Make sure any towel you get is 100% cotton. It blows my mind how many polyester towels I see these days. Polyester is a non-absorbent material, ie. it repels water! You'd think people would know better. I have had a lot of luck with Williams-Sonoma's classic waffle-weave towels. Looking at the comments, it seems others have, too. I've had mine for several years and they've barely faded. They are quite thick; if you prefer something thinner a good cotton flour-sack towel works wonderfully, also. Whatever you get, wash it a couple of times before putting it into circulation. The plants that make textiles load 'em up with all kinds of chemicals, some of which can affect absorbency.

youngdomesticated, I tried the Calgon liquid back when I had a top loader. Every wash I added it to came out yucky you could say. The clothes just felt weird and they smelled funny. I switched to the Calgon Powder and didn't have that prob from it. I figured out it could clean a washer one night while experimenting. My top loader smelled bad. I had tried bleach and then Vinegar and the smell was still there. I figured what the heck..might as well give the Calgon Powder a try. Boy there were a lot of suds. Thought it might have been the Calgon, but I read on the box that Calgon powder is safe for use in dishwashers so I knew it had to be low sudsing. When it was all done, the nasty smell in my washer was gone. I've used it to clean out my FL too and it has worked quite well. On another note. I did some checking. While doing research I happened upon an article at Tide's website. The article stated that Tide has a polymer in it. Now a polymer can be anything from natural cellulose to PVP, etc. The article explained that the polymer is used to help lift off dirt and prevent new dirt from redepositing making the fabric easier to keep clean. Now they did not specify the polymer used, but I can imagine that whatever it is most likely remains on clothing in at least a trace amounts. I could see that adding to your problem. I will also agree with mc58 that the problem seems to mainly stem from the liquid detergents. I do not know what they have put in them, but they are very difficult to rinse out. You add that to the fact they are more concentrated now, which makes them even more difficult to cut back on amounts, and it leaves to one nasty build up problem.

@miranda33 - funny you should ask. We're moving in to our new house this weekend and the Frontgate towels are being cycled through the laundry for the first time beginning yesterday! So far so good. I am using LeBlanc Towel Wash (in Summer Verbena which by the way is a wonderful smell IMO). Since they weren't dirty I've started out with 105 degree water and I'm drying on warm air only which takes a little longer but as I'm experimenting don't want to fry them :) I might experiment with hotter water in the future. They are coming out very soft and "plump" feeling. Not quite as soft as when they were new in the package but still extremely good. This could be because I'm not getting all the detergent out of them - I'm still learning my new water and a couple loads did have some excessive suds. They are putting off a fair amount of lint in the dryer but nothing excessive. The real test will be to use them and see if we get any fuzz on our skin. Haven't done that yet. They are beautiful to look at and feel. Up to this moment they have still exceeded my expectations which is saying something. I don't know what your timeline is, but if you give me a nudge on here (I might forget) I will update you on how things go after we starting actually using them.

Ok, now tablecloth and placemats. I think I'd like to find a tablecloth that is an olive green, on the medium to darker side but not too dark and dull. Maybe slightly sage, but not light. Looking for an oval 60x84(maybe bigger). Everything I see is either square, vinyl or an ugly color. My mother has a wallpaper in her kitchen that is cream with grapes on it, so it has to go with that. Also, since I really want to find a green tablecloth which is impossible to find(nice cloth one), I want placemats that would go with the tablecloth without being too busy/loud. She doesn't like busy. A few grapes on it or a nice green and burgundy/dark/brick red design? Plain burgundy/dark red would not look right with a green tablecloth. I'd like to find simple green? cloth ones(woven?), (possibly with just a bit of fringe all around?) in case she doesn't care for the other ones that much, so she can switch them out. I've been everywhere by me and online. Suggestions for tablecloth and placemats please. Thanks!