Caring for Cotton Towels – extend the life of your new Cotton Towels
Written by Susan Kelley, Owner of Kellsson Home Linens
We have all been there. We purchased an item that was just perfect, and after one laundering was no longer perfect. Laundering Cotton Towels are no exception. Doesn’t matter if you purchased Supima Cotton Towels, Egyptian cotton towels, or any other Cotton towels, it happens. First laundering of your brand new Cotton Towels and they come out of the dryer looking a different color. Why is that?
Manufacturers, tend to use less expensive dyes for Cotton Towels, to keep costs down. However, these dyes tend to wash out when laundering. What they don’t tell you on the laundering labels of the towels, again doesn’t matter the type of Cotton towels, is that if you fill your washing machine with cold water and either a cup of salt or white vinegar, NO DETEREGENTS or CLEANING AGENTS of any kind, and run it through a normal cycle, it will help to set the dyes in your new Cotton Towels.
This pre laundering before use reduces the amount of dye loss. And it is especially true for dark, rich colors. They are more apt to fade during laundering, as these Cotton Towels are overdyed to create those deep, intense colors that we love.
Other laundering hints to extend the life of your new Cotton towels are DON’T OVERLOAD the washer (when edges, not hems start to fray, you’re overloading). When laundering use WARM WATER not hot, DRY ON PERMA PRESS SETTING not hot (don’t over dry). Cotton is a living organism and when we subject it to HOT water or a HOT dryer, it tends to bake the cotton and create brittle fibers that damage your towels.
NEVER EVER USE BLEACH or any products with bleach in them in your laundering process. This not only causes stains on your towels (lots of colors are affected), but it eats away at the cotton fibers, again causing damage to your towels. If you have white or lighter colored towels and you want them to be brighter, go with OXYCLEAN®, it won’t damage your towels
It is very simple, to get the most out of your new cotton towels, first, pre-launder them using salt or White Vinegar in the washer with cold water before putting them in use. When it is time for laundering; don’t overload, wash in Warm Water, Dry on Perma press setting, and never use bleach.