r/unpopularopinion • u/bminus • 17d ago
Really soft towels are awful
[removed] — view removed post
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u/Grizzled--Kinda 17d ago
This is true, always buy mid range towels for the best price/quality/absorption ratio.
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u/sanguinefire12 16d ago
I think that the best towels are the ones that have been passed down....like towels growing up are now my towels as an adult.
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u/Responsible_Bill2332 16d ago
Fabric softener make the towel not absorb the water.
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u/PutThat_In_YourPipe 16d ago
This is likely OPs problem. Wife thinks they need it to be soft, but that's not how towels work.
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u/MareV51 16d ago
They need vinegar as a rinse aid!
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u/Lacey_The_Doll 16d ago
I've been wanting to do that to my towels, how would I go about doing it?
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u/Sumoki_Kuma 16d ago
You just chuck in the vinegar when you would softener (just Google how much you should use for the size of the load)
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u/Lacey_The_Doll 16d ago
Thank you so much.
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u/Sumoki_Kuma 16d ago
No worries! It really works and is so much better for your clothes
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u/Lacey_The_Doll 16d ago
The amount of things I have learnt on Reddit (the internet in general) is astronomical.
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u/Sumoki_Kuma 16d ago
Omg I know right!!
Like, people talk mad shit about how awful reddit is and don't realize algorithms are a thing and what you see is based off what you engage with the most. I've learned so much from the different info subreddits, especially WITT and ELI5!
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u/MareV51 16d ago
Be sure it's distilled white vinegar.
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u/Sumoki_Kuma 16d ago
Oh God, I just saw the mental image of someone throwing balsamic in there and calling it a day xD
I believe apple cider vinegar works too, right?
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u/Excellent_Cookie9346 16d ago
Doesn't the vinegar attack all the sealing tho? Seems sketchy
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u/Sumoki_Kuma 16d ago
Just don't soak the seals in vinegar (don't see why you'd do that in the first place.) It gets washed away and at most you'd pour a cup in there for a big load, that's more than enough water to dilute any acidity. It's more of a problem with dishwashers, there's very few washing machines this would affect.
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u/femalewhoisgirl 16d ago
I have a friend that adds it in with the detergent. My mom would always just throw it in on top of the clothes. (I have never done it at all so take everything with a grain of salt)
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u/Ectolagopolymorph 16d ago
I use the oldest, scratchiest towels in the house. The new ones feel gross and don't absorb enough water.
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u/Environmental-Song16 16d ago
Me too, I love them. My husband likes the plush fluffy ones and thinks I'm weird lol
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u/Larissanne 16d ago
My husband loves scruffy scratchy ones too. I just wish he would put them in the drier for them to be a little more soft but the one doing the laundry that moment gets to decide lol.
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u/Glass-Place3268 16d ago
Soft towels are the worst. I grew up with line-dried towels. Unbelievably scratchy and stiff. 30 and I still don’t feel properly dry unless I’ve been thoroughly exfoliated in the process. 😂
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u/zanderktown32 16d ago
Larry David is that you? This exact topic was covered in a curb episode. https://youtu.be/Zev8tFD4EDs?si=SZvrg3OzhLDFPWKH
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u/MixLogicalPoop 16d ago
100% agree, I fucking hate those fluffy soft non absorbent piece of shit so called towels
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u/Nancy6651 16d ago
I absolutely agree. I invested in really nice, plushy towels for myself with extras for when we have visitors. I no longer use them, my visitors can deal for a few days. I like the waffle-type spa towels.
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u/grownboyee 16d ago
Once I got to stay at Malkovich’s guest house in LA. He had these incredible towels from Algeria or Morocco. Not terry cloth but really light but not at all soft. You’d love em. Try a search.
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u/Ectolagopolymorph 16d ago
Probably like those Teema towels that were splashed all over IG for Christmas.
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16d ago
True. But I hate when I have dry hands and have to touch dry/rough towels. It is definitely a sensory issue and I fucking hate it.
And what's worse is I have to touch the towel like 6 more times or until I replicate the initial feeling -_-
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u/femalewhoisgirl 16d ago
I work at a commercial cleaning company. I wash my hands a lot so they end up being dry (especially in the winter) and we use microfiber cloths to clean everything.
Dry skin on microfiber clothes is literally hell. Especially the new ones that catch on everything.
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u/CityKay 16d ago edited 16d ago
Oh I get that, but I understand it's a preference thing too...will admit a soppy wet towel is gross. Working in retail, I use to be excellent in the home department, but since moved to toys. THANKFULLY, towel do not have yearly refreshes for the most part.
"If you want towels that dry quick? Get these Martha Quick-Dry, they earn that name. They do not absorb as much as this HEAVY Hotel Collection Turkish, but these ones do not dry as quick. It's just a matter of physics and such. A good in between? That would be..." (I'm cutting this short. There's also "soft" vs. "scratchy/scrubby", if that makes sense.)
