To ask how old your bath towels are?

[nanbread]

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.

I hate soft fluffy thick towels ! Love a roughish thinish absorbant towel.

I have a few over 30 years old, but most are in the region 2-8 years old.

We have an eclectic mix of towels.
Massive gross yellow and brown ones which we got from MIL about 8 years ago- but I have a feeling she got them as a wedding present in the 80s- very ugly but a good towel.
A big white towel which dd stole from my mums recently but I used as a child in the 90s- quite thin and scratchy good for drying.
A full set of grey M&S towels that I bought after I got married 5 years ago. Good but not very big (even the big ones)
A massive pink towel that the cat brought with him when he moved in so he would settle- looks quite old but a fabulous towel 😁

Just replaced all ours but they were all 20 to 30 years old

@SimpsonsXmasBoogie

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?

If you have a tumble drier, ten minutes in that (once dried) beats the stiffness out of them. We don’t use fabric softener.

I still have my childhood beach towel. Can’t bring myself to throw it away. Awful yellow grey and white stripes. Just sits in shelf somewhere. Marie Kondo would despair !

My oldest towel is a beach towel in the shape of an RBS £50 note that was a freebie with DHs student account in 1985. Its still good!

Ours are about 20 years old, apart from a couple given to us as gifts more recently - maybe 5 years.

The older ones are in better condition. We’re from John Lewis and mix of Egyptian cotton and standard cotton. Navy blue and bottle green colours.

They are still decent and. It too scratchy, but not like new. No plans to replace them.

Only thing we have had new is some micro fibre bath mats. The cotton ones were so so thick the washing machine really didn’t like them and they take forever to dry - no dryer here.

Absolutely don’t like to replace because fancy more fluffy versions….big waste and unnnecessry. In my mind, this kind of replacing is at the heart of much of the waste issues. When they do finally give up the ghost (same with sheets etc) they go down the food chain, to become items used for cleaning, the. Garden/shed use and finally DH seems to use them on his bike and they end up oily and horrible.

I’ve just replaced our 12 year old towels with primark ones, thick fluffy bath sheet for £11

Our oldest are about the same but you wouldn’t be able to tell they were any older than others which are just a couple of years old.

I have some that were XPILs from, I think, the 70s. I say this because they're a quite hideous brown/beige triangle pattern. But they're in v good nick and XH didn't want custody of them

There's also one very thin towel that I bought as a single mum (the first time around!) but it's still very absorbent.

The rest were wedding gifts, so around 16 years old.

I don't use conditioner, I do tumble dry in winter though. But I also love a scratchy towel, and summer line-dried scratchy towels are the best.

15 years. Still going strong. John Lewis ones. I use fabric softener with no problem.

Too old, after line drying them in the summer they feel like 60 grit sand piper.

MIL has towels even older.

Between 2-15 years old but I like a scratchy towel.
I buy new ones as the old ones wear out and get down graded to floor towels, rags then bin.

I can't believe how many of you use really ancient towels!! Mine are about 5 years old, and I can see myself replacing them in maybe 2 years?

Pickles89

I can't believe how many of you use really ancient towels!! Mine are about 5 years old, and I can see myself replacing them in maybe 2 years?“

Interested to know why (if they’re not getting thin and holey).

Towels don’t break down

One of mine has a name tag sewn in from it being my swimming towel at school so pretty old.

About 2 months. Had to replace our old ones which were 16 years old and frayed at the edges. Got some super thick Egyptian cotton ones, feel lovely but useless for actually drying yourself so ended up buying some thinner ones as well.

I have some that were my stepfathers mothers from her Glory box (she had everything monogrammed) so I think they are from about 1944.

The ones I used the most are 7 years old and from Next. They're still good. My older ones don't seem to revive, no.

If you're getting rid of old towels please don't bin them.

Pet rescue centres and cats homes will accept them very happily.

Think our oldest are about 14 years old. Agree with others in that I love a good scratchy towel rather than fluffy ones. We have white Christy fluffy bath towels out in the main bathroom but they never get used, unless we have guests 😂 I've instructed the family just to use the old ones.

I don't throw them away, they are then used for the dog or cut up to use as cleaning rags.

Between 10-16 yrs old. Got them at uni and then some after DC was born. The fluffy ones are still fluffy and the flat slightly bobbly ones are still as new, soft and in good condition.

Wash them at 30-40c in ecover and tumble dry in the winter. Doubt I’ll be buying any new towels any time soon tbf.

All 100% cotton.

@Pickles89

I can't believe how many of you use really ancient towels!! Mine are about 5 years old, and I can see myself replacing them in maybe 2 years?

As long as they still dry you off, no need to replace until they are actual rags imo!