Don’t use fabric softener in these cases

In a lot of households, you will find a bottle of fabric softener in the vicinity of the washing machine. There are whole supermarket aisles devoted to the stuff because you can get it in a ton of different variations with different smells and colours. It makes your clean laundry come out really soft with a lovely smell, which makes most people really happy. Yet there are some cases in which you’d better not use fabric softener.

In these instances, fabric softener is likely to do more harm than good.

1. Towels

We all want nice, soft towels, of course. Rough, scratchy towels aren’t comfortable at all, so we want to avoid those as much as possible. That’s why it’s better to not use fabric softener when you’re washing your towels. It sounds weird because isn’t fabric softener specifically meant to make sure your towels are soft? It’s in the name! Well, it does make your towels come out soft at first, but it also rapidly reduces the quality of your towels. They won’t absorb moisture as easily and they become greasy. It’s much better to use half a cup of white vinegar instead of the softener.

2. Fabrics

Also skip using the softener when you’re washing microfiber cloths, for the same reason as the towels. The softener will cause the cloths to not be able to absorb water as easily. Similarly, you shouldn’t use any softener on sportswear, fire-resistant clothes or waterproof clothes if you want them to retain their effectiveness. Elastic and nylon aren’t great fits with fabric softener either, so you’re better off not using softener on your leggings or skinny jeans.

Go to the next page for the last three tips!

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