I keep reading about how to make your towels softer and fluffier. It’s often caused by using too much detergent in our washing machines, especially the HE ones. When we got our washer for the house seven years ago, it was my first agitator-less machine so I read up on using it. I discovered we were using way too much detergent in our small stack washer in the RV so I was determined to not use too much in this one.
But over time, yes – seven years, the new towels got rougher and rougher, so I decided to give the recommendations a try.
The first recommendation was to add 1/4-1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse water. Okay, done. Some of the other cotton items like t-shirts did feel a bit softer but the towels didn’t change much. I tried it several times and still no real change.
It was time to get dramatic. Wash in hot water and then use the vinegar rinse. To say I was stunned was a huge understatement. Here is the wash cycle the first time around – no detergent added, just set on hot water wash.
Yes, this is with NO detergent added….just water, hot water. I watched and the rinse cycle still had some suds, so I opted for a second wash in hot water only.
Wow! Still detergent in them…washing again and off now reading the detergent bottle for the real amount to use. Um, 1-1/5 oz unless a really dirty load (which we never have). Gulp…fortunately I have an old stainless coffee scoop that we never use. It’s one ounce so it’s now what I use to measure out detergent for loads.
So how many loads did I end up doing before there was no sudsing? Four times, two with a white vinegar rinse added. Are the towels softer? Not noticeably, but they are fluffier. Remember, these are seven years old. Some websites recommend replacing at 3-5 years or when fraying-holes start to appear. Higher end towels can last longer. We got these at Sam’s Club when we bought the house and they are really good quality. Still plenty of wear in them but no more detergent overload!
Interesting!
We just bought our first HE washer with no agitator and I’m reading up on what to use. Thankfully I had, unbeknownst to me, purchased HE detergent when I bought powder in a can (trying to move away from plastic). Now we’ll see how it all goes!
I probably should move as well, but we don’t have that much laundry in general. Maybe next time around…
We *did* first use up what we already had in a plastic bottle. I am just working hard on moving other things (metal, glass, cardboard) whenever possible. It’s sometimes a challenge, though!
We do recycle where we can, but we know that ends up in a pile somewhere. No easy answers. I am trying to reduce where I can.
I admit, I use the HE pods. But I do buy them in the plastic bags and store in a glass jar. Does that count?
Best way to find out if they are working well is do what I did – a load of towels in hot water and nothing else. If it suds, the pods contain too much detergent. I try to avoid the pods because of the microplastics issue but still end up using them in our dishwasher. LOL!
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Geez, good to know – nice to have it reaffirmed, we’re never too old to learn something!
Agreed!