Why do my clothes come out hard and crispy out of the washing machine?

Question

I live in a student house in Canterbury, Kent, England, where I believe the water is not hard. My housemates and I do not have a tumble dryer and our washing machine is a Candy Aquaviva 1000. We normally dry clothes using an indoor airer. When they dry the clothes are hard, crispy and very stiff.

This is the case for all my housemates despite the fact that we all use different brand detergents. When I wash the same clothes in my parents' house in the Midlands the clothes come out of the wash lovely and soft. I also use 'easy-iron' clothes softener but this does not help.

Could anyone give me advice as to why the clothes come out stiff and crispy and what we can do about it?

Many thanks in advance.

Answer 1

Water in Kent IS hard....Use a conditioner or Bold.........

Answer 2

Sound like too much cheap detergent & the machine not being rinsed out proprerly.
Maybe you could try running it without any detergent or laundry in to just to make sure.
Also, maybe dryitn your clothes on the airer all the time is not a good idea. If the air in the room is moist the clothing will not dry as quickly as they should & this could make them hard.
Argos do inexpensive tumble driers which if the cost is shared between all of you might be a good investment.

Answer 3

If you live in Kent then your water will be hard.
As for the problem with stiff washing,it could be that your filter is blocked and the water is not draining well,give it a clean.
Or you could be putting the powder into the wrong compartment,either try tablets that you put inside the machine or put the powder in the second compartment usually next to the fabric conditioner,the first one is for pre washing.
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Water in KENT.... as I'm sure you are aware, you are very close to the north downs, they are chalk...Your water is as hard as it gets.
Maybe they are not rinsing properly, check the filter, then go to Adsa/Tesco, get a bag of ordinary Washing Soda (about 55 pence) .With machine empty, throw whole bag in, then one very hot wash.... watch the bubbles!!!. If you got lots of bubbles (ex your detergent) give it another go with washing soda. This will also clear all that fatty gunge, and clean your drain.I suspect, for one reason or another, your machine is not draining.rinsing properly....soda will fix.

Answer 5

I know what your talking about!!! any time I have wased cloths without a dryer they are crips and hard. People always told me that is just how it is when you don't use a dryer. I would maybe try to use fabric softner- but I think it just is that way. Sorry if that doesn't help. I hope some one can help you more then that!

Answer 6

I live near you in Kent.

We have hard water here and its because of the chalk content.

Use a water softener tablet such as calgon in every wash (Tesco's own make is a lot cheaper and just as good) and you will see a big difference.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Too much detergent. Use a measure, say an eggcup, 2 scoops to a wash. Get everyone in the house to do the same.

Answer 8

you could be letting your clothes dry to much, i am lucky to have a dryer and i take all my clothes out and hand them up before they are completely dry and i find i never have to iron try and invest in a dryer i payed £70 or get a second hand one. I find when i dry on radiator they go hard

Answer 9

It is the dryer that makes them soft.Make sure u rinse them out well.Use softener like Downy too. That will help some.Good luck Calgon is a good idea too.

Answer 10

Try using a fabric softening product. In the states here 'Downy' is popular, it softens your clothes and makes them smell very good.

Answer 11

The spin on the washing machine might be quite strong( very fast) which could leave d clothes like that. :)