Many of us just throw our dirty towels in the wash without much care, but this is not sustainable maintaining their original fluffiness and making them last years. However, with a careful washing routine, you can keep your bathroom towels in fresh, quality condition for longer – read our best tips on how to!
1. Wash regularly
Now, this may seem like an obvious one, but a study found that 90% of bathroom towels were contaminated with coliform bacteria and 14% were infested with E. coli (TIME, 2017) – that’s pretty gross, right? This definitely highlights the importance of regular washing to keep your towels fresh and bacteria free. It is recommended that bath, hand and face towels be washed on high heat (about 60 degrees) every 3 to 4 days to keep germs at bay.
2. A touch of vinegar
If your towels are vibrantly coloured or patterned and want them to stay that way, it’s important to take little extra care. Besides regular washing detergent, try adding half a cup of vinegar to the load once a month as this helps preserve the colour and removes excess detergent residue.
3. Minimise use of cleaning products
While the use of cleaning agents are important for hygiene, an overuse will damage the quality of bathroom towels. Cleaners such as bleach and personal products like makeup and toothpaste which contains benzoyl peroxide can stain and discolor towels permanently. Fabric softeners should be kept to a minimum as they cause a waxy buildup which hinders the absorbency. It’s also important to stick to the recommended dosage of detergent as an overload can will make towels stiff scratchy.
4. Separate Cycle
We sometimes just throw our dirty towels in the wash with other garments to save time, but towels should have their cycle to keep them fresh. Tough towel fibres can damage delicate clothing and cause colour damage to both, as well as being unsanitary. So, it is best to dedicate an individual cycle and separate by colour to ensure no damage.
5. Careful drying
So that your towels are nice and fluffy once dry, please give them a good shake as soon as they come out of the washing machine. When drying, whether that be in a machine dryer or airing on the line, make sure they are 100% dry before folding to avoid mildew. Overdrying though will damage the fibres of the towel, so it’s important to follow the individual drying instructions on the label. Always store in a cool, dry and well-ventilated to keep them in tip top condition.
With a little tender loving care, you can ensure that your bathroom towels maintain their comforting, fluffy quality for years to come!