Do you wash towels separately in their own load?

[JacknDiane]

I've always bunged them in with the rest of the washing, am I doing it wrong?

Sorry I missed the edit window 😂😂😂 I wash at 40 with bio powder

I put them in with dish towels and t shirts at 90, all white.

Mine make up a full load with cleaning cloths, so I do that load on its own. Plus it’s washed at 60C instead of the 30 or 40 on which I wash my clothes loads, and has laundry sanitiser instead of fabric conditioner in it.

Separate wash as I don't use fabric conditioner on them. They get washed with bathmats, tea towels, facecloths and occasionally period pants.

I do, but just because they’re a full load by themselves.

Yes, separately with bath mats.

Both, it depends how many towels need washing and how much other stuff needs washing.

Recently I've been washing them all together at 60 with Dettol because they have started to smell even when freshly washed and dried in the dryer.

It's mainly the ones that are over 10 years old though..do towels have a lifespan?!

I separate by weight of fabric. So towels go in with jeans and joggers.

I wash towels and microfiber cloths separately and on 60 or hygiene steam but I know im a bit pernickity about these things

This plus flannels and bath mats

They are a full load by themselves but I would still do them separately to clothes. Towels and bedding are 60C, clothes are 30C.

Washed at 90°c with no fabric conditioner, but a little bit of clear vinegar. Always the first wash of the day, do that they have plenty of time to dry on the line.

Yes as they make up a full load and we don’t use conditioner on them.

I was reading that there is no cleanliness difference between a 30 and 40 wash (40 just costs you more in energy). I’ve never washed towels on 60 (apart from some old ones that were used to clear up a leak) ours are only ever used for clean bodies so they never get dirty, can just smell a bit stale.

Just out of interest why do people feel towels need a hotter wash ? They’ve just been used to dry clean bodies. I just wash mine with anything else that needs doing on my normal 40 wash .

I wash separately because they unbalance the washing load otherwise, and smaller clothing items get caught in them and don't wash so well!

Out of interest, why do wash towels on a higher wash than clothes (especially socks and underwear)? I would have thought towels are likely to be the cleanest thing to wash as they’re used for drying off clean bodies. Whereas as underwear and socks are much more likely to harbour bacteria as they are next to your body all day.

As other pps I also wash mine separately. A few reasons tho: I wash at 60 or above because it just seems more hygienic; I use fabric conditioner in all other loads but not with towels, and I also have enough towels that they make up one coloured and one not so coloured/older faded towels. I wouldn’t, for instance, want to put underwear in the same, lower temperature load that I’d wash tea towels in. I wait until there is a full load of towels and do them all at once. I have enough spares that I can do this ‘tho.

Why do towels need a hot wash??
Youve only used them to dry a clean body

Because damp towels are a breeding ground for bacteria in a way clothing isn't. A 60 degree wash will also kill viruses so worth remembering if anyone has been ill.

Separate hotter wash. Rarely use fabric conditioner at all, never on towels. maybe on bedsheets at a push if I have some. Don’t like tumble drying towels either, I like them a bit stiff. Feel they dry much better like that.

My parents never separated washing at all. I had a lot of grey pants and fluff covered clothes as a child as a result.

Just what I was wondering. I usually wash on 30C 2hr cycle and if anything needs an extra cleaning boost it will be t shirts with sweat and deodorant, maybe the odd food stain on clothes, not towels that have only been used to dry my clean body after a shower!
I suppose damp towels hanging around can get a bit musty but we have a heated towel rail which seems to prevent that as they dry quicker.

I also remember Which? stating you should use less detergent, but a higher temperature when washing towels as detergent residue makes them hard and less absorbent.

They are get covered in skin cells and tiny hairs and are a magnet for dust mites. Also bacteria, fungi and mold can thrive on them because they get damp and warm. If someone is ill in particular it would be important.

60 kills all that. 40 won’t catch it all.

No, I usually chuck in with other things at 40 degrees. I don't think towels need a hotter wash, and I don't wash my towel for a shower very often.

Yes. They’re a big load of their own and they go on at 60 degrees, usually with ‘oxy’ powder added as they’re all white.