When the Vinegar and Baking Soda Trick Does Not Work on Towels

I was relaxing in the tub and dropped my washcloth into the water. It seemed to float! Amazing! It took several minutes to absorb the water and sink.

I live in an area with very hard water and we do not have a water softener. I read in several places the trick of washing your towels with vinegar and baking soda.

It didn’t work!

After more research, I found it is better to rinse your towels and washcloths with ammonia, not vinegar.

1. Fight mineral deposits.
If you’ve got hard water, mineral buildup could be the culprit. “To lift deposits, wash the towels in the hottest water possible, and add 1 cup of ammonia and nothing else,” says Good Housekeeping home care expert Heloise.

I fill a downy ball with ammonia. It helped the towels, but my washcloths were still scratchy.

Then I remembered my hairdresser told me to rinse my hair with warm water and baking soda to remove any build-up of products. I got out a bucket, dumped a half a cup of baking soda in it and filled it with hot water. (You can buy baking soda in a 4 lb box.)

I soaked the washcloths for a day before I washed them. That softened them up and they started to absorb water better.

My washcloths are ten years old and that is a lot of build-up to remove. I didn’t keep track of which washcloths I had previously soaked. (Sorry) I don’t know how many times I soaked them in baking soda, but I recommend doing it more than once. You may notice a huge improvement after soaking them just once. I also used a 5-gallon bucket. You could use more baking soda in a smaller bucket. (Yes, I should be more scientific! Lol)