Caring for Terry Towels

[pantaz]

I bought a stack of terry cloth towels from WalMart (mistake #1). New, they were very soft. Now, after running through the washing machine a couple of times, they feel "scratchy". As rough as they feel on my skin, I certainly will not use them on my paint!

I've also noticed this with some of my older bath towels (that have never been used on the car). Is it the way I'm washing/drying them? Or is it simply the quality of the material?

Any way to "revive" them?

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

Sadly, the quality of the material will impact a towel's softness over time. I have not found a way to re-soften older towels. If I were you, I suggest picking up some decent Microfiber Towels for your polishing and use the current cotton towels for other situations.

Tim

[refurbish]

I personally use "Bissell cold water wash" or "Whoolite cold water wash", ( but wash them in warm water )
first I let them soak in a bucket with one or two capfulls
in warm water to loosen the chemicals in the towels.

then I proceed to wash them in the machine with 1/4 of a cup
(Bissell or Whoolite) (sufficeint for a small load)
then dry them in the dryer on "low heat setting" (until completely
dry)
"high heat" setting will laeve a giant cotton ball on the dryer screen,and also seems to make them not feel soft and shrink.

I use this procedure for my terrycloth and microfibre towels,
they come out nice and soft. (the cheaper terrycloth towels
won't,they tend to feel rough) I hope this helps you.

[mirrorfinishman]

Re: Caring for Terry Towels

It sounds like it may have something to do with the way you are washing and drying the towels.

What is the process and products you are using to wash your cotton terry towels?