New bath towels, and my love/hate relationship with them!

A

Aunt Marg

SF VIP
Once every 15 (or so) years I buy new bath towels and washcloths, however, the lead up to buying new bath towels and washcloths and actually enjoying using them is a whole other issue. Seems the amount of washes needed to rid new bath towels and washcloths of their sizing, along with getting them absorbent enough to dry oneself off after a bath/shower takes forever!

I've never added up the number of wash-cycles needed to get new bath towels and washcloths to a point where they're fully useable, but boy, does the cotton ever remain plasticy for a long time.

Anyone else love the luxurious feeling of fresh new bath towels, but loathes the length of time needed to get them to a point of absorbing adequately?

As an aside question, how often do you replace your old bath towels and washcloths with new?
 

It gets tricky these days
The towels in the stores only 'look' absorbent
Sittin' there all thick and fluffy

I've learned 100% cotton is a must
aaaand......it's gotta be a certain cotton and woven (weaved?) a certain way

I've found this out from many disappointing purchases and searches

But they're out there
and the good ones don't need much 'sizing'

Which cotton? Which weave?
For the life of me I can't remember
Those super absorbent ones last a long time...a very long time
......but not as long as those plastic cotton ones
 
RadishRose said:
I never use fabric softener or dryer sheets on towels...makes them less absorbent.

Thick, fluffy and nice-smelling does not equal thirsty. Rough and scratchy gets you dry and exfoliated.
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So true. .. thought that was only my thinking ..:ROFLMAO:
Even when I towel dry LilBear after his bath, I always use a towel that has been mostly air dried. .... rough and scratchy ... He loves it !!!
 
Gary O' said:
It gets tricky these days
The towels in the stores only 'look' absorbent
Sittin' there all thick and fluffy

I've learned 100% cotton is a must
aaaand......it's gotta be a certain cotton and woven (weaved?) a certain way

I've found this out from many disappointing purchases and searches

But they're out there
and the good ones don't need much 'sizing'

Which cotton? Which weave?
For the life of me I can't remember
Those super absorbent ones last a long time...a very long time
......but not as long as those plastic cotton ones
Click to expand...
MarciKS said:
i wouldn't know. mine are like a gazillion years old marg. i hang on to stuff till it's on it's last legs. i don't like cheapo towels and wash clothes cuz they fall apart in the wash.
Click to expand...
RadishRose said:
I never use fabric softener or dryer sheets on towels...makes them less absorbent.

Thick, fluffy and nice-smelling does not equal thirsty. Rough and scratchy gets you dry and exfoliated.
Click to expand...
Bonnie said:
So true. .. thought that was only my thinking ..:ROFLMAO:
Even when I towel dry LilBear after his bath, I always use a towel that has been mostly air dried. .... rough and scratchy ... He loves it !!!
Click to expand...
Thank you to all for dropping in to spiel with me about this!

100% cotton, absolutely, an absolute must, and I never use fabric softener ever, and as for using my well broken in old towels until the very last drop, that's me to a T... right down to towels that are literally falling apart towards the end. As for line-drying, I use my line from spring until fall, but even line-drying new towels seems to have no impact on their absorbency, and I've even tried adding vinegar to the wash to help break down the sizing agent in the fabric quicker.

At any rate, been adding my newly acquired towels to every wash cycle I can to help speed them along to better days, even on days when they haven't been used. 🧺
 
MarciKS said:
i try to look for ones that are on sale. i'd rather pay good money for decent ones.
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Me, too, and how right you are, spending a little more to get something better is the way to go!

I miss, Sears. Used to order my bath towels through Sears all the time and was never disappointed. I'd wait for their White Sale.
 
MarciKS said:
the quality of bed & bath stuff along with clothing has really gone downhill.
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Now that's a bummer, because I remember a number of years ago how nice all of their stuff was.

Mark's Work Wearhouse is another. They used to carry all 100% cotton clothing, now it's all poly-cotton blend. They can keep it. Dear husband refuses to shop their anymore because of it.
 
I'm in a minority because I don't like huge thick towels. I prefer smaller thin ones. They do a good job drying me, they take up less room in the linen closet and you can get more in the washer and they dry faster.

I got in that habit from my years of traveling in the RV where storage space was at a premium and laundry had to be done in expensive laundromats.

The problem is trying to find *good* thin towels. I have some hamam towels I bought in Turkey a few years ago that work well.
 
As someone who spent over 40 years in the apparel industry, I can tell you that one washing - two at most - will remove all "sizing" (AKA finishing chemicals) applied to cotton fabrics by the manufacturer.

Towels that aren't absorbent are either not 100% cotton (you can check under a black light - cotton gives off no reflection, synthetics do) OR they aren't looped pile, which absorbs better than other weave or knit configurations.

The more surface area, the more absorbent the fabric. Loops provide more surface area. That's why flat weave kitchen towels get drenched after drying two dishes, but looped terry towels of the same size can dry an entire meal's worth of dishes. It's also why those flat weave towels dry faster... they have less water in them.

It's a matter of physics.
 
jujube said:
I'm in a minority because I don't like huge thick towels. I prefer smaller thin ones. They do a good job drying me, they take up less room in the linen closet and you can get more in the washer and they dry faster.

I got in that habit from my years of traveling in the RV where storage space was at a premium and laundry had to be done in expensive laundromats.

The problem is trying to find *good* thin towels. I have some hamam towels I bought in Turkey a few years ago that work well.
Click to expand...
It was a good 25 (or so) years ago that I opted to try a thinner bath towel, and being lesser-than in quality and construction, the absorbency rate diminished quickly, leaving me with two dozen bath towels I used more as floor towels than actual body bath towels.

