Are you up to scratch on how to do laundry? Learning how to wash towels properly will prolong their lifespan, as well as making your towels more pleasurable to use. Even the best bathroom towels need a little TLC. And if you do it right, high-quality towels will last as long as a decade (really!) and still feel soft.
It all starts as soon as you bring new towels home, so you'll want to make sure you start off on the right foot. Washing towels before use will help remove any leftover residue from the manufacturing or packaging process, and will also help your towels become more absorbent. Then once they're used, it's even more crucial to remove any lingering residue or germs.
Hand towels carry a lot of germs, particularly if they never quite dry out, so do think before you wipe them on your face. As a general rule, swapping hand towels every couple of days and washing bath towels every three to four days is best practice.
If you use face cloths to cleanse your face with, you have to wash them after each use; otherwise, you are risking developing acne. Therefore, it is advisable to have seven face cloths and wash them all at the end of the week.
Find out more about getting rid of germs in our guide.
If you've washed your towels all together, it'll be easier to dry them properly because they'll all dry at the same rate.
Ideally, they should air dry naturally, but first remove them from the washing machine and give them a good shake to fluff up their fibres. 'Line drying your towels in the shade is ideal and it reduces electricity usage,' advises Jo Ross.
You can put towels in a tumble dryer: 'Tumble drying your towels for a few minutes when they are almost dry off the line will maximise their softness,' continues Jo Ross. 'Dry your towels on a medium to warm setting and ensure they are completely dry before storing in your linen cupboard.'
Another option to prevent damaging towels is to tumble dry them straight from the washing machine. Shake them out first to fluff the fibres, dry on a medium setting, then remove them before they are completely dry, letting them line dry thoroughly.
Either way, we'd advise avoiding dryer sheets – these will reduce absorbency – and opting instead for tumble dryer balls to fluff up the towels' fibres. And don't iron towels because it will reduce their absorbency.
The clue to good quality towels is in the number of loops per square inch. The thicker the pile, the better the towel and the longer it will last.