Questions about bath towels....

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revvinkevin

revvinkevin

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1. How do you keep them as soft and fluffy as when new?

2. Does using liquid fabric softener effect their ability to absorb water? (Many years ago I heard it did)

3. How many years do you use your towels before replacing them?

4. Wash in warm or always in hot, or HOT!...?

Thanks in advance!
Kevin
 
No fabric softner in towels. It clogs the pores of the towels.

Fluffy towels are one thing I've found you can only get with a dryer.

Follow instructions on care tag.

Clean, soft water is best.

Iron in your water will ruin them in no time.
 
A few people may know on how to keep towels like new but I do know is that fabric softener can somewhat effect towels to absorb water but that’s if you were to use a entire cup of fabric softener. Always use a small amount of fabric softener on towels every now and again to give them a fresh scent but since I’ve been using my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer with it’s UV/ozone light I haven’t been using fabric softener on towels for the past few months since towels have a unique fresh scent from the UV/ozone light in my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer.
 
Reply #3

Yes, and prevents covid-19 too. I’ve been using my 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer ever since I got it last July and the whole reason I’ve been using that dryer is my mother works at a Amazon warehouse and there have been a few positive covid-19 cases and there are still a few cases every now and again still and to prevent me or anyone from getting sick from covid-19 I’ll just use that dryer to be sure everything is all sanitized and freshened and it may be overkill but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
 
I only use Suavitel fabric softener on my towels because Downy, Gain, All, Snuggle all tend to make them too "soft" and just smear water around instead of absorbing it.  All my towels are white and they all get washed in hot water and Clorox. 

 

I work in ICU in the largest hospital in Middle Tennessee where the sickest of the sick are sent and we've never gotten sick from my uniforms that get washed in hot water also.  If I've had a really buggy patient, I'll add a little fresh scent  or lavender Lysol to the wash water.  My gas dryer gets hot enough to kill anything else.
 
Small amount of fabric softener now and then on towels won't harm their absorbency. Routine use of the stuff, and or in large amounts is another matter.

Keep in mind of one uses soaps for bathing there is going to be that residue in wash cloths and maybe a bit on towels anyway. Then there is any residue from detergents (especially liquids which are high in surfactants nowadays), which will build up in toweling over time.

Now and then it might be a good idea to "strip" toweling as described here: https://www.towelsupercenter.com/Blog/make-towels-absorbent.html

Or maybe follow this advice: https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...86563a-4a59-11e9-b79a-961983b7e0cd_story.html

https://turkishtowelcompany.com/how-do-i-keep-towels-soft/
 
In modern dryers, the airflow is so high as to dilute and blow away any ozone one of these bulbs might generate. The older dryers that used them were low air flow design machines where the the ultra violet light worked with the high moisture environment to break down the occasional water molecule to liberate oxygen which served as a mild bleach and disinfectant, much as sunlight does when damp fabrics are hung out to dry.

 

The UV bulb has to have a 40 watt incandescent bulb to serve as a ballast so you have to have a tub light operating to have a germicidal bulb.

 

You cannot count on a UV bulb to protect you from the COVID Virus. The virus is long dead by the time it gets to the dryer and if it were still alive by the time the clothing were brought into the house, it would have a chance to infect people before it got to the dryer.
 
Confused over Fabric Softener...

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I've read over the years not to use FS on towels because it reduces their absorbency.  Yet, the FS I use shows pictures of towels on the front and on their website it says "<span style="font-weight: normal; caret-color: #1f1f1f; color: #1f1f1f;">especially well-suited for all textiles made of terry cloth.</span>"  So I'm not sure if they are saying we should use their product on towels because aren't they Terry Cloth?  I use very little FS in the rinse and only occasionally.  They are soft, have a nice scent and seem to be as absorbent as they should be.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">I tried the laundry stripping process on towels a couple of months back and it did make a difference.  The water wasn't as murky as I've seen in some you tube videos, but you could tell it removed something.  </span>

chachp-2021031706572707711_1.jpg
 
First of all it makes a huge difference what quality the towels are.
Just like any other cotton fabric it can be made from expensive long fibers or from cheap short fibers which will tangle and pill in the washing process.
You don`t see pilling of terry cotton as clearly as let`s say on a Jersey material like sweatshirts are made from, but you will notice the rough feel of on your skin.

