How can you wash towel to make it more absorbent?

Regular laundry washing should remove any soap in the towels. I have heard that using products like Downy and Fleecy in the wash make your towels less absorbent as these products have a kind of water repellant in them.

That is correct! Skip the fabric softener. I use a low suds, free and clear type detergent, add in a couple heaping tablespoons of baking soda and vinegar in the softener cup. Then, felted wool dryer balls in the dryer. Soft, fluffy and absorbent!

This might help:

How to Make New Towels More Absorbent

Have you ever noticed that new towels seem to repel water, rather than absorb it? Usually, it takes many trips through the washing machine for a towel to become more absorbent, but with these tips, you should be able to speed up the process somewhat.

I have found that line drying seems to make a towel more absorbent.

Definitely don't use fabric softeners in the dryer or the wash. I put vinegar in the softener cup in my washer to make sure the soap residue is cut, especially in hubbies laundry, he is sensitive to almost all soaps. I have used Tide for him since I started doing his laundry, as he always gets itchy if I try to change it to something different. He even has his own bottle of Tide, since I use the Tide Sport for all other laundry.

Do not use any fabric softener on towels. Wash a few times with plain white vinegar in the washer.

Also, cut down on the amount of laundry detergent that you use. Never use the recommended amount. I always use less than half. My laundry always comes out very clean. Also you need to "wash" your washer every so often. A full tub of hot water with some white vinegar will do the trick of getting rid of any residue on the walls of the tub.

Dont use softener

Hi Pamela, you will need borax, washing soda and laundry detergent:

Add borax, washing soda, and laundry detergent in a 1:1:2 ratio. For a bathtub, we recommend ¼ cup borax, ¼ cub washing soda, and ½ cup detergent. Stir to dissolve. Completely submerge your towels in the mixture and soak until the water has cooled, which usually takes four to five hours.