completely OT -- bathroom towels

Jorf

My DH has been working hard, hard, hard completely rebuilding our bathroom - I mean, down to the carrying beams and joists beneath it! (We had a huge hole in the house for a while! And an outdoor shower that we still use AND an [actually 3] outdoor toilets: we dug deep holes, stacked up some lumber and stuck the old toilet seat on the top! Good thing we live in the woods.) So, I want to buy some new towels. My problem is that we don't have a clothes dryer - I hang stuff out on the line. The towels always dry kind of crispy. But, they've pretty much always been cheapo towels.

So, any suggestions on line drying (I can't imagine a specific technique...) or, mostly, on buying new towels that are soft, soft, soft even after you take them out of the store?

Thanks!

hollyann

Jorf, my sister line dries her clothes in the summer and she uses fabric softener in the wash.......It really works and the towels aren't so scratchy.......I wish I lived in the woods!..I grew up in the mountains of Ky and didn't have indoor plumbing til I was about 7....No indoor toilet til I was 8!......

Leah_S

Second the motion on fabric softener - I don't have a dryer, and that's what works for me.

Leah

Katalin

3 on fabric softener.  I had to stop drying my clothes outside when I realized they became giant pollen traps and made me sneeze like a hyena.  Drying clothes outside, other than that, is the best!

abbadoodles

Okay, I'm a non-believer in fabric softener.  No, I don't think it causes cancer.   I do know that it makes towels less absorbent.  I hate the stuff.

If you want really soft towels and are willing to spend a bit, try bamboo and blends.  Personally, I like rather rough towels and thin facecloths.  They are easier to use and fit in more nooks and crannies.  Of course, I am just a damn  Yankee.

lovinmomma

I use Charlies Soap and it helps mine not to be scratchy!! It is natural and has no smell to it!!!

iodine

I found that if I wash my towels in hot water, it prohibits build up of the softener.  If you just keep adding softener, as my mom did, towels act more like a squeegee, just scraping off water instead of absorbing water.  I also use a small amount of softner instead of a full amount.

I have discovered an excellent towel in Peacock Alley---they are extremely soft and absorbent, tho very pricey.  You can also get them occasionally on ebay, that;s where I got mine after I paid full price for 2 sets, years ago.  I believe that towels in 100% cotton, like sheets, are much better for the job.  

Oh, and we installed fancy grab bars in all three baths.

I like thin wash cloths, too.  They dry faster and don't start smelling. 

 congrats on the new bathroom!  We just had our shower retiled and it's beautiful.. They have new(to me) grout that helps prevent mold and mildew.  I LOVE the newer foil backed glass tile.  It's expensive, but if used just for accents and not the whole thing, it works out really well.  We used large 8 inch tiles on the walls, and then 1 inch tiles for the seat, shelves and floor, with a waterfall effect on the seat, and down to the floor, and scattered on the floor.  We have  small squares of the glass scattered thruout the walls.  the one inch tile is for the nonslip qualities.

Oh, and we installed grab bars in all 3 bathrooms

GramE

If you use white vinegar instead of fabric softener, it takes the soap scum/residue out of the clothes.   I am probably old enuf to your Mom, and we always used vinegar in the rinse for cloth diapers to take the residue out.  LOL... anyone even know what cloth diapers are???  

One cup in the rinse water should do it.   It also acts as a deodorizer for sweaty work clothes.   And I think it is less expensive than fabric softener.  I have very sensitive skin, so no fabric softener at all for me.   The smell of vinegar will not be there after they are dry.   

Fabric softener sheets used in the dryer can leave a build up on your lint filter and cause fires.  If you take the filter and run water thru it, it should act like a strainer.    

Jorf

I knew I could count on you!

lovinmamma - I'll look up Charlie's soap, never heard of it.

Nancy - I love the idea of vinegar. I'll try that next time.

I can't stand the smell of fabric softener or, really, any laundry product. When someone comes to work out at Tae Kwon Do with a freshly Tide (or fill in the blank)-laundered uniform I can't stand to be near them.

Dotti - I'll check out Peacock Alley...