White vinegar is not only a kitchen essential but also makes for a key player in your laundry practice. It’s particularly useful for rejuvenating older towels with stubborn, mildew-like scents even after they’ve been washed, as it tackles both deep-seated dirt and unpleasant odours.

An advantage of using vinegar is that it boosts your detergent's cleaning capabilities without leaving behind the water-resistant residue that some fabric softeners do. This all-natural cleaner also combats the residue from laundry detergents or fabric softeners that could be making your towels rough to the touch. Speaking to retailer Secret Linen Store, Sam Whigham of Wilton London praised white vinegar for restoring the cosiness to very stiff and scratchy towels. But what’s the ideal quantity for optimal results?

He advised: “If your towels are very stiff and scratchy, try adding around 250ml of vinegar to a wash along with your laundry liquid.”

He assured readers that adding the correct amount of vinegar directly into the drum just before running the washing cycle “won’t leave your laundry smelling like a bag of chips”.

Incorporating white vinegar into your washing routine can be a regular practice to maintain the plush quality of your towels.

Sam advised households to limit their use of fabric conditioner when washing towels, stating: “It’s tempting to pour a load in the wash to soften super-stiff towels, but this will only add to the problem. By using too much, it will effectively clog the fibres, causing them to dry even stiffer.”

Instead, he recommends using a modest amount, approximately half a cap of fabric conditioner for most loads, as “this is plenty”. He noted that regular use of a small amount will soften the fabric over time.

Regarding the use of tumble dryers for drying towels, Sam acknowledged that they can be beneficial for softening towels but cautions against overuse. 

He explained: “The rough and tumble of a dryer is excellent for softening towels, yet over-drying is a big cause of the sandpaper effect.”

To achieve optimal softness, Sam suggests two alternative methods. Firstly, use a tumble dryer to dry towels immediately after washing, but on a setting that doesn’t completely dry them out, as removing all moisture “makes them rough”.

Alternatively, hang towels to dry and then put them in the tumble dryer for 20 minutes on a cool setting. Sam explained that this would help agitate the fibres, preventing them from sticking together and resulting in softer towels.