Although it might seem trite, keeping your towels in great condition can really help the longevity and quality of their use.  Clothes are worn and torn & eventually discarded, but we tend to keep towels for much longer.  Let’s go through some tips and tricks on how to make the most of your towels!

1. Wash towels before use – Towels come with a layer of softener when first purchased, it is a good idea to wash off these chemicals before using the towels on your skin. Using half a cup to one cup of vinegar and detergent for the initial wash will help remove most of the factory chemicals on the towel. If you notice your towels not drying well or not absorbing water than its possible the chemicals may have not been completely removed.  Giving them another wash with vinegar and detergent should do the trick.
2. Wash towels with other towels, not clothes – Washing your towels with clothes or other items can leave lint, fluff, or strings on your items. Wash your towels with towels only in order to avoid having to rewash. Because of a towels rough surface area keeping them in the same wash will help clean your towels in shorter cycles by causing more natural friction in the wash.
3. Wash once a week – Re-using your towels 3-5 times before a new wash is ideal to keep from over-washing. Depending on the weather and other factors you may want to wash them sooner or later. If you live somewhere humid then it would be less time between each wash, whereas if you live somewhere dry you can wait a little longer between each wash.
4. Separate colors – This goes for all wash cycles and even drying. When your items go through the wash there is a chance that the colors will leak from the darks to the lights or colors to the whites. In order to keep your clothes and towels vibrant and full of color it is important to separate lights, darks and certain colors that may bleed through to other towels.
5. Use a minimal amount of the usual fabric softener – Using fabric softener isn’t always the best choice for towels. Having your towels soft is a plus, but it is possible that the softener could affect the absorbency of the towel if overused. Using a small amount of fabric softener will avoid residue build up in your machines and keep your towels in better shape in the long haul.
6. Use about half the amount detergent – Detergent is the essential cleaning tool for all clothes and laundry, including towels. Although when washing towels, because of their naturally rough surface it is not necessary to use as much as you would normally use for linens/clothes and can wear them down quicker. Using half of the amount of detergent for your towel load will clean your towels completely and help keep your towels in good shape for longer.
7. Shake off towels – After Washing and Drying it is a good idea to shake off your towels in case of debris and lint from other towels. Shaking off your towels in between the washer and dryer will straighten out your towels, remove lint and keep them from wrinkling as easily.
8. Allow Towels to dry – After every use it is a good practice to keep your towels somewhere where they can easily dry overnight. If you live somewhere humid then you can put your towels through a dryer for a short cycle and then hang them up.
9. Removing loose threads – Towels are very absorbent because of the linens fibrous material, however these fibers can come undone or loose very easily during a washer/dryer cycle or even during production.