Then there can be incrustration from hard water minerals if the water is hard and detergent has repeatedly not been dosed accordingly high. The damage is usually irreversible, because strong enough acids to dissolve the limescale would also damage the fibers and stripping with phosphates would only work if those minerals have never exceeded 60 °C in the washer or dryer. Thats because limescale precipitates at this temperature.

Like others I don`t see a problem using FS as long as the dose is kept at a minimum.
I use less than a quarter of the recommended dose.
 
Many Americans report that Miele fabric softener doesn't make things slick soft like Donwy or other USA similar products. This product is about one-third cationic surfactants which may have something to do with things.

Commercial and industrial laundries long have had access to a better quality of fabric softeners or conditioners. Things that aren't necessarily the gloppy fat or oil laden stuff you often find in supermarkets. Miele Care collection products seem to come from private label vendors that produce industrial laundry products. Their Ultra White detergent is quite good IMHO.

Commercial laundries that to toweling, bedding and other things that are expected to be "soft" use something in final rinse in aid of that.
 
I use a bit of fabric softener on towels but only every other time or so to prevent build up. Don't feel it hurts absorbency at all but it does seem to help the loft. Powdered Tide sometimes with oxy bleach always in hot water. Tumble drying in a dryer without the blue light marketing gimmick...
 
When I had my Maximas I washed my towels on sanitize, with just a small touch of fabric softener. The steam sequence in the dryer made for quite lovely towels as well. Since I’ve had to start using the laundromat I’ve noticed a decrease in the quality and cleanliness of my towels.

At the hotel, towels are washed in hot water (140 incoming temp) and have softener added to the final rinse as well. We use Ecolab products, the softener is actually great I wish I could get it for home use. It does a good job without being too much in either scent or affecting the absorption of the towels.

cam2s-2021031709124103132_1.jpg
 
I have some towels that are over 20 years old.  I always wash them in hot water using the longest cycle time.  For white towels I add some LCB.  I stopped using LFS about 3 years ago, I don’t like the way it can leave a residue in the machine and I think the towels lose some absorbency.  I do use Dryer Fabric Softener Sheets though.  They keep the towels fluffy but don’t seem to leave a film on the fabric.  

 

We have 10 sets of bath towels and I rotate them so they get equal wear.  I think this can contribute to the towels lasting longer.

 

Eddie
 
UV Lights in Dryers

#6 & 8

I'm trying to visualize this as well. I've looked on YouTube and it appears UV light dryers are all the rage, not that most of it makes much sense, lol.

So rather than pepper everyone with questions, is there a vid somewhere that shows how UV lights theoretically worked in dryers such as in the aforementioned 1963 Whirlpool Imperial dryer?

Thanks!
 
I have 11sets of towels I use during fall & winter and another set of 10 or 11 I use during spring and summer. Hot water and some softener. the towels range in age from 45 years to 10 to 15 years old. So they all get fairly evenly rotated. Part of why they've lasted so long, pointedly getting rid of agitator washer & going front loader!!
 
All my bath linens are white. I have two sets; one for summer and one for winter. The winter towels are bath sheets; the summer, standard large towels. All of it came from Sam's Club.

Hot (close to 150 degrees) water washes in Tide or Persil; a dose of Clorox every now and then. Have never used fabric softener on towels.

I absolutely agree with Bob: My towels have aged a little faster since switching to a Speed Queen top-loader in 2017. I've finally taken John L's advice and shortened the wash time to 6-8 minutes, which reduces wear-and-tear on them.

I was so used to long wash tumbles in the front-loaders that I tended to wash everything on the Max soil level (14-16 minutes on Heavy Duty and Whites cycles), which was overkill with the SQ's aggressive agitation. I've also learned to use the Bulky cycle (slow agitation; fast spin) on small to medium-sized loads.
 
I have towels that my mother bought in 1980

They have literally been washed thousands of times. First in a GE filter-flo, then a Maytag Dependable Care, and finally a Maytag FL (Duet clone).

