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There’s few better feelings than stepping out of the shower or bath and wrapping yourself in a soft towel. As one of the most used items in your home, towels work hard – so how can you get longevity out of your favourites? In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about washing, drying, storing and maintaining your towels so they stay soft and absorbent for longer.
Why Proper Towel Care Matters
- Keeps towels soft, fluffy and absorbent
- Prevents build-up of detergent, oils or coatings that can affect performance
- Helps avoid fading, fraying or damage to fibres
- Extends the lifespan of your towels, bringing you comfort for longer
Choosing Towels: Features That Affect Care
To care properly for your towels, it helps to know what they’re made of and how that impacts their performance and care needs.
- Fabric: Different fabrics require different care. Some weaves can be quicker drying than others, so this can affect how you care for them.
- GSM: A lower GSM towel is lighter and dries quickly, while a higher GSM means a thicker, heavier towel that may take longer to dry but feels more luxurious.
- Construction: The yarn type, ply, and twist all affect absorbency, durability, and drying time.
Want to learn more before choosing? Explore our full Towel Buying Guide.
How to Wash Your Towels: Top Tips & Tricks
While we always recommend checking the care instructions of your home linens, we have compiled our top tips and tricks for washing your towels so they stay in good shape:
Wash before first use
Always wash your new bath towels and bath mats before their first use. This improves their absorbency, so you get the best performance from day one.
Use the right amount of detergent
Using too much detergent can leave a residue, weakening the fibres of towels and leaving them feeling stiff. Using only the recommended amount helps maintain softness and absorbency.
Avoid or minimise the use of fabric softeners
Fabric softeners, especially silicone-based ones, tend to coat the fibres of your towels. This coating reduces absorbency – we suggest skipping the softener or using sparingly!
Check your wash settings
Using the right temperature water, as per your towels’ care instructions, is an important factor in keeping your towels feeling lovely for longer. Using the wrong temperature can damage fibres or cause shrinkage
Drying your towels
Overdrying your towels, whether by leaving them in the tumble dryer too long or out on the line for too long, can leave your towels feeling stiff and rough. Additionally, tumble drying of rubber-backed non-slip bathmats isn’t recommended.
Be careful with skin products or hair dyes
Some facial cleansers, other facial products and hair dyes that contain Benzoyl Peroxide can strip the colour or change the colour of your bath towel/bathmat. Therefore, it is important to rinse your skin thoroughly before using your bath towel/bathmat.
Between Uses
Hang towels in between uses so that they can fully dry. A damp towel that isn’t allowed to dry between uses will harbor moisture, risking mould or mildew.
Storing & Organising Towels
Caring for your towels is more than just washing and drying them – how you store them matters as well.
- When not in use, store in a cool, dry place. You can fold or roll your towels; if you want a spa-like feel, organise them in baskets.
- When in use (e.g. hanging in your bathroom), ensure there’s good airflow so the towel dries fully
- It’s typically best to have at least to sets of towels per person in the household to make washing and drying your towels less stressful
- Storing your towels as a set is a great way to keep them organised and makes it easy to grab all the pieces you need at once when changing over your towels.
Folding & Rolling Your Towels
Good folding or rolling can help your towels stay neat and organised, making storage a little easier.
To fold your towel or bath sheet:
- Lay the bath sheet flat on a surface
- Fold in half lengthways
- Fold in thirds along the width, ensuring any embellishments are facing outwards and any hanging loops are tucked in
To fold your hand towel or face washer:
- Lay the hand towel flat on a surface
- Fold in half lengthways
- Fold in half width ways, ensuring any embellishments are facing outwards and any hanging loops are tucked in
Folding your towels is idea for storing them as a stack, keeping them ready to go and easy to grab.
To roll your bath towel or bath sheet:
- Lay the towel flat on a surface
- Fold the bottom left corner of the towel to the centre of the towel lengthwise, creating a triangle shape
- Repeat with the bottom right corner and smooth the towel out
- Flip the towel over with the pointed edge on the right
- Tightly roll the towel from the left-hand side
- Once finished rolling, tuck the flap in to help the towel hold its’ rolled position
Rolling your towels is ideal for a spa-like feel or storing them in baskets.
Final Thoughts on Caring for Your Towels
By combining the right towel at the start (good fabric, the right GSM, nice fibre type) with smart care, washing, drying and storage habits, your towels will stay soft, absorbent, and long-lasting. It’s worth the effort — a little maintenance goes a long way toward keeping that cosy, fresh towel feeling every time you step out of the shower.
Rachel is a Product Specialist at Pillow Talk Australia with over six years’ experience. From fibres and fills to finishes, she demystifies the details and shares easy styling, care and cleaning tips so your home looks great and functional.
