little less detergent in your wash, your machine will find it easier washing out those final remaining bits of soap, producing a softer-feeling result.
Drying your towels
Many people ask what the best way is to dry your towels to maintain the soft feeling.
The truth is, it may be a combination of both line drying and tumble drying.
Try to wash all of your towels together. This will make it easier to dry them properly, as they will all dry at the same rate.
Once your towels have finished washing, take them out of the machine and give them a shake to remove any fibre that may have shed during the cycle.
You then have two options: either line drying or tumble drying.
We would recommend line drying your towels in the shade until they are almost completely dry.
This will help reduce electricity usage, and keeping them in the shade reduces the chance of colour fading.
Once your towels are almost completely dry, you can put then put them in the tumble dryer for a short cycle to freshen and fluff them up.
We would recommend tumble drying a low heat setting, as being exposed to too much tumbling and heat will wear the fibres down.