You’re better off without it: 5 reasons why you shouldn’t use fabric softener

Fabric softeners make your clothes smooth, prevent static and also ensure that your laundry smells great. Sounds wonderful at first. Yet, I personally choose to stay away from it. The following 5 reasons of mine may well be yours soon too.

1. Removes absorbency

Fabric softeners coat fibres with a kind of protective film. This makes the fabric feel nice and soft, but it removes its absorbency. This is a particular problem with textiles you use for drying, such as bath towels, hand towels and tea towels. Surprisingly, they tend to feel unpleasantly hard after air-drying. Since they’re robust, I end up throwing terry towels and kitchen textiles in the dryer anyway. Afterwards they’re lovely and soft – without any fabric softener.

2. Restricts breathability

Fabric softener can even cause functional clothing to lose one of its most important properties: allowing air in and transporting sweat out. It’s the residue from the fabric softener which gets between the fibres and reduces the absorbency and the breathability. In the worst case, this makes the fibres stick together. So, if you’re washing sportswear remember: always wash without fabric softener.

I also avoid using it on my everyday clothes. Future me, sprinting onto the train or baking in the sun, will thank me for it. Especially my clothes made of polyester. Synthetic fibres hardly absorb any moisture anyway because they bring the sweat to the surface where it can evaporate quickly. If you add in fabric softener, the protective film will prevent the moisture escaping. In other words: goodbye, silky feel. Hello BO!

3. Damages some textiles

The protective film and chemicals contained in fabric softeners have a negative effect on the function, durability and appearance of many textiles. These include delicate natural fibres such as wool, linen and silk. The latter may even lose its shine. With down fabrics, there’s a risk it won’t fluff up well anymore and elastane can also turn brittle. So I’m left wondering: what can I even use fabric softener for?

4. Consequences for skin and environment

Fabric softeners contain chemicals such as cationic surfactants, fragrances and preservatives. These can irritate your skin and trigger allergic reactions. Of course, this also applies to laundry detergent. So I’m not convinced I need this additional, potentially risky liquid in my washing too. Since we pollute the waste water when we do the laundry anyway, the environment will certainly enjoy one less chemical compound to break down.

5. Unnecessary extra costs

Detergents aren’t exactly cheap – and you need three of them. A heavy-duty detergent for light-coloured and uncomplicated laundry, a coloured or black detergent and a mild detergent for delicate fabrics such as silk or wool. So why should I spend extra money on a product that’s unsuitable for the majority of textiles?

Of course there are fabrics that are a little stiff after air drying, especially denim. However, in my experience, once you’ve worn them for a short period of time it goes away. Your other options are steam irons or steam straighteners which can help loosen the fabric and make it supple again – without sticky fibres and potentially irritated skin.