Nothing is worse than reaching for a towel only for it to feel rough and crunchy rather than soft, but there is a simple laundry method you can do in summer to restore their fluffiness. While most people turn to fabric softener to make clothes softer, it can actually have the opposite effect on towels, causing them to harden. Because towels are made from highly absorbent material, they don’t easily rinse off the excess residue.

However, Olivia, a cleaning expert from Clothes Lyne has shared a very easy way to restore towels as all you need to do is add a little lemon juice to your washing machine. Olivia explained: “We usually add lemon juice to the final rinse cycle to use it as a natural fabric softener. Half a cup for a whole load of laundry works wonders, and it’s as simple as that. Our clothes come out softer, and their true colours retain vibrancy.” 

Lemon juice can help soften towels as it contains a substance called citric acid, which can break down any soap residue stuck in towels to get fluffy again. 

If you live in an area with hard water, towels can sometimes become stiff due to the build-up of minerals, but lemon juice can help to soften the water and remove mineral deposits from the fabric.

It will get rid of any build up or bacteria clinging to the towels naturally so you do not need to use any chemicals or buy any expensive products to restore them. 

The best time to use lemon juice on towels on a sunny day as the ultraviolet in sunlight actually reacts to citric acid to further help clean the fabric.

Using lemon juice is recommended for white or light coloured towels if you want to hang them in the sun as sunlight and citric acid will also naturally bleach towels. If you want to restore darker towels and then hang them up then it is much better to use white vinegar. 

How to use lemon juice to wash towels 

All you need to do is place your towels in the washing machine. Make sure to add just the towels and make sure your are not overloading the machine, otherwise the towels will not wash properly. 

Then, add 125ml of lemon juice into the detergent drawer where you would normally add fabric softener. Add your laundry detergent like you normally would, but do add any fabric softener. 

Place your washing machine in a hot wash cycle, as heat helps activate the citric acid. Once the wash is done, hang your towels outside in the sun to dry.

Your towels will feel luxuriously soft and fully restored after just one wash, but should also look a lot brighter and smell much fresher.