this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2023
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This feels like what you're noticing is actually the removal of the "chemicals" (technically, the fibres are a chemical, too, even cotton - everything is chemical in nature, btw, there is no "natural"). There's an oil on/in the fabric when you buy it to make it softer and to protect it during transport and storage, and over a few washing cycles this gets removed.
To re-apply this effect, use fabric softeners. That's exactly what they exist to do.
https://www.goingzerowaste.com/blog/fabric-softener-why-you-shouldnt-use-it/
I stopped using fabric softener on my clothes a while back because it's kinda ruined all my old stuff.
That also explains some of my clothing that I've been simply unable to get odors out of... no matter how hot they're washed. I thought my washing machine was broken lol
Not to talk about the environmental impact which is also discussed in the link above.
Yeah well, of course. That's also why towels absorb water so much worse when they're new and soft - they still have the oils on them. As they get dry and scratchy with repeated washings they no longer feel nice, but they're much more efficient at drying yourself off with.
My towels aren't scratchy. If your towels are scratchy you're using too much detergent.
Or you're hanging drying your towels and then never fluffing them.
Softness isn't just based on the oils a fabric does or doesn't have, but also on the length and flexibility of the fibers the threads of the cloth are made of. If you splurge on quality towels, like supima cotton for instance, no matter how many times you wash your towels (without softener) they will remain soft and still absorbent.
Natural is typically used to mean something that occurs in nature or results from mild refinement vs. purely synthetic and novel molecules. I don't think most anyone would call cotton a 'chemical' and being that specific is really a form of pedantry more than a useful label.