If you wash towels regularly and wash them correctly, they can last for years. This is especially important if you are washing expensive towels, like spa towels or the trendy Turkish bath towels. If you don’t know how to wash towels correctly, you can end up ruining your towels. And if you have invested in expensive and high quality towels, the last thing you want to do is shorten their life span by washing them incorrectly. Towels should be washed approximately once a week if they are in heavy use. Kitchen towels should be washed at least once a week if not more often. Here are some helpful hints to keep in mind to help you learn how to wash towels:

Don’t use too much detergent: If you use too much detergent when you are washing towels, you can damage the towels. The soap can break down the fibers. It also can leave a residue that is unpleasant and may cause skin irritations. You should also use a natural detergent without dyes or fragrance when you wash towels. Because towels are going to be in direct contact with your skin, using a gentle natural detergent is best way to make sure your towels are clean and won’t irritate your skin.

Use vinegar to get fresh smelling towels: If you want your towels to smell fresh for weeks, skip the chemical fragrances in fabric softener and perfumed detergents. Use a simple natural detergent and add a cup of white vinegar to the wash. The vinegar will get rid of any odors on the towels and leave them smelling fresh for a long time. If you really want to scent your towels, use a natural wool dryer ball when you dry your towels. Add a few drops of a pure essential oil, like Lavender essential oil, to the dryer ball and throw it in the dryer with your towels. They will come out static free and smelling great.

Use hot water: The hot cycle is too harsh for many fabrics, but you should wash towels and bedding in hot water to kill any germs or bacteria. Use the delicate wash cycle with hot water to get clean, soft, sanitized towels that will stay fresh for weeks. If you are washing delicate towels like Turkish towels or spa towels, use a mesh lingerie bag to wash the towels to make sure that they are not torn or ripped during the wash cycle.