Buzz
Image Credit: baytunc / Getty ImagesWhen you first buy them, towels are incredibly soft and luxurious, but they often lose their texture over time. However, with proper care and washing methods, you can extend their softness and fluffiness significantly.
To maintain that ideal level of comfort, use these expert tips to ensure your towels stay plush and durable for years.
Reuse your towels multiple times before laundering them
Frequent washing and drying can wear out your towels, so it’s best to avoid washing them after every single use—unless they’ve been exposed to excessive sweat, dirt, or chlorine. Becky Rapinchuk, cleaning expert at CLEAN MAMA, recommends washing them only after several uses.
Always hang your towels to dry thoroughly between uses. Leaving them in a damp pile on the floor can lead to mildew, bacterial growth, and other unpleasant issues you wouldn’t want to reintroduce to your skin after bathing.
Avoid overloading the washing machine
This tip applies to all laundry—overfilling your washing machine limits the movement of items, reduces detergent effectiveness, and compromises the overall cleanliness of your clothes or towels.
To ensure your clothes and towels have ample space to wash effectively, try the palm test. If your hand can comfortably fit between the washing machine tub and the laundry, you’ve avoided overloading it.
Since towels are bulkier and retain more water than regular clothing, consider washing them in smaller loads (about half-full) to reduce strain on your washing machine caused by the weight of wet towels.
Wash towels separately
Mixing towels with clothes, sheets, or other fabrics can harm both the other items and your towels.
The coarse texture of towels can damage delicate fabrics and leave behind lint and fibers on your clothes. Additionally, towels take longer to dry, which may result in over-drying your clothing if washed together.
Washing towels with other items can also harm them—just one red shirt mixed with white towels can result in an unintended pink hue.
Consider sorting your towels by category—keep kitchen towels separate from bath towels—to prevent the spread of bacteria between different areas of your home.
Use laundry detergent sparingly
Using excessive laundry detergent doesn’t improve cleaning; instead, it can create residue that makes towels feel stiff. This often leads to a cycle of using even more detergent, further worsening the texture of your towels.
Stick to just a few tablespoons of detergent, and you’ll notice your towels remain soft while still being thoroughly clean.
If your towels have already become stiff, consider using laundry stripping to eliminate buildup and potentially restore their softness.
Opt for vinegar instead of fabric softener
While fabric softener might seem like the ideal solution for soft towels, Rapinchuk explains that it can have negative effects. "It coats the fibers, preventing towels from being thoroughly cleaned."
Rapinchuk suggests adding a quarter cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle to help dissolve leftover detergent and enhance the softness and fluffiness of your towels.
Try air-drying your towels
Using a dryer, even on delicate settings, can accelerate the wear and tear of your towels, causing them to fray and lose their softness sooner. To reduce damage, consider air-drying your towels, which not only preserves their quality but also helps brighten white towels when dried in sunlight.
