Fabric softener suggestion please?

My lovely designer towels (wedding gifts) could easily remove the varnishing from wood floors... 

The others are right, it's not the fabric softeners but how you dry it that is making them feel crisp.  Putting them on a radiator will make them stiffer still, but they dry fast--it's a trade off.  Shaking them out before hanging helps, having some air movement helps.

I also have to agree, I've NEVER had a load of clothes take three days to dry, and I live in Wales where it is very wet.  I think your spin cycle isn't working like most here.  I hate how much longer loads of laundry take in the UK, but I love how effective their spin cycles are!

I really miss Mr Chen, in NYC. I picked up the phone, called Chen's laundry, his son came to my door about 15 minutes later, he took my huge bag of laundry away, and 4 hours later, it was returned to my door, clean, soft, and perfectly folded - For about $20.00 (plus a really good tip - in NYC we always tip!).

There are laundry services available here. When I was a PhD student I used to use a service that picked up my laundry, washed and dried it, and returned it the next day for about £5. I'm sure there are similar things in London if we had that in the boonies of Fife!

I've never used a service that collected and delivered the washing, but for a few years I lived in a flat which didn't have a washing machine, and I just dropped off my washing at the local laundrette for a service wash.  I did have to drop it off and collect it myself, but they did all the washing, drying and folding for me, and it was excellent!

I have never used fabric softener on towels. I was told that it cuts back on the absorbency of the towel.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense. I never feel dry with a soft towel. They just feel sort of slimy and useless to me.

Option one: Slimy skin

Option two: Skin removed

Option three: Vodka Martini

There are laundry services available here. When I was a PhD student I used to use a service that picked up my laundry, washed and dried it, and returned it the next day for about £5. I'm sure there are similar things in London if we had that in the boonies of Fife!

This is indeed a thing, because I am even more lazy they pick it up from my work and drop it back to me.
*this is just dresses and the boy's shirts. However when I lived in Hammersmith we did full washes with this kind of service as my washer/dryer was tiny and I worked away M-F