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Caring For Your Bath Towels 101

There’s no better feeling than wrapping yourself in a bath towel after a steaming hot bubble bath or shower at the end of a long day. The feeling of soft, fluffy, luxury against your skin leaves you feeling relaxed and refreshed. But do you know how to properly care for your bath towels so that they can stay that way for as long as possible? Yes, there is a right and wrong way when washing bath towels and it is the small things that make all the difference.

Washing your bath towels

  • The Cleaning institute recommends washing your towels after three uses.
  • Bath towels should be washed in warm or hot water to kill the bacteria and germs that come from bodily secretions and dead skin cells when you wipe yourself.
  • Never wash your towels with underwear for sanitary reasons.
  • Never wash towels with clothing as items such as zippers, buttons and hard accessories can damage the towels.
  • Go easy on the detergent. Too much detergent can leave a soapy residue on your towels making them feel harder.
  • Softener should make towels softer, right? Wrong! Softener can also cause soapy build up. For that reason, you should only add softener to every third or fourth wash.
  • Make sure no soap is left behind after rinsing.
  • Do not overload your washing machine to avoid snagging and tears.
  • For best results, every 6-8 weeks, first wash your towels with only hot water and a cup of white vinegar. Then run your towels through a second wash with half a cup of baking soda and hot water. Do not use detergent or softener in the first or second wash. Doing this will make your towels brighter, softer, reduce odours and remove residue from your bath towels.

Drying your bath towels

Between uses

  • Do not hang wet bath towels in a humid environment such as a bathroom as the towels will take a long time to dry and will start to smell musty.
  • Make sure you air dry your bath towels between each use.

Just washed towels

  • Bath towels can either be air dried or dried in a tumble drier. We recommend you air dry your towels until they are about 90% dry and then put them in the dryer.
  • When air drying, it is best to open your towels and space them out making sure they are getting enough sunlight or wind.
  • If you are only going to be using a dryer, make sure you don’t overload the dryer! There should be enough space for your towels to move around.
  • It is also a good idea to add a tennis ball to the dryer to fluff your towels.
  • Don’t over dry your towels or they will go hard.
  • Make sure your towels are properly dry before folding and packing them away or they will begin to smell.

Try out these tried and tested tips the next time you wash and dry your bath towels.