How to Soften Rough, Stiff or Musty Towels Naturally

Fluffy white towels folded neatly after natural towel reset with soda crystals and laundry powder

If your towels come out of the machine stiff, scratchy, or smelling musty, the problem isn’t your detergent — it’s buildup.Over time, even freshly laundered towels can lose softness and absorbency, especially in hot and humid climates where hard water is common.
Fortunately, there’s a simple, natural way to restore them using just two ingredients: soda crystals and a clean detergent with no softeners or perfumes.

This method is gentle, effective, and requires no synthetic products.

Why Towels Become Rough or Musty

Towels are designed to absorb — but that also makes them prone to trapping things they shouldn’t. Over time, most towels accumulate:

Minerals from hard water, especially in regions like the UAE
Detergent and softener residue, which coats the fibers
Body oils, sebum, and grime, especially from low-temperature washes
Moisture that never fully evaporates, encouraging bacterial growth

The result? Towels that feel rough, take longer to dry, and smell bad when damp — even after a wash.

What You Need to Fix It

You don’t need a new detergent. You need a reset.

Soda crystals (sodium carbonate) – A traditional laundry booster that breaks down residues, grease, and limescale.
Fragrance-free laundry powder – A clean detergent with no fillers or softeners. SANNA’s Laundry Powder is designed to rinse clean.
Citric acid (optional) – Helps soften fibers and reduce limescale in the rinse cycle.

The Towel Reset Routine (SANNA Method)

Do this once when towels start to feel rough or smell musty. Repeat every 4–6 weeks for maintenance.

Step 1 — Soak in soda crystals

Fill a large basin or your washing machine drum with hot water (no clothes yet)
Add 3–4 tablespoons of soda crystals
Submerge your towels completely and let them soak for 2 to 4 hours (overnight for heavily affected towels)
Do not add detergent. Do not rinse after soaking.

Step 2 — Wash with a clean detergent

Drain the soaking water
Run a normal hot cycle (40–60°C) with SANNA Laundry Powder
No need to add softener or fragrance
Towels should come out feeling cleaner, lighter, and already softer

Step 3 — Optional: Rinse with citric acid

If your water is particularly hard, add 1 some SANNA Fabric softener (2 tablespoons of SANNA Citric Acid diluted in 1L of how water) to the softener compartment
This helps remove residual limescale and naturally softens the fabric

Step 4 — Dry thoroughly

Dry your towels completely in sunlight or in a tumble dryer
Never fold or stack damp towels — this traps moisture and leads to odors

Why This Works (and What to Stop Doing)

This method removes what detergent alone can’t: buildup from minerals, oils, softeners, and leftover detergent.
Unlike fabric softeners, which coat the fibers to mimic softness, soda crystals and citric acid reset the fabric from the inside out.

Stop doing this:

Don’t use fabric softeners on towels
Don’t wash them with too much detergent
Don’t skip hot cycles when towels need a deep clean
Don’t let them sit damp in the machine or folded

The Essentials (All SANNA Products, UAE-Made)

Soda Crystals – 100% soda crystals to dissolve residues and reset fibers
Laundry Powder – clean, fragrance-free detergent that rinses without buildup
Citric Acid – pure citric acid to soften and demineralise naturally