One of the simple joys of life is buying new towels and using them for the first time. They are soft to the touch and lovely and warm straight off the towel rack after your bath or shower. This is especially true if your last towels were starting to resemble cardboard more than their original form, and if this is the case, it may be that you need to take some steps to make your towels last longer. If you follow just a few simple tips, you’ll find that you’ll savor the pleasure of your new soft and fluffy towels for much longer and will save on having to replace them often.
The importance of the first wash
The first time you wash your towel should be before it has even been used. When you do this, make sure to wash the towel in cold water. This will remove any lint from the towel that may have built up and will make it ready to be used. In addition, the first wash is essential to remove any fabric softener that the towel may have been dowsed in before putting it into the store. This is designed to make the towel look more appealing to buyers, but reduces how absorbent it is. Finally, when you put your towel in the wash, add in a cup of white wine vinegar into the machine. This will help maintain the color of the towel in future washes.
Minimize detergent use.
When washing your towels, try not to use too much detergent, as this is what will remove the soft feeling from them the fastest. Use enough to make sure the towel is clean, but you don’t need to overdo it. In addition, using fabric softener will stop the towel from being as absorbent in a similar way to when the towel is treated with softener before it goes to the store. Again, using vinegar in the wash will help to keep them absorbent and fresh. We often use Maid2Match bond cleaners to help keep on top of the washing, and employing a cleaner once a week to help with washing your clothes and towels can be a considerable help.
Try to avoid stains.
Common culprits that cause towels to stain are toothpaste, makeup, and skincare products that lay around the bathroom. If you can avoid removing makeup with your towel, this will benefit both your towels and your face, but if a stain does happen, try to remove it and treat it as quickly as possible.
Hang after use.
After using your towel, try to hang it up on a drying rack or something similar straight away. This will help it dry out naturally, as towels that are left damp and rolled up can attract bacteria and will soon start to smell damp, which can spoil a perfectly good towel.
One use per towel
By this, we mean that you should keep your best towels to dry yourself, and not anything else. If you have spillages, cleaning to do, or a pet to dry, either use a different cloth made especially for cleaning, or use an old towel for your pet that doesn’t get mixed in with your other towels.