I do find thick bath towels to be overly cumbersome at the start, but find that after a year or two of use (washing, etc), they tend to compact down nicely to where they're not so bulky anymore.

I can only imagine the quality of the Turkish-made towels you have is superb. Seems everything made in the old countries is made to last and made to the highest level of quality.
 
StarSong said:
As someone who spent over 40 years in the apparel industry, I can tell you that one washing - two at most - will remove all "sizing" (AKA finishing chemicals) applied to cotton fabrics by the manufacturer.

Towels that aren't absorbent are either not 100% cotton (you can check under a black light - cotton gives off no reflection, synthetics do) OR they aren't looped pile, which absorbs better than other weave or knit configurations.

The more surface area, the more absorbent the fabric. Loops provide more surface area. That's why flat weave kitchen towels get drenched after drying two dishes, but looped terry towels of the same size can dry an entire meal's worth of dishes. It's also why those flat weave towels dry faster... they have less water in them.

It's a matter of physics.
Click to expand...
The old saying... "you learn something new everyday", is as true as it is old, and I just learned something about sizing, thanks to your post! :)

Sizing has a smell about it, too, doesn't it? At least I have always been under the belief that it does.

The new towels and cloths I have are 100% cotton and looped, though the loop pile is short. Just as a test the other night, I attempted to dry the tiled walls with one after my bath, and all it did was spread the water around... did nothing to dry them, and the same when drying off with them. Terrible absorbency right now, hence why I use towels to the point of them falling apart.

P.S. Just LOVE your new avatar!!! :love:
 
StarSong said:
As someone who spent over 40 years in the apparel industry, I can tell you that one washing - two at most - will remove all "sizing" (AKA finishing chemicals) applied to cotton fabrics by the manufacturer.

Towels that aren't absorbent are either not 100% cotton (you can check under a black light - cotton gives off no reflection, synthetics do) OR they aren't looped pile, which absorbs better than other weave or knit configurations.

The more surface area, the more absorbent the fabric. Loops provide more surface area. That's why flat weave kitchen towels get drenched after drying two dishes, but looped terry towels of the same size can dry an entire meal's worth of dishes. It's also why those flat weave towels dry faster... they have less water in them.

It's a matter of physics.
Click to expand...
The highlighted portion of your post reminded me of a stage I went through when I first got married. I amassed a heap of tea towels in no time at all... housewarming gifts, Christmas gifts, buying them on my own, etc, etc. Anyhow, I remember what a dedicated homemaker I was when it came to doing the supper dishes. I'd fish-out one or two linen towels to dry stemware, then go back into my tea towel drawer and grab a waffle-knit tea or a terry to dry pots, pans, and my stoneware. I used three different weaves of teas every night. LOL!
 
StarSong said:
As someone who spent over 40 years in the apparel industry, I can tell you that one washing - two at most - will remove all "sizing" (AKA finishing chemicals) applied to cotton fabrics by the manufacturer.

Towels that aren't absorbent are either not 100% cotton (you can check under a black light - cotton gives off no reflection, synthetics do) OR they aren't looped pile, which absorbs better than other weave or knit configurations.

The more surface area, the more absorbent the fabric. Loops provide more surface area. That's why flat weave kitchen towels get drenched after drying two dishes, but looped terry towels of the same size can dry an entire meal's worth of dishes. It's also why those flat weave towels dry faster... they have less water in them.

It's a matter of physics.
Click to expand...
Thanks for this info, SS! 🌹
 
Aunt Marg said:
The highlighted portion of your post reminded me of a stage I went through when I first got married. I amassed a heap of tea towels in no time at all... housewarming gifts, Christmas gifts, buying them on my own, etc, etc. Anyhow, I remember what a dedicated homemaker I was when it came to doing the supper dishes. I'd fish-out one or two linen towels to dry stemware, then go back into my tea towel drawer and grab a waffle-knit tea or a terry to dry pots, pans, and my stoneware. I used three different weaves of teas every night. LOL!
Click to expand...
My favorite dish towel was the Air Towel! LOL
 
Ruthanne said:
I must have bought some good bath towels because I haven't had a problem with them. I have been using the Better Homes and Gardens and Bill Blass towels.
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Yes, Ruthanne, you MUST have bought good towels, because not once in all the years that I've been buying towels have I ever been able to use the towels straight away, with them being absorbent and all, and I remember the same when my mom bought new towels, terrible things they were until they were broken-in.
 
Aunt Marg said:
Once every 15 (or so) years I buy new bath towels and washcloths, however, the lead up to buying new bath towels and washcloths and actually enjoying using them is a whole other issue. Seems the amount of washes needed to rid new bath towels and washcloths of their sizing, along with getting them absorbent enough to dry oneself off after a bath/shower takes forever!

I've never added up the number of wash-cycles needed to get new bath towels and washcloths to a point where they're fully useable, but boy, does the cotton ever remain plasticy for a long time.

Anyone else love the luxurious feeling of fresh new bath towels, but loathes the length of time needed to get them to a point of absorbing adequately?

As an aside question, how often do you replace your old bath towels and washcloths with new?
Click to expand...
@Aunt Marg I don't replace, I'll just buy some if I like them. I don't usually buy towels that often. My husband loves the already absorbent ones and is quite picky. I found some at Ross that he just loves. He can wrap one around him a few times too. lol He is a thin guy.
 
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