Whether they are bath towels or kitchen towels or multi-purpose towels, it is effortless to ruin towels by the way you handle them on a day to day basis. Some of the ways we ruin our towels without knowing include; hanging more than one towel on a hook, not washing the towels as often as necessary, using the same cloth more often than recommended, and using too much detergent to clean the cloths. Washing towels in cold water is also a recipe for disaster, just like using too much fabric softener. In this post, we look into ways of maintaining cleaning towels in our homes.
- Washing the towels
There is a specific procedure for washing towels;
- Separate the towels by color
- Use half the recommended amount of detergent (a hand full). Add the soap to the water
- Wash the towels and put them in clean water (hand wash or machine wash)
- To remove odors (as in the case of gym towels and swimming towels), add half a cup of baking soda to the detergent during the first wash
- Add half a cup of vinegar to the water. Washing towels with vinegar helps set the colors as well as removing the detergent residue from the towels
Towels need to be washed often (after two to four days of use) while washing towels it is recommended that you use warm water. When washing colored towels, always make sure to use color-safe bleach to avoid fading. The bleach is, however, not crucially necessary as it tends to wear out the towel. For white towels, hot water and bleaches without chlorine are recommended. Always remember to separate white towels from the load to avoid discoloration. It is also crucial to make sure that you do not wash your towels together with the rest of your laundry for sanitary purposes. Washing them separately also helps make the task of adjusting the wash settings easier.
- Be easy on the fabric softener
Fabric softeners leave behind a waxy buildup on the fabric that eventually leads to deterioration of the fibers of the towel, which reduces the absorbency of the towel. It is therefore advisable to use softeners at least once after every three to four washes.
- Remember to shake out the towel after washing
Shaking out the towel will help to maintain the absorbency of the towel by fluffing the terry loops. The shaking should be done before putting the towels in the drier. Failure to shake them out will result in the towel twisting up and forming a ball once in the drier.
- Drying the towels
Towels tend to take longer to dry as compared to other clothes. It is, therefore, essential to make sure that the towels are completely dry before removing them from the dryer.
Bottom Line
Even if you work hard towards taking care of your towels, the bottom line is that towels are not meant to last a lifetime. After some time, they lose fibers, which lead to lesser and lesser absorbency down the line. This means that you should always replace your towels as soon as you realize they are beginning to wear out. Two years is the recommended amount of time during which you should use a cloth.