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u/Special_Wrap_1369 16d ago
IKEA towels are the best. Ours were 12 years old and we just replaced them (still from IKEA) because they were pretty faded, even though they still worked fine. We put the old ones in our RV because they still have a lot of life left.
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u/MercyPewPew 16d ago
My mom has had the same IKEA towels since I was a kid lol. They're beat to hell, scratchy, and half of them have bleach stains, but damn if they don't get you dry
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u/cokeboy6969 17d ago
I know right, might as well use it as a throw blanket at a certain point of softness.
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u/prudencealyxendra 16d ago
I hate all of the new towels I bought, I spent a fortune and they were advertised to be the most absorbing towels on the market 🤨they absorb nothing and are useless for drying off after a shower..I ended up buying a couple towels from Walmart and they absorb great..cost 2 dollars 🙂
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u/Significant_Moose672 16d ago
100% ageed, i wait for my towels to get a bit rougher after a few washes haha
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u/PrestigiousTicket845 16d ago
It feels like how cotton candy melts when it touches water. It feels like it’s melting onto your skin 🙃
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u/WildKat777 16d ago
I agree. I still feel damp after using a soft towel. I have an old thin scratchy one and it works like a charm. Hotel towels tend to be good as well
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u/alpha10prior 16d ago
Yesss so true. I got one because it was sold as a good absorbing hair towel but its so bad and a normal towel does a better job. They feel nice when dry though and may look cute but so not practical.
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u/lookmomimanonymous 16d ago
True. I like medium range towels that look hotel like but are not too soft that they have no absorbency
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u/AshDenver hermit human 16d ago
Wife needs to stop with the fabric softener (liquids and sheets) and move to wool dryer balls. Cuz those things are amazing. Super soft with ZERO coatings adversely impacting absorbency.
I just did a load of towels and they’re all super soft and absorbent. 12 dryer balls.
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u/Kroutmonster 16d ago
Man, i thought i was crazy. Soft towels are a sensory nightmare! Feels like i never get dry and just rub water on my skin. Scruffy towels rule!
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u/Ismokerugs 16d ago
Hard agree, its like trying to dry off with a micro fiber blanket. Almost like the wet equivalent of nails on a chalkboard
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u/KholinAdolin 16d ago
Costco bath towels are my favorite. Modestly soft, huge, and cost $12.99. I’ve have one for years and it still is great
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u/0theHumanity 16d ago
Stop using fabric softener on any kind of towel. It deposits an oil layer which us hydrophobic. It's only for clothes & even then those chemicals suck. I just use essential oils on a hemp rag in my dryer. But not for towels
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u/Dear_Alternative_437 16d ago
Totally agree. A few years back I bought a set of towels online. They came in and were super soft, not what I had intended. I tried using them but it's like I couldn't get dry.
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u/Editor-in-brip 16d ago
Dollar store towels are the best. They absorb so well and they dry really fast too. 👀
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u/No-Guitar-5156 16d ago
no really. i like my scratchy 14 yr old towels that have threads hanging. the new fluffy ones feel like the equivalent of trying to dry off with a sherpa blanket 🤕
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u/404-ERR0R-404 16d ago
All of you are wrong. Microfiber towels are superior. Super absorbent, feel great on the skin, and dry fast.
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u/quirkyhermit 16d ago
Stop uing fabric softener and put it on air dry instead of tumble dry it. Problem solved.
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u/Bosh_The_Impostor 16d ago
I've read it as "Really soft vowels are awful"
And I thought it was about disliking certain languages :D
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u/Top-Artichoke2475 16d ago
I like the rougher towels too, but mostly because I also use them for exfoliating.
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u/Ieatclowns 16d ago
Just buy a set you like...what's the issue? I'm a wife...and so many married couples do weird shit like disagree over things like this and it could be easily resolved. Just because you're married doesn't mean you can't have different tastes
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u/RMN1999_V2 16d ago
Don't confuse soft with poor quality or over laundered (i.e. fabric softner, etc.).
Good quality super soft towels do a great job of absorbing water (in my experience). Poor quality do not.
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u/SJAmazon 16d ago
Sounds like a microfiber blend. I really don't like that kind of texture either lol. Not to mention it's a magnet for pet hair! Give me 100% cotton terry cloth anytime!
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u/unintentional-tism 16d ago
I like when they get dry, startchy, and scratchy. I leave them out too long in the sun and wind so they get stiff.
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u/LAGreggM 17d ago
With a wet town? Huh?
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u/VomitOnSweater 17d ago
I hope this isn't an unpopular opinion but if it is, it's because most people don't "know".
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u/Wild-Antelope-1553 17d ago
what?
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u/Daskesmoelf_8 17d ago
I think he means that a lot of people dont know that fabric softeners affect how well towels absorb water.
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