I love a good, think, fluffy, soft towel. You know those towels that feel like a soft blanket surrounding your after a hot shower. Those towels that if you close your eyes you can pretend that you are at a spa, with lavender and eucalyptus waffing in and “Matt” asking you if you are ready for your massage.
The good news is most of us are in financial place where we can afford and get fluffy towels for our home. However, buying them is just the start, because you need to know how to wash and store your towels to keep them fluffy longer.
How To Buy and Get Fluffy Towels With Each Wash
Buy the best you can afford. It’s all about the cotton. Egyptian, Turkish, Supima, or 100% cotton. And the better the cotton, the better the towel. For my money, my favorite are the Supima Bath Towels from Lands End. (Which run $24.00 each, but can be less if you wait for a sale.) These towels are beyond fluffy and thick and hold up to weekly washes in the machine.
The towel you bought may not be the towel you brought home. Unfortunately, brand-new towels have a coating on their fibers placed on during manufacturing. The coating that produces the extra-silky feeling fades after a few washes…so don’t get mad at your laundry detergent or you machine…it just isn’t the same towel. – don’t blame your washing machine or detergent.
Get fluffy towels away from steam. A bathroom gets steamy. Towels kept there have a tough time staying completely dry, which can give them a musty odor, so it is best to store them somewhere else. If you can’t do that, then at least don’t store clean towels in the bathroom.
Fluff your towels up with vinegar. If your towels feel scratchy, put half a cup of white vinegar in your washer’s fabric softener dispenser. It will remove any extra detergent that latched onto the towel and open up the fibers making them feel softer. You can also mix the vinegar with a few drops of colorless essential oil to make the towels smell nice.
Fluffy Towels thin with age. Towels lose cotton with every wash. (Just check out the amount of lint you clear from the dryer.) After two or three years, your towels will lose their plush feel, so it may be time to replace them.
Don’t use fabric softener to get fluffy towels. Using fabric softener or dryer sheets with towels is like putting too much conditioner on your hair. The extra coating keeps the towels from absorbing water, so it takes you longer to dry off. Stick to detergent only. Or use Dryer Balls instead.
Watch where you wipe your toothpaste. Whitening toothpaste, facial cleansers, and other beauty products can contain ingredients that may discolor your towels, just like bleach. Rinse your face before reaching for a towel.
Life is too short to not get fluffy towels. Using these few steps will help you keep your towels fluffy longer and your spa experience going for years to come.
What other tips do you have for buying and keeping towels fluffy?
I’ve also found that adding 1/4 cup of baking soda to my wash not only freshens the smell, but also fluffs up a bit more than just vinegar! I LOVE fluffy towels, too!
His,
Mrs. U
Great tip! Love natural ways to keep our clothes clean and fresh!
Is it sad that I have towels that I use on a daily basis that are about 15 years old? Sad, but true. I can’t bring myself to spend over $5 on a towel. So I steal them from my parents house 🙂
I will say every time I’m in a fancy hotel room (which is never), I’m in heaven after taking a shower because of the fluffiness of their towels.
P.S. So great meeting you at Go Blog Social. What I loved about you was that you were REAL. Love it Kelly!!
Stay fab,
Seng
http://www.sengerson.com
It was good to meet you too, Seng! Can’t wait to see where your blog takes you in the next 12 months.
I’m the same way as you, but I do replace our towels every 5 years or so… Or local department store had a 50% off Sale in their high quality Egyptian Cotton towels this week. Coupled with their $10/25 coupon, I was able to do 7 transactions and buy over $350 worth of bath towels, bath sheets, washcloths, and hand towels for $120! Still a big chunk of change, but for 20 high quality pieces, it’s worth it!
WOW…that is a great deal!!
I am a HUGE fan of Vera Wang towels at Kohls. They are extraordinarily fluffy (and STAY that way). Since learning about NOT using fabric softener (after a lifetime of watching commercials telling me to DO so) I have found baking soda and vinegar are great (don’t mix them – you’ll create a foaming reaction) put the vinegar in the fab softener and the baking soda in the detergent section. Buy the towels on sale and you will pay half price – use coupons and it’s an even better deal. They keep their color, and you’ll be impressed by the quality – no shrinking of the band either, or frayed bindings. (you may want to trade them out after 5 years, but mine still look and feel good – we are probably moderate users – 1x a week wash)