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Bathing is a refreshing experience and the right bath linen could add comfort to that experience. It’s not enough to know that you want a soft towel. You need to know the material that suits you better, the colours and patterns that look good with your bathroom décor and which bath linen will last you longer? To ensure that you don’t regret the choice you make, check for these 6 things before buying your bath linen.
- Size
Bath sheet (The bigger bath towels that you can wrap yourself in and use as a sarong too): 100cm x 180cm
Bath towel: 70cm x 150cm
Hand Towel: 40cm x 60cm
Face Towel: 30cm x 30cm
Gym Towel: 30cm x 90 cm
Turbie: Medium
Bathrobe: Small (For Kids)/Medium/Large/XL
- Material
Standard Cotton
What will it be like: Soft, thin, slightly coarse and lightweight
Features: Its ability to dry quickly makes up for its relatively low absorbency, softens with age, resistant to pilling (tendency to form small balls of fluff on its surface), durable, easy to wash, handle and pack while travelling, made for everyday use.
Egyptian Cotton (Grown in Nile Banks)
What will it be like: Fluffy, ultra-soft, warm, thick and heavy
Features: Highly absorbent because they are made with a deep terry (fabric with loops) toweling pile, softens with age, stress and pilling resistant, long-lasting, its ability to absorb liquids ensures deeper, brighter and more resistant colours.
Turkish Cotton (Grown in Turkeys Aegean District)
What will it be like: Smooth, soft, thin and shiny
Features: Initially less absorbent but becomes softer and more absorbent after multiple washes, quick to dry, durable, mildew resistant, easy to handle and carry, its natural sheen makes patterns and colours pop.
Supima Cotton (Grown by Pima natives in the US)
What will it be like: Soft, smooth, thick and heavy
Features: Super absorbent, extra-long staple leads to softer, more lustrous fibre, gets softer with multiple washes, resistant to pilling, abrasion and fading, durable.
Hygro Cotton
What will it be like: soft, smooth, feels lofty but is lightweight
Features: Blooms after every three washes, hollow core yarn keeps it lightweight while making it feel thick and soft, incredibly absorbent and quick to dry, gets softer, fluffier and more absorbent after multiple washes, durable, resistant to fading, mildew and pilling.
- How is it made?
Regular: The traditional way of making yarn, which yield basic, quick to dry towels.
Ringspun: Twisted, thin cotton strands making fine, strong, soft fibre ropes woven into the material, which yield absorbent, durable towels.
Nanospun: Extremely fine cotton yarn, which yields towels of a higher density weave with an incredibly lightweight feel. Absorbent and durable towels which feel lush but are easy to handle.
- The types of finish
Karded: Fibres untangled but not aligned, to make the towel super absorbent and fluffy.
Combed: Fibres aligned using fine-toothed comb, to make towels smooth and silky.
- GSM
GSM (grams per square metre) is the weight of the fabric woven into per square metre of the towel/bathrobe. A higher GSM means a thicker, more absorbent and lush towel. They are prone to linting because they of how plush they are. A bath towel can have a higher GSM while a gym towel or bathrobe can have a lower one.
- Twist
The twist per inch of yarn will tell you how thick or absorbent the towel is. Low-twist or zero-twist means thicker, more absorbent bath linen. A higher twist results in more durable bath linen.
- Colour & Style
Fluffy towels in white or solid colours are a popular choice. If you’re looking for style, you might want to try designed towels with trendy colours and fashionable patterns. If you’re looking for fun, the towels with vibrant colours and quirky patterns. What might be more fun for children is digitally printed towels with their favourite cartoon characters on it.
Now that you have the right bath linen, take care of it the right way in these simple steps:
- Wash new bath linen before use. Maximum absorbency and softness is achieved after multiple washes
- Use a colour-sensitive detergent for coloured towels and bathrobes
- Shaking towels well before loading them into the machine opens up the fibres and prevents detergent build up on them
- Bleaches, oils and face creams contain benzoyl peroxide which could weaken your towel fibre. Keep your bath linen away from them. Rinse your hands of these before handling the bath linen. If it does come in contact with these, wash with cold water before washing in machine
- Fabric softener can reduce the absorbency of your towels so use sparingly
- Dry your bath linen on low heat. Damp towels breed bacteria while excessive heat damages their fibre. Air dry to fluff up the fibre
- Add some distilled white vinegar to the wash once or twice a month to prevent fading, craggy detergent residue and musty odors
- Replace bath linen on an average of every two years