It’s tempting to toss everything into the washing machine at once, but mixing towels with clothes can create more headaches than convenience. Here’s why keeping them separate is the smarter choice.
Towels are heavy-duty fabrics that need a robust wash—hot water, a longer cycle, and plenty of detergent to break down oils and bacteria. Clothes, especially delicate items, can’t handle that kind of treatment. Washing them together means either your towels don’t get clean enough, or your clothes get roughed up.
Then there’s the lint problem. Towels shed, and that loose fabric loves to stick to everything else in the load. Dark jeans, workout leggings, and synthetic tops become magnets for fuzz, leaving you with a pile of laundry that looks messier than when it went in.
Hygiene is another concern. Towels absorb moisture from your body, meaning they collect bacteria, dead skin, and sweat. Washing them with clothes risks spreading those germs to items you wear directly against your skin—defeating the purpose of washing in the first place.
Drying is the final hurdle. Towels take forever to dry, while clothes dry quickly. Throw them in together, and you’ll either have crispy, over-dried clothes or damp, musty towels.
The solution? Wash towels on their own with hot water and a full rinse cycle. Your laundry will be cleaner, fresher, and last much longer.
