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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how old your bath towels are?

213 replies

nanbread · 31/12/2021 10:09

Ours are a bit flat, rough and slightly greying. I'm wondering if they're reached the end of their time, or if there's a way to revive them? They're about 12 years old.

OP posts:
mycatistrans · 31/12/2021 10:13

Ours are about the same age! Might replace them at some point.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 31/12/2021 10:13

I have a set of John Lewis ones that are 25 years old and are like new. Incredible quality. I have some ones from Aldi too which wash beautifully.

TheFlis12345 · 31/12/2021 10:14

We have John Lewis Egyptian Cotton. They are 5 years old but still like new.

WhiteCatmas · 31/12/2021 10:14

I own a bath towel older than me.
If the towel no longer dries then donate to a local animal shelter for bedding.

SimpsonsXmasBoogie · 31/12/2021 10:14

No advice I'm afraid but following your thread because I also have old, scratchy bath towels and am wondering if they need replacing.

Mine are about 4 years old. Should they still be good?

I never use fabric softener because I heard it wrecks the absorbancey, but it means the towels come out like dry toast. Do other people use fabric softener?

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 31/12/2021 10:16

17 years old! Bought in M&S and still perfect.

DilemmaDelilah · 31/12/2021 10:16

I have one which was a wedding present over 41 years ago. It is considerably less fluffy than it was then, but still a good towel.

Pegasussnail · 31/12/2021 10:16

Most were gifts so 10 years old
Have tonnes so they haven't worn

LifeInAHamsterWheel · 31/12/2021 10:18

I rarely use fabric softener, I tend to wash all towels together on a hot wash. I always put them in the dryer even if just to finish them off, and this fluffs them up (I have those spikey plastic balls that go in the drier too)

EatYourVegetables · 31/12/2021 10:18

About 10yo and still good. No fabric softener, but use the dryer.

Endofdaysarehere · 31/12/2021 10:19

My oldest is about 20yrs, was an expensive Asda buy as a student. Although it has a bit of a rip I still love it.
My 15yr old Wimbledon towel is still going strong.
The rest are about 10yrs old and beginning to be a bit tired looking.

Endofdaysarehere · 31/12/2021 10:20

Never use fabric conditioner but dry in the tumble drier even in summer. Or they exfoliate the children.

MovingSwiftlyOn · 31/12/2021 10:20

Some of mine are decades old. I bought them as seconds from the Lancashire mill they were made in, and they're still good now, so I'm hanging on to them. I so miss all the lovely cotton sheets my mum used to easily get hold of back in the day. The stuff available now just doesn't compare, no matter how much I pay for it.

Sundancerintherain · 31/12/2021 10:20

Id replace them . January sales is the perfect time to do so Smile

gogohm · 31/12/2021 10:20

I replace (or rather downgrade) every 5 years or so, they go from our towels to the kids to take to university to pets.

lljkk · 31/12/2021 10:21

20+ yrs. I find fluffy towels profligate & unnecessary.

ChristmasFluff · 31/12/2021 10:21

I have some bath sheets I took from my Mum's house when she died - and I know we were using them in the late 70s/early 80s when I lived at home. They are a bit scrappy on the edges, but so soft!

I also have a towelling 'tunnel' thing that we used to use for getting changed on the beach - it has elastic around the 'neck' and covers you to the floor so you can change under it - very useful thing. I took that too - and it's been used since about 1975. But only for a couple of weeks at a time!

FirewomanSam · 31/12/2021 10:22

I never use fabric softener because I heard it wrecks the absorbancey, but it means the towels come out like dry toast. Do other people use fabric softener?

No fabric softener, but you need to tumble dry them to make them fluffy! I’m very sparing with my tumble drier usage but I always use it for towels as it makes such a difference. You can hang them to dry for a bit and then just tumble away the last bit of dampness, they still come out nice and fluffy if you do that.

My nicest bath towels are only a year old because they were wedding presents (ginormous White Company bath sheets) but I have others that are about 7 years old and they’re still fine. And a tonne of much older towels that are mostly relegating to drying the dog or mopping up household spills now.

ChristmasFluff · 31/12/2021 10:23

Oh goodness, I've just realised most of the rest of my towels are wedding presents from 30 years ago! We didn't have a present list, so lots of people got us towels!

SimpsonsXmasBoogie · 31/12/2021 10:25

No fabric softener, but you need to tumble dry them to make them fluffy!

If only I had a tumble dryer Sad I guess I'm stuck with my dry toast towels!

Lucked · 31/12/2021 10:26

Between 10 and 15 years mostly still in good condition.

What I am looking for now are bath sheets which are thinner and still good quality. Now that I have a family it is a pain that my big bath sheets take up half the washing machine but I don’t like using smaller towels. The children got Cath kidson towels as babies and they were great as so light weight but good quality. I am not sure which other brands do this though.

ilovesooty · 31/12/2021 10:26

Their 10th birthday is on January 5th. I'm still waiting on the RSPV from their fellow bath towel mums for their party though.

DappledThings · 31/12/2021 10:27

Anywhere between 3 months and about 12 years. No discernable difference between them. But then I hate a soft towel, I like them crunchy. My favourite thing about Summer is getting towels line-dried and crunchy.

Also no issue with greying as I dislike white towels (and bedding, clothes, walls, crockery and anything else!)

GlassRaven · 31/12/2021 10:28

2-5 years old. No tumble drier. They're like the proverbial Weetabix.

Original poster
nanbread · 31/12/2021 10:29

Hmm, mine are John Lewis, I think Egyptian cotton, and they're just not soft any more.

Do you have to tumble when they're wet - will it work to tumble them when they're dry too? (Can you tell I just dried a load of towels)

OP posts: