A good cotton towel changes over the years. The fibres relax, the cloth softens and the towel settles into the shape of your bathroom. How you wash it decides how well that goes. This is the care routine we use for VELVET towels, and it applies to most good cotton towels.
Do you need to wash towels before first use?
Yes. Wash a new towel once before it touches skin. The wash clears dust and residue left from weaving, finishing and transit. Wash it alone or with similar colours, using a normal amount of detergent. Early washes can shed a little loose fibre. That is normal for new cotton and it settles.
How do you wash cotton towels?
- Machine wash warm. Warm water cleans cotton without punishing the fibre.
- Use the amount of detergent on the pack. Extra detergent does not rinse out fully and leaves a film on the cloth.
- Leave room in the drum. A crowded machine cannot rinse properly. Towels need space to move.
- Wash like with like. Keep towels away from zips, hooks and anything with a rough edge that can catch the pile.
Can you use fabric softener on towels?
No. Fabric softener coats the fibre. The coating undoes the softness, and it reduces how well the cloth takes up water. Leave it out of the wash. A cotton towel softens through washing and use, and it needs nothing added.
Why are my towels not soft?
When a towel that was once soft turns stiff or flat, the cause is almost always one of four things:
- Fabric softener build-up. The coating settles on the fibre and the cloth feels slick, then stiff.
- Too much detergent. Residue left in the cloth dries hard.
- A crowded machine. Towels that cannot rinse hold on to whatever was in the water.
- Heat. A hot tumble dryer on a long cycle dries the fibre out and flattens the pile.
Most towels recover. Wash with no softener and a little less detergent, give the drum room, and dry on a gentle setting.
How should you dry cotton towels?
Line dry or tumble low. Line drying is the gentlest option. A towel dried in open air stiffens a little, and softens again with a shake and a few minutes of use. Tumble drying on low gets you a softer result faster, as long as you stop when the cloth is dry.
Whichever you choose, shake each towel out before it dries to lift the pile. Take it off the line or out of the dryer promptly. A damp towel left in a heap develops a musty smell.
How do you look after towels between washes?
- Hang the towel open on a rail so air reaches both sides.
- Give each towel its own space on the rail, with a little air between cloths.
How often should you wash towels?
Wash a towel after a few uses, and sooner if it has been left damp or smells of anything other than clean cotton. A towel that dries fully between uses stays fresh for longer. Rotating two towels gives each one time to dry.
Can you wash towels with other laundry?
Wash them with other towels where you can. Clothes with zips, buttons or hooks can snag the pile, and lighter garments pick up lint from towels. A towel load also rinses better when every item in the drum is made of the same thing.
How do you keep towels soft for years?
Treat the towel as a cloth you intend to keep. Wash it warm, skip the softener, dry it gently and let it air between uses. With that routine, good cotton gets softer with each wash instead of coarser.
VELVET towels are woven from 100% cotton, soft on one side and dry on the other. The care steps above suit every size in the range. Have a question this guide has not answered? The FAQ covers care and everything else about VELVET towels.
