Do you put towels in wash with bedding?

[channeltwo]

Bought new duvet covers and they're nice and crisp and lovely. Will putting them in wash along with towels mean they wear out quicker? Have large capacity machine which means I can put several sets of bedding in at once, along with towels. But will the weight of towels mean the bedding wears out quicker?

I wouldn’t have considered wearing them out a possibility to be honest! I wash towels and bedding together as they both get washed at 60 degrees. For me it’s more about the washing temperature.

I wash them separately as my washing machine is not big enough to accommodate both at the same time.

Yes I wash together.

Every day on here I found a new thing that it would never ever occur to me to think about

I don't have any washing rules other than the obvious and haven't ever noticed anything being worn out. I should say though that I don't have fancy bedding so maybe it is an issue if you do.

I put everything in the wash with everything . I only separate by colours/whites.

No, I only put towels in with towels.
Bedding in with bedding.

'Several sets of bedding & towels'. Unless they're beds for mice you're overloading your machine, there needs to be space for it to move about, not crammed in.

@lazylinguist

I put everything in the wash with everything . I only separate by colours/whites.

So do I. It all comes out clean in the end.

I have an 11kg machine so I can put tons of everything on and it still sloshes around with room to spare!

I have very fancy bedding that I bought over 20 years ago. It's still lovely despite me washing it with the odd pair of filthy jodhpurs and sports kit.

Fancy bedding shouldn't need any special treatment, if it's made well it will last.

I have an 11kg machine too. You can definitely fit some bedding and towels in with room to spare. I wash them together all the time, the only time I don’t is when something is new and the colour might run (after DH threw a navy towel in with light grey bedding and it ended up all streaky).

Wouldn’t bother me if they got mixed up.

It is supposed to be bad for them to be washed together ( wear on the fabric, spoiling the texture, etc.). If either the bedlinen or towels are white, I would definitely only wash with other whites and if towels are part of a set, I would only wash with towels of the same colour. If you intend to tumble dry them, I would definitely separate towels and bedding anyway because of the difference in weight.

Ps, another reason for me separating them is that I would wash towels with liquid but bedlinen with powder. Depends what colour your bedlinen is, though. Mine is white, so I like to wash it hotter than towels. Some towels shrink if you wash them too hot.

I always wash towels separately with flannels, tea towels and cleaning cloths - I don't put softener in with them, whereas I would with bed linen.

I put white vinegar and a couple of drops of lavender oil in with everything. It softens like fabric conditioner does, helps keep colours in coloured items and doesn't leave a coating on things, so it's fine with towels. I don't use hot washes, just bio washing powder to kill the bacteria.

I don't, but that's because I use fabric conditioner for bedding but not for towels.

Never because towels are washed without fabric conditioner and bedding is.
I wash both at 60C though.

@lazylinguist

I put white vinegar and a couple of drops of lavender oil in with everything. It softens like fabric conditioner does, helps keep colours in coloured items and doesn't leave a coating on things, so it's fine with towels. I don't use hot washes, just bio washing powder to kill the bacteria.

Does it? I might try that. How much vinegar per wash?

@Happyoldbat

It is supposed to be bad for them to be washed together ( wear on the fabric, spoiling the texture, etc.). If either the bedlinen or towels are white, I would definitely only wash with other whites and if towels are part of a set, I would only wash with towels of the same colour. If you intend to tumble dry them, I would definitely separate towels and bedding anyway because of the difference in weight.

Agreed re tumble drying. Also the load would need to be halved due to lower capacity of dryer compared to washing machine.

Does it? I might try that. How much vinegar per wash?

I put in about a fabric conditioner capful (I get my white vinegar from my local zero waste shop , so I use an old fabric conditioner bottle and get them to refill it). Cheaper, better for the environment and a lovely natural smell with a few drops of essential oil added!

I wash them separately as my washing machine is not big enough to accommodate both at the same time.

This, but I don't have any objection to them going in together other than overloading.

Yes, I do and it's fine! ( we are all still here to tell the tale ) I use a hot wash ( 60)

No, but only because the towels take up a full load (9kg) no other reason. They are all washed on 60 degrees.

Are we talking over ten years or something? I wash pillowcases with towels every week, other bedding just on a bedding load when I wash it because it fills the machine. I've had our bedding for four years and it's perfectly fine.

I have only just got over the put a dry towel in he tumble dryer thing to get things dry v quickly. and that works.

I would put towels in with pillow cases ( not duvet purely for space no other reason. ) Clearly I do not have fancy enough bed linen.