As of: January 21, 2024, 7:43 a.m
By: Anne Hund
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You should not always wash towels together with clothing.
What matters in each individual case.
Everyone knows the problem when doing laundry: some items of laundry have accumulated in the laundry basket, but the washing drum is not full with just the separated towels.
Then, depending on the situation, you can also wash less sensitive items of cotton laundry, such as cotton socks, undershirts or shorts, together with the towels.
Provided that you don't wash the towels too hot, which could damage the rest of the laundry.
Wash towels properly
How hot should you wash towels?
“So that the colors can withstand as many washes as possible, towels should be washable up to 60 degrees, even if from a hygienic point of view it is usually enough in the household to wash at a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius,” explains the Bavarian Consumer Service on its website.
But: “Bath towels, which often get sunscreen or other stains, should definitely be washable up to 60 degrees.
Only then can it be assumed that they are color stable.” The experts advise always following the manufacturer’s care instructions.
“It is best to wash colorful towels with colored detergents.
For white or light-colored towels, a heavy-duty detergent is the better choice,” recommends the Bavarian Consumer Service in general.
There are a few items of laundry piled up in the laundry basket, but the washing drum isn't full with just the separated towels?
Not every item of clothing can be easily washed.
(Symbolic image) © Zoonar.com/ArTo/Imago
How much detergent does it take?
There is also a so-called dosage recommendation on every detergent package: “You can see from this how many milliliters of your detergent you need, depending on the hardness of the water and the degree of soiling of your laundry,” says the Hamburg consumer advice center, which is available on its website, among other things We advise you to check the hardness level of the water with your water supplier.
What exactly does the mentioned level of pollution mean?
The Hamburg Consumer Center explained it in detail in its article on the subject:
“Clothing without any visible dirt or stains but which has acquired body odor, for example, is considered slightly soiled.
This includes light summer and sports clothing (worn for a few hours), T-shirts, shirts, blouses (worn for up to 1 day), guest bed linen and towels (used for 1 day).”
“Normally soiled laundry shows light soiling and a few light stains, for example T-shirts, shirts, blouses (sweaty or worn several times), underwear (worn for 1 day), towels, bed linen (used for up to 1 week), curtains without nicotine soiling ( up to ½ year of use)”
“Laundry with significant soiling and stains is considered to be heavily soiled, such as tea and kitchen towels, cloth napkins, baby bibs, children's and football clothing (soiled with grass and earth), tennis clothing (soiled with red pebbles), work clothing (washable in the household like a mechanic's suit). , baker's and butcher's clothing).
If the stains are pre-treated, the amount of detergent can be reduced accordingly.”
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Sort your underwear well beforehand
Especially with finer fabrics, as is the case with many lingerie, you should be careful not to wash the laundry too hot and strictly adhere to what is written on the care label.
Washing them together with towels is of course not recommended if the recommended washing programs or temperatures differ.
In many cases, for fabrics such as silk, hand washing is recommended anyway - according to the care label.
So it makes sense to sort your underwear accordingly beforehand: the sensitive lingerie goes into one basket.
Undershirts, socks etc. in the others.
And also sort the items in the basket, into which some of the used towels go, according to colored laundry or white textiles.
How hot underwear should be washed depends not least on the degree of soiling.
Underwear and socks get clean even at 30 degrees, even in the easy-care or delicate wash program, as stated in an online article by
Bayern1
on the subject in general.
However, there are exceptions when a hotter wash is recommended: For example, if the underwear is stained with blood or has been worn by a sick family member, it should be washed at 60 degrees with a detergent containing bleach, the report states, among other things.
You can also often wash towels and other bathroom textiles such as washcloths at 60 degrees.
Wash towels: Separate other textiles in a laundry bag
The Bavarian Consumer Service has the following tip for washing towels: A full washing machine drum protects the fibers from friction and premature wear.
Items with buttons, hooks or zippers would not be good for the terry cloth.
“It’s best to put these in a laundry bag to protect the other textiles.” The Bavarian Consumer Service generally recommends spinning towels at high speed – and then immediately hanging them up in a well-ventilated place.
This would keep the towels fluffy.