How to Choose the Perfect Bath Towel Because It’s Harder Than You Think
The first time (or maybe every time) you buy towels, you may have based your choice on 1) the cheapest and 2) towel. But as it turns out, if you are in a position where you have some flexibility in your towel budget (assuming it’s an investment), you might be interested in learning more about the different types of towels.
Here’s how to choose the one that works best for your unique bathing needs, courtesy of Jackie Revere of Wirecutter in a New York Times article .
Determine what you want from a towel
According to Revere, “A good bath towel should do several things at once: dry you quickly, feel good (if not fantastic) on your skin, match your decor, and be durable enough to last you for years.” Essentially the same qualities that you are looking for in a potential partner.
Let’s take a look at them in turn:
Material
Terry cloth or waffle / grill? That’s the question.
Terry cloth
- Heavyweight fabric with tightly woven loops
- What do you think of the classic soft fluffy towel
- Long-playing
Waffles / grates
- Thinner and coarser fabric
- Dries faster
- Takes up less shelf space
The size
There is no standard bath towel size, but Revere says a 28 “by 55” towel will work for people of average height. While towels may seem versatile, they are not. Technically, if you’re only using the towel to dry off in the bathroom, size doesn’t really matter much.
But if you want to do what people do on TV and in movies, where they wrap a towel under their armpits and wear it like a strapless loose dress while dancing in their living room, then those who are especially sad or have a wider side may want to choose a larger towel. Or rather, the sheet is simply a longer and wider version of the bath towel, says Revere.
Your decor
If your bathroom has a particular style or color scheme, you might consider buying towels to match your decor. But today we will not do this, so we will continue.
Buy one towel and test it
Sure, the towel can feel nice and soft when you touch it in the store (if that’s still what people do) or when you first open the package when it arrives in the mail, but Revere says it takes a few washes before than a towel reveals its true qualities.
So instead of buying an entire set of towels and finding out after you wash them (at a time when you’re unlikely to be able to return them) that they don’t meet your softness standards, buy one towel of the brand / style you are considering and test it. Here’s how Revere says :
When washing the test towel, avoid fabric softener, which can leave a feel-altering residue, and chlorine bleach, which can discolor. Wash in cold water and dry over low to medium heat.
Then, when you’ve chosen the towel that’s right for you, Revere suggests buying at least three bath towels for each member of your family. “You should change your towel every two to three days,” she writes, “so if you wash your laundry once a week, that should be enough to get you through between washing days.”