Caring for bath towels

Bathroom towels are an investment for any family. Many people will search their favorite stores and online to find towels that fit the décor of the bathroom. Towels can be expensive too so caring for your bath towels properly will help to extend their lifespan and protect your investment.

When you buy new bath towels and washcloths it is important to wash them before you use them the first time. How many people touched them in the warehouse and store before you brought them home? There can also be oils or chemicals on the towels that will make them less absorbent. A homemade detergent recipe for washing your new towels would be using ½ cup of detergent, 1 cup of white vinegar and warm water. The vinegar will help to get rid of that smell you sometimes find when you purchase new bath towels.

Once you put your bathroom towels into use in your home, how often should you wash them? This is a personal choice. Some people like to use a clean and fresh towel every time they take a bath or shower. If I had my choice this is how I would use my bath towels. However, I live in the real world and this is not feasible. Washing your bath towels frequently will shorten the lifespan of the towel. When you dry off after a bath or shower you are clean so you can reuse your bath towel a few times, but you should change your bath towel at least once a week. If there is illness in your home you will want to give consideration to changing your towels more frequently.

Hand towels, on the other hand, see a lot more use than bath towels. Just think of how many times you and your family members go to the bathroom a day and how many times they use the hand towel to dry off? You will want to wash your hand towels more frequently than your bath towels. Washcloths should not be reused – one time and then right into the wash.

Washing your bath towels properly is important. They should be washed on the hottest water setting available on your washing machine to kill germs and bacteria. Since hot water causes colors to run, you will want to sort your towels and wash them with similar colors so you don’t ruin your towels. Towels get heavy when they are wet so you do not want to overload the washing machine when laundering them so you don’t put unnecessary strain on your washing machine. If possible avoid using fabric softener in the wash because this can decrease the absorbency of the towels. Towels should be dried on medium heat in the dryer. Try to avoid putting towels in the dryer with other clothing. Towels take a longer time to dry and this could cause your other clothes to wrinkle in the dryer.

Caring for your bath towels properly will do a few things that are beneficial. You’ll be extending the lifespan of your towels while making sure they are clean and germ free.