How to Wash Towels

Avoid ruining towels by washing them correctly. Learning how to wash towels properly isn't difficult, but many people don't take the time to learn. Sick of your towels getting ruined or worn down too quickly? You're probably washing them wrong. Keep reading to learn how to wash towels.

How to Wash Towels - Stain Removal

Towels can easily become stained in everyday life. Chocolate and other food mishaps in the kitchen, cosmetics in the bathroom, and grass or mud outside can all add up to some unfortunate stains. Martha Stewart recommends working quickly to treat a stain, before it has time to set. The protocol for getting rid of various stains varies, consider searching online to find out how to remove whatever stain has found its way onto your towel. Many stains can be treated with simple household items, such as vinegar, or by soaking in water with gentle soap. Stain treatment products such as Shout and Clorox Oxi Magic Stain Remover Spray can also be very helpful in eliminating tough stains from towels and other fabrics.

As a word of caution, never use chlorine bleach to remove stains from towels (even white towels). The bleach is simply too harsh; bleach will degrade the towels' delicate fibers and will cause them to feel rough after washing. Stick to non-chlorine or bleach alternatives.

How to Wash Towels - Washing

Avoid washing towels in hot water. Like bleach, the heat can be too harsh on towel fibers and degrade towels in the washing machine. Exceptions to this rule are towels left balled up or wet after use, or dish towels. Dish towels (also referred to as "tea towels") are often left lying around after cleaning up spills, clean dishes or kitchen surfaces. This breeds mildew and other harmful bacteria if left lying around, and these should be washed in hot water to ensure bacteria is removed. Washing on the warm cycle is ideal for bath towels, as sweat and body dirt wash out best around room temperature. Heat "sets" stains, so be sure to wash towels in cool water if stain removal is necessary.

Wash towels separately from clothing whenever possible. Washing and drying without fabric softener may be preferable, depending on your needs. Your towels won't be as soft if you forgo the fabric softener, but they will be more durable and absorbent. Dish towels especially shouldn't be washed or dried with fabric softener, as the lack of absorbency will reduce their effectiveness.

How to Wash Towels - Drying

Dry clean towels on a clothesline if possible, to avoid towels becoming tattered or worn down in the dryer. If machine drying can't be avoided, use medium or low heat. Machine drying is another good argument for washing and drying towels separate from clothing. Towels tend to have looser fibers than clothing, making them likely to get bits of fuzz and lint all over clothing (especially when no fabric softener is involved). Depending on the fabric your towels are made from, you should also avoid ironing. Martha Stewart advises against ironing terry cloth in particular.

Try to wash towels using these tips as a guideline in the future, hope they help!

Sources:

Martha Stewart. "Rules of Stain Removal."

Martha Stewart. "The Wash Cycle."

Martha Stewart. "Washing and Folding Towels."