New towels

[turboace]

My husband and I got a whole bunch of new bath towels that we registered for as wedding gifts. I haven't started using them yet because I need to wash them first. I haven't washed them yet because I don't want to do them for the first time at home because of the crazy amount of lint they make. I'm planning to go to the laundry mat and wash and dry them. My question is, should I use a front load to a top loader? Which should take out more lint? Or is it all in the dryer? Let me know what y'all think I should do, please.

Andy

 

[supersuds]

Lol

You might want to review this thread.

http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?46487_59

 

[sudsmaster]

What kind of washer do you have at home?

I'd recommend just washing them at home and checking the dryer lint filter at the end. You might need to check the lint filter halfway through the drying cycle if you're that concerned about the mental health of the lint.

I'm thinking it would not be such a good idea to subject the towels to an overly harsh washing machine if that's not what you're going to be using at home going forward with them.

 

[washer111]

For Front Loaders

Depending on how much towels you bought and the washer you have, you may want to wash the items on a cycle with a higher level of water and around 40º-60ºC (around 104ºF - 140ºF), to "fluff" them up. Add a small amount of un-scented or hypo-allergenic fabric softener, especially in FL machines to ensure that aren't crunchy. 

Cycles with higher water levels will usually take a smaller load - so observe this and be VERY CAREFUL with detergent dosage. Preferably, use 1 tablespoon of detergent MAX for the main-wash period and use temperature to get the better chemical action, rather than extra detergent. Believe me, even a little bit more than 1 tablespoon with towels is a nightmare for machines trying to spin and pump water away...

 

Regardless of whether you are line drying or tumble drying, vigorously shake the towels (Hold ends, shake up/down with hands to "wave" the towel then side to side). This will loosen the fabric after the faster spin of the FL machine and fluff it up. Then line dry or tumble dry. I would say tumble dry to capture excess lint.

 

Following this, wash the towels regularly on either a regular or high water level cycle, with the same temperatures and actions as described above. This should yield very soft and good towels. Should the towels only recommend warm water as the hottest "possible" temperature, use a liquid sanitizer once you have started using the towels, to ensure that they are being sanitised. Towels do get quite icky with use. The ones I am referring to have a maximum wash temperature of "Warm" (around 40ºC/104ºF - 50ºC/122ºF). Hopefully you have sturdier ones that could be washed in hot. Unless they are synthetic or dark, I fail to see any problem with hot water. 

 

[frigilux]

New towels: First of all, congratulations to both of you!

The dryer will do the bulk of the lint removal work. I wash and dry new towels twice to remove the "new towel lint" using whatever cycle they'll be washed with when they're no longer new towels. All my bath linens are white, so I use hot water and a small amount of detergent. I generally wash them in my front-loader, simply because it spins them drier than my top-loader.

When they come out of the dryer, I put them right back in the washer and run them through the process one more time. That leaves them ready for use, minus the extra lint.

I wouldn't make a trip to the laundry for it. Use your washer and dryer in the comfort of your own home.