Towels can be washed with anything cotton — so t-shirts, socks, cotton or flannel PJs, sweats, sheets and so on are all fair game. Gym clothes — anything with lycra or spandex — hate towels and fleece, so don't mix those things if you can avoid it. Similarly, if you wash your hosiery (nylons, tights, leggings, etc.)
Can You Wash Towels with Clothes? Washing towels with clothes can transfer germs and bacteria between items in the wash. For sanitary reasons, you should always wash bath towels separately from clothing items. Putting towels in their own load also makes it easier to adjust the setting based on color.
Most detergents are fine for washing towels, so your favorite should work just fine. Add Bleach if Desired – If you have stains on your towels, bleach works well to get them clean. When washing white towels, you can use chlorine or non-chlorine (color-safe) bleach.
When washing sheets and towels together, it's important to remember that towels can cause damage to sheets due to their size and thickness. This is because thicker fabrics will cause friction between them during the wash cycle which can lead to pilling or tearing of the delicate fabric of your sheets over time.
Simply group the sheets and towels by like fabrics and colors, and you can wash both together. You'll have to separate your laundry correctly, but it is better to wash sheets and towels together than to never wash them separately at all.
Ideally, wash kitchen and bathroom towels separately — and never commingle cleaning rags with any other kind of laundry, to avoid contamination. If you do not use a fresh washcloth or bath towel every day, hang them to dry between uses to keep them from developing a musty, mildewy smell.
Should you wash bath towels with kitchen towels? You can wash bath and kitchen towels together, but you should wash them at a higher temperature (60 °C or above) in order to kill germs. It's also fine to separate your towel types and wash them as a different load to one another to be on the safe side.
Keeping towels clean
To start, don't share towels whenever possible. Those towels that are shared, such as hand towels, should be replaced with a clean towel daily. Wash your towels without any other items if possible – or at least not with high-risk items such as underwear.
There are a few good reasons not to wash your towels and sheets (two vastly different materials) together: It can cause lint to stick to your sheets. Washing sheets with towels can cause the color of light-colored sheets to fade or yellow more quickly.
Wash heavier items, like towels, seperately from lighter weight clothes to prevent abrasion and damage to finer fabrics. For the same reason, separate clothing with zippers and buttons from knits and lingerie. If an item sheds lint, wash it seperately from microfiber, corduroy or other fabrics that attract lint.
The simple answer is no, you should not wash your dirty sheets and towels together in the same load of laundry. Previously I wrote a post on whether you should wash your regular dirty clothes with your sheets & towels. Hint: Don't do that either.
How often should I wash my bath towels? Dead skin cells, bacteria, and even sweat can accumulate quickly on your towels, so using a fresh one about every three days is a simple rule of thumb—for all kinds of towels. You can of course change them more often.
A front-load washer can handle a 12-pound load on average, or about seven bath towels; a top-load washer can usually handle a 15- to 18-pound load, or nine to 11 bath towels.
Don't make this a habit, but if you don't have enough items to make up a full machine load of each type of fabric and you are in a hurry, you can wash all clothes of the same color together. 1 Just be sure to choose the correct washer cycle and use cold water to avoid damaging the most delicate garments in the load.
While you technically can wash your sheets with clothes and other garments, we recommend keeping them separate.
Wash bathroom rugs together or with a couple of towels to balance out the weight in the washer. Use regular laundry detergent and oxygenated bleach for tougher stains. Avoid vinegar and bleach because they can break down the rubber backing. Remove your bath rugs immediately after the washer stops.
Most fabrics can be washed at a warm temperature of 40° as this helps to remove dirt, natural body oils and takes care of germs. Silk bed sheets should be washed at a lower temperature of 30° with a mild, non-biological detergent, or a silk specialist washing detergent.
“For one, your other clothes and sheets will get lint and fibers on them from being washed with towels,” she explains. “Towels should be washed on a heavier cycle, without fabric softener, in hot water. Towels also take significantly longer to dry, which could cause clothing and other items to shrink.”
Suggested Inventory – How Many Towels Do I Need? Adults: Four bath and two hand towels per week, plus two washcloths per day. Kids: Four bath and four hand towels per week, plus two washcloths per day.
According to Better Homes and Gardens, as reported in the Daily Mail, putting household towels in the same wash as bathroom towels can transfer germs between the items. And, as tea towels are used in the kitchen and build-up a great deal of bacteria, mixing them with bathroom towels should be avoided.
Experts recommend washing or changing sheets once a week.
Most hotels use peroxide-based laundry detergents to keep their sheets and towels bright. While these compounds are extremely successful at preventing white linens from greying or yellowing, they do necessitate some amount of knowledge. When used incorrectly, they might cause damage to your linens.
Do hang up your towels after each use to help them dry properly and prevent odor. After your shower or bath, hang your towel across a bar or shower rod so it can dry fully. This will help prevent bacterial growth and extend the time between washes.