'Obvious' yet common washing mistake is ruining your fluffy white towels

There's nothing quite like getting out of the bath or shower and enveloping yourself in a fluffy, white towel. However, over time you might notice that your towels have become hard and scratchy, maybe even losing their former brightness.

Zoe Dunn, fabric expert and head Buyer at Terrys, a fabric specialist selling everything from bedding to towels, revealed that a common laundry mistake could be making your towel's softness deteriorate at a faster rate.

"Don’t wash towels with your clothes," she warned when speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk. "The fibres from clothing transfer onto the towel and lessen its fluffiness over time.

"Waiting to do a towel-only wash will also ensure there’s plenty of space in the drum for the towels - which stops the fibres from flattening down, and ensures the entire towel is being laundered correctly."

Similarly, it's important to keep an eye on what colours you wash your whites with. Even if you are sure the dye from coloured towels won't run, it's always worth doing a separate wash dedicated solely to white towels. Zoe explained: "It might sound obvious - but never wash white home textiles with other colours - colour transfer can be hard to reverse and you’ll lose that hotel-esque bright white.

"Wait to wash your white towels and bedding together, if possible, and make sure to use organic stain removers and brightening solutions if anyone in your household has sensitive skin. Although bleach will brighten whites, it will also degrade the fabric - lessening its lifespan."

The expert advises always following any washing instructions on the tag or label attached to your town. "Sometimes fluffy towels need to be washed on a significantly lower temperature setting than you’d expect to retain their fluffiness," she said.

Using too much fabric softener could be the reason behind towels turning stiff or scratchy, so it's always advised to cut down on how much you use or eliminate it altogether when washing towels.

In some cases, towels turning hard may be out of your control and may be a result of the water in your local area. Luckily, Zoe says there is a way to combat this with a purse-friendly kitchen cupboard item.

"To soften hard towels, you need to remove the product buildup, including fabric conditioner making the fibres feel stiff and rough to the touch," said Zoe.

"To do so, you’ll need to add a cup of white vinegar to your next wash - this will dissolve buildup. Depending on how much residual product there is, you might need to run a couple of vinegar washes.

"If your area gets hard water and the white vinegar isn’t softening your towels, try a water softener. This should reduce limescale build up in the washing machine and help to smooth out any rough towel fibres."