How to Wash Bamboo Towels
Short answer: Bamboo towels are washed at 40 degrees without fabric softener and with half the dose of detergent. Fabric softener is the one thing that ruins a towel, because it settles into the fibres and makes them less absorbent, which is exactly what you bought the towel for.
The temperature
40 degrees is enough for everyday. 60 degrees is only needed if there is illness in the house, or a smell that will not go away, and it wears the fibres noticeably if it becomes the routine rather than the exception.
Never fabric softener
Fabric softener lays a film around the fibres. It feels soft in the hand, but a towel with softener pushes the water around instead of absorbing it. After a few washes the difference is obvious when you dry off after a bath.
Half the dose
Detergent stays in the many loops of the terry if you use too much. That makes the towel stiff and greyish over time. Half the dose washes just as clean and leaves less in the fabric, and it is the cheapest improvement available.
Vinegar against stiffness
If the towels have already gone stiff, a wash with half a cup of clear vinegar in the softener drawer can lift residues of soap and softener. It need not be done every time, but once a quarter keeps them softer.
Fill the machine halfway
Towels take up a lot of room once wet, and a full machine does not rinse the detergent out. Half full is the rule, and it is the same reason towels in particular go stiff more often than the rest of the laundry.
Drying
Hang them to dry, or tumble them briefly on low heat. Brief tumbling makes the loops airy again, but high heat wears them over time. Hung up they go slightly stiffer, and that is where the vinegar comes in.
Wash new towels first
New towels absorb poorly the first few times, because there are production residues in the fibres. Wash them twice before using them, and do not judge them on the first dry after a bath.
Keep them separate
Wash towels on their own and not with clothes. Terry sheds lint that settles on everything else in the machine, and zips and hooks from clothing pull at the loops and drag them out of the fabric over time.
Change them more often
A towel should be changed after three or four uses, and more often in a small bathroom with no window. A damp towel hanging bunched up starts to smell within a day, and that smell does not come out in an ordinary wash.
See the range
Qualities and sizes sit under bamboo towels. If you have several towels in the same quality, they can be washed together in one half filled machine, which uses less water per towel across a year. See also washing and caring for bamboo clothing and bamboo towels and bedding.
Frequently asked questions
What temperature should bamboo towels be washed at?
40 degrees for everyday. 60 degrees only for illness or a smell that will not go, because it wears the fibres noticeably.
Can I use fabric softener?
No. It settles into the fibres and makes the towel less absorbent, which is exactly the opposite of what it should do.
Why do my new towels absorb poorly?
There are production residues in the fibres. Wash them twice before using them and they will absorb as they should.
