How To Care for your Oversized Bath Towel

Ahh…What could be more wonderful than a great smelling freshly laundered, fluffy bath towel? 

It’s the stuff of dreams, the dream the laundry companies want us to believe. 

The truth is that you should not use fabric softener on your bath towels. Fabric softeners leave a waxy residue on your bath towels that decrease the absorbency. That’s why your towels start off absorbing the water but get less and less absorbent over time. 

To care your bath towels and increase the longevity you should wash them in warm water with like colours. Use only half the amount of detergent you would normally add per load and then ½ to 1 cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle to kill any bacteria. You don't want to put in too much soap or powder in your wash because it can act as food for any bacteria on your towel. The vinegar will kill the bacteria and add no smell to your wash. If you need to use bleach, make sure it is non-chlorine for white and colour-safe bleach for colours.  Skip the liquid fabric softener. Once the wash cycle is complete, remove the bath towels and put them in the dryer with no dryer sheet. Do not over-dry. You can half dry the bath towels and hang them up to air dry. 

To avoid mold or mildew from growing on your bath towels, hang them up and wash them every 3 to 4 days.