Throwing towels in with your regular laundry might seem like a smart way to save time and effort, but it can actually cause problems for both your clothes and your towels in the long run. Combining them into one wash load often leads to hygiene concerns, fabric damage, and less-than-ideal cleaning results. What feels like a shortcut can end up costing you more time and money.
Towels are made from much thicker, more absorbent materials than most everyday clothing. Because of this, they require a hotter wash cycle and longer washing time to properly remove bacteria, dirt, and dead skin cells. Clothes, especially delicate fabrics or synthetics, generally need cooler water and gentler cycles to avoid shrinking, stretching, or wearing out. When you toss towels and clothes together, you’re forced to choose between under-washing your towels — leaving them less clean and smelly — or risking damage to your clothes by subjecting them to harsher treatment.
Lint is another issue that comes up when you mix towels with clothes. Towels, especially newer ones, tend to shed large amounts of lint during the wash. This lint sticks to darker or synthetic fabrics, leaving behind a fuzzy, unpleasant coating. As a result, you might find yourself rewashing your clothes to get rid of the lint — wasting time, water, and energy. On the flip side, the rough texture of towels can cause pilling, stretching, or snags on more delicate clothing. At the same time, zippers, buttons, or other hardware on clothes can snag and wear down towel fibers, shortening their lifespan.
Hygiene-wise, towels generally harbor more bacteria, sweat, and dead skin cells than regular clothes, which can transfer onto your garments during a shared wash cycle. Towels also take longer to dry than most clothes, so if you dry them together, the towels might still be damp while the clothes become overdried, leading to shrinkage and fabric damage. For the cleanest and longest-lasting laundry results, it’s best to wash towels separately, using hot water, a strong detergent, and a full rinse cycle.
By keeping towels apart from your everyday clothes, you ensure that both get the proper care they need. Your towels stay fresh and absorbent, and your clothes last longer looking their best — making your laundry
