Why new towels absorb poorly
Short answer: New towels carry a finishing coating from manufacturing that makes them look fuller in the shop. It is water repellent and has to be washed out before the towel absorbs properly.
What the coating does
The factory treatment makes the fabric look and feel fuller already in the shop, and it is part of the sales trick. It sits as a thin film on the fibres and stops water from soaking into the thread itself. That is why a brand new towel performs surprisingly poorly the first few times, regardless of quality. See bamboo towels.
Two washes without softener
Wash new towels twice without detergent or with a very small amount, before they are used for the first time. Then the coating is out, and the fibres can finally do their job. One wash is rarely enough to remove the whole layer. Read more in washing and care.
Softener undoes the effect
Fabric softener leaves exactly the same kind of film back on the fibres that the coating did. That cancels out the wash you just spent time on, and the towel ends up right back where it started. Skip it entirely for the first ten washes, even if it smells nice.
Shedding in the first washes
New towels shed a lot of lint in the early washes, because loose fibres come free from the surface. Wash them on their own and not with dark clothes, or the lint ends up in the wrong place. It settles down on its own after a few times. See home and homewear in bamboo.
Absorbency rises gradually
Absorbency rises steadily over the first ten washes, as the fibres open up and the coating disappears completely. A towel that feels weak after one wash is not necessarily bad, it just is not ready yet. See bamboo bedding for the same principle in bedding.
Warm water speeds it up
A higher wash temperature loosens the coating faster than a cold wash, so follow the label and use the upper limit if the fabric can take it. Combine it with an extra rinse cycle, so the dissolved residue does not settle back onto the fibres.
Dry them fully
A towel put away damp develops odour and loses some of the effect of the wash. Let it dry fully through, ideally outdoors or on low heat, before it is used or folded into the cupboard.
Colour may fade slightly
The first washes can carry off a little of the strongest colour, because excess dye leaves along with the coating. That is normal and stops after a few times, and the result is a towel that both looks and feels better.
A habit worth keeping
The routine of two washes without softener only takes a little extra time, but it decides how the towel performs for years. Skip it, and you live with a weaker towel much longer than necessary.
Frequently asked questions
Why do new towels absorb poorly?
Because of a finishing coating from manufacturing. It is water repellent and sits on the fibres until washed out completely.
What can I do about it?
Wash them twice without detergent, or with very little, before the towel is used for the first time.
Do they get better over time?
Yes. Absorbency rises steadily over the first ten washes, as the fibres open up fully.
See our range of bamboo towels.
