How to care for bath towels
After purchasing new towels, always wash them. You never know where they were stored before being put on the shelf or how many people picked them up to look at them before you purchased them. You can wash new towels in one cup of white vinegar, a half cup of detergent, and warm water. This removes any oil or treatments to the fabric that could diminish the absorbency of the towel. It also helps break the towels in and keeps them smelling fresh as well as removes lint. Adding vinegar to the wash can also remove mildew smells from towels. Adding a quarter cup of Epsom or table salt to the wash will help set the color.
Towels should be washed on the hottest water setting with a cold rinse to kill bacteria. You can wash your towels with your regular clothes detergent. However, if you have “fancy” guest towels that have lace around the edges or are embroidered, you may want to use a mild detergent such as Woolite. If the colors of your towels vary greatly, such as white and red, you will want to wash them separately. If the colors are similar, you can wash them together, but avoid overloading the washer. That can put a stain on your washer’s motor and possibly fray your towels.
You should not wash towels with other clothes unless it is something heavy like jeans. This is because the towels are generally thicker and require more drying time. If you wash them with t-shirts, the t-shirts will dry long before the towels and may wrinkle. You should avoid using fabric softener when washing towels because that can reduce the absorbency. Bleach should also be avoided unless it is color safe bleach.
Bath towels should be dried on medium heat. Drying your towels in a dryer will help remove lint, so always use a dryer instead of line drying if possible. Adding an old, but clean tennis ball to the dryer can help fluff up your towels and make them more absorbent.
How often you wash your towels is a personal choice. Some people insist on washing their towels after every use, but this can shorten the life of the bath towel. Some people hang up their bath towel after bathing or showering and use it two or three times more times before washing. Hand towels will see more dirt and grime and should be washed more frequently.
Proper care and washing can add years to the life of a towel. Depending on the quality of the towel material, towels can last for five to ten years or longer.
