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.

11 years old, hotel collection from Dunelm. Still as good as new, thick and fluffy.

20 years old. I dont like fluffy towels, they don’t dry the body as well.

My favourites are almost 10yo, a bit thin and just fraying, I think it might be time for them to go... they're White company and have been used continuously, so as my mother would say 'they don't owe my anything'.

[quote OwlSoup]@DappledThings why is it crazy to not want to be rubbing a 20 year old threadbare cloth over your body? You do you of course but I prefer my towels a little newer and no randomer on MN would convince me otherwise

[/quote]
Well threadbare wouldn't be ideal but there's no way a towel is threadbare in 2 years. That's ludicrous.

I like a thin scratchy towel., Gves a better rub than the overly fluffy ones that hardly absorb.
Give me an old scratchy towel any day.

@RosesAndHellebores

Do other people's towels not start to fray at the edges after 10/15 years?

Except for that, I have absolutely no idea how old our towels are.

Some of mine have but I bought cotton bias binding and renewed all the edges on them.

I repair stuff as and when it needs it so it extends the life of things massively.

Some of mine still have my school name tag sewn on them and I’m in my 40s. They’re a bit crusty but I quite like dual action exfoliation / drying 🤣

I have a towel system.

New towels are guest towels

When the guest towels are past their best they drop down a grade to family towels.

When they aren't really fit to be bath towels any more they become hair dying towels, put on the floor when you're defrosting the freezer towels, mop up a spill towels, line the cat cage to take the cat to the vet towels etc

When they start to get raggy and have holes I tear them into strips and they become cleaning rags.

Some rags are from towels we had when we were first married 23 years ago.

I think the oldest in use as towels towels are probably about 5 or 6 years old.

Are there any towels that stay soft without fabric conditioner? (I’m allergic)

Have tried John Lewis, Egyptian cotton, 800 GGM towels but all end up scratchy.

I only ever get white towels and wash them on their own so they’re still very white, but they’re just not soft.

@errnerrcallnernnernnern

Are there any towels that stay soft without fabric conditioner? (I’m allergic)

Have tried John Lewis, Egyptian cotton, 800 GGM towels but all end up scratchy.

I only ever get white towels and wash them on their own so they’re still very white, but they’re just not soft.

Do you line dry or dryer dry? Makes a difference.
Wait for a sale or line ends at king of cotton. Buy the highest thread count you can afford. I dont use softener but I have fluffy and soft.

Only ever line dry, we don’t have a dryer.

What thread count do you have, Terfy?

My favourite ones must be about that old too! But they are fine so I don’t feel I need to replace them and create unnecessary waste!. I do remember they were quite expensive though I splashed out at homsense 🤣 when I bought my first house x

Our 21 year old John Lewis towels (wedding gift) have been relegated over the years from best towels to beach / sunbathing in the garden towels to dog towel (one seems to have gone missing 🤷🏻‍♀️). The one we have left ripped in two the other day so one is for the dog and the other is a cleaning rag.

Our 13 year old Laura Ashley towels have holes and are now in the relegation zone.

I'd like to buy some new ones, but don't want to make a bad choice! Any suggestions?

@errnerrcallnernnernnern

Are there any towels that stay soft without fabric conditioner? (I’m allergic)

Have tried John Lewis, Egyptian cotton, 800 GGM towels but all end up scratchy.

I only ever get white towels and wash them on their own so they’re still very white, but they’re just not soft.

Try white vinegar instead of softener

Never scratchy if you use a tumble dryer.

@errnerrcallnernnernnern

Only ever line dry, we don’t have a dryer.

What thread count do you have, Terfy?

600 or 800 tc. I use the dryer all winter but line dry when its warm. If anyone wants to test my theory about spin speeds, the higher spin means less water in the material means quicker drying on the line, less time to get cardboardy?

@Lanique

Our 21 year old John Lewis towels (wedding gift) have been relegated over the years from best towels to beach / sunbathing in the garden towels to dog towel (one seems to have gone missing 🤷🏻‍♀️). The one we have left ripped in two the other day so one is for the dog and the other is a cleaning rag.

Our 13 year old Laura Ashley towels have holes and are now in the relegation zone.

I'd like to buy some new ones, but don't want to make a bad choice! Any suggestions?

King of cotton, next, Ralph Lauren or dusk.

Almost 20 years. My DH has had them for longer than he's known me. They're a little frayed in places, but they're huge and they still do everything a towel should do. I think DH would regard it as a personal rejection if I ever suggested replacing them because they were almost the only household item he brought when he moved in with me.

@TrickyD

I have two towels which I keep for my own use; they are thin and much darned but are big and dry me better than any of our new ones.

They still have the name tapes my mum sewed on when I went off to university aged 18. I am 77. They were by no means new then. She would have been pleased about the thrifty darning.

Do I win the MN aged towel prize?

I think there are some lovely towel stories here, we live on not just in memories but in towels it seems

Thanks @Terfydactyl (great name btw)

30+ old towels. Get yourself a good holiday instead

I don't know how old some are but they were made in England, we used to go up to the factory shop where they made towels for all sorts of places, so they must be about 15 years old at least but are still very fluffy. There's another one, a sort of heirloom that stays in the cupboard, that's from the 1930s, so thin you can see through it!

King of cotton, next, Ralph Lauren or dusk.

We bought Ralph Lauren towels in the US many years ago, they look good but don't dry well, they slide over your skin.

Mine are fairly aged, I like the IKEA ones with the knobbly bits due extra exfoliating!

The ones I use most moved with me 23 years ago from my mum's house, and they're still great. Wash at 60, line dry when I can. Maybe they're better quality than what you can get now? But I hate fluffy towels that leave skeg on you anyway, ugh.