I also have some towels that were bought at Wally-world $3.99 each, that are rags in less than five years.

Mom's vintage live forevers are made by Cannon. The almost dog bed ones are "whatevers" In the end, first quality may be a determining factor.
 
@ appnut...

Whatever length of time your washer has for final rinse, and main "normal" wash cycle is fine. If have to choose "short" or "long" go with former. If can do wash by time eight to ten minutes should be fine. Especially with a top loader as you don't want to bat things about for too long.

Wash time with top loading washer with central beaters.

Maytag long advised short wash times of 3-5 minutes for their wringer washers. Things varied by certain conditions but long wash times were frowned upon because of soil depositing back on laundry, and or increase potential for wear on textiles.

https://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?42846

Mechanical action of top loading washers is generally more aggressive than H-axis hence former can get away with shorter wash times.
 
You don't want it to go on for too long. Otherwise whatever is removed from items will start redepositing back onto fabric.

If towels are already clean before beginning this process there's no worries about using hot water from start. Unlike dirty laundry which would be soiled with albuminous substances likely to coagulate in presence of heat, clean items should be free of such substances.
 
Cycle times

 

<span style="font-family: helvetica;">So.........all this talk about how long to agitate or tumble your clothes has me wondering.  My washer has a ton of different wash cycles for different types of clothes and fabrics.  The book lists each cycle and the different temps you can select in each cycle but it doesn't list the times for each sequence in the cycle.  And for each I can set the soil level and I suspect that affects the timing for each sequence.  I have a Miele washer and I can't find this on their website.  Does anyone know where I can find this information?  I'd like to know how the cycles break down to wash, rinse and spin and how long for each.</span>
 
<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">Frankly, I was waiting for someone to say they did separate loads for bath towels, separate loads for hand towels and still another for wash cloths (affectionately called wash rags during my aristocratic upbringing). Unless you're going to be wearing the towel, I don't understand different sets for different seasons, but then I've never lived where it gets really cold. I use fabric softener on just about everything and have no problem with towels. Years ago I bought a set at soon-to-be-gone Kohl's called "quick dry" towels. I thought this meant they dried quickly in the dryer but no, it meant they dried you quickly. I have newer towels, some much thicker and fluffier than these, but even washed without softener, I keep going back to the QD old ones. I probably couldn't find them again. Back before Covid when I did a lot of "over-night" entertaining, I always put the new towels out as a courtesy. Just call me Mr. Thoughtful.</span>
 
lol

Routine ""over-night" entertaining" suggests a need for something heavy duty, durable, resists stains, and is perhaps puncture resistant. Maybe a commercial grade hotel sheet with sewn in pockets to hold water bottles, condoms, hand-cuffs, and other sundry items.
 
towels

I always wash our towels in hot. For a while I was using the Whitest Whites cycle on Sanitize temp in the Duet. In the Kenmore, I have been using the Sanitize cycle (heats to 65ºC). I use 2 Tbsp STPP, Tide Powder, 1 cup ammonia, and a little Downy. I agree that drying certainly makes the towels softer and fluffier. However, one thing I am shocked that has not been mentioned is rinsing! I always add an extra rinse as well (Kenmore does 3 rinses anyways on Sanitize). I find it helps quite a bit!

Speaking of medical providers, I am one. I am disgusted by the number of advanced practitioners that wash their scrubs and white coats in COLD! Absolutely unacceptable considering we are in a pandemic. You should see their faces when I tell them I only wash mine using the Sanitize cycle.
 
 

 

My favorite towel washer, ever.   I've been using a commercial detergent (w/phosphates) on my towels (all white) and it needs a bit of softener in the rinse or they dry rather harsh.   I use a commercial softener as well, very thin consistency and very light scent.  Just a couple of tablespoons is all it takes.  

 

I have a dozen or so bath towels, 6 from Frontgate that have been some of my all-time favorites.  Others are from Costco, have always been pleased with them in the past.  I replaced four or so every year to eighteen months when they went on sale, but the latest batch I bought have been a let-down.  Same brand but quality has declined.  

gansky1-2021031821404604830_1.jpg
 

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