Can you wash workout clothes with towels?
No
No — this pairing fails on every axis that matters. Towel lint clings to moisture-wicking synthetics worse than to any other fabric; towels want warm-to-hot water and long hot drying while activewear demands cold and no heat; and heavy wet terry grinds against smooth stretch knits in the drum.
It's a tempting combination because both come out of the same gym bag. Resist it: the towel is the single worst laundry partner your leggings and technical shirts have.
Gym towels themselves are still towels — they go with the towel load, not with the gear they shared a bag with.
What our checker says
This is the live result of running workout clothes and bath towels through the same rules as the laundry checker.
Wash these separately
- Bath towel sheds lint, and Dark workout shirt attracts it — expect visible lint on Dark workout shirt if they share a load.
- Bath towel is heavy and rubs hard against lightweight Dark workout shirt in the drum.
- Bath towel can rub against Dark workout shirt's printed or decorated surface — turn Dark workout shirt inside out if they share a load.
- Bath towel is much bulkier and rougher than Dark workout shirt, and towels need far longer in the dryer.
- Towel lint clings to Dark workout shirt's synthetic fabric, and towels want warmer, longer washes than activewear.
- Bath towel holds much more water than Dark workout shirt, so one of them ends up over- or under-dried if they tumble together.
Suggested loads (2)
Towels: Bath towel
Warm (90–110°F / 32–43°C), heavy duty cycle. Tumble dry on medium heat.
Activewear: Dark workout shirt
Cold (60–80°F / 16–27°C), normal cycle. Tumble dry on low heat.
How they compare
| Workout clothes | Bath towels | |
|---|---|---|
| Preferred water | Cold — protects elastane and wicking | Warm or hot for hygiene |
| Lint | Attracts it strongly | Sheds it heavily |
| Cycle | Delicate or gentle normal | Normal or heavy duty |
| Dryer | Air dry; heat kills stretch | Medium heat, long cycle |
| Fabric softener | Never — coats wicking fibers | Never — kills absorbency |
The main risks
- Lint fuzz permanently embedded across leggings, shirts, and shorts.
- Elastic and fit loss if the activewear rides along into warm water or the dryer.
- Abrasion pilling on smooth knits from heavy terry contact.
- Compromised towel hygiene if the load runs cold for the activewear's sake.
When the answer changes
- Essentially never for a shared full cycle — the requirements genuinely conflict.
- Microfiber gym towels (not cotton terry): those can wash with activewear — both are lint-free synthetics that like cold water. Check that the towel really is microfiber.
- A cold quick-rinse cycle to de-sweat both before proper washes later: harmless, if you then wash each properly.
New or strongly colored items
New towels shed maximum lint — never near activewear. New bright activewear (especially red) can bleed in its first washes; keep it with darks. Both facts point the same direction: separate loads.
Can they be dried together?
No — this is the most damaging part.
The dryer is where towels need the most time and heat and where activewear must not be at all. Hang the gym clothes (they dry overnight), tumble the towels.
How to run them as separate loads
- Two hampers or one hamper with a mesh bag: gear in the bag, towels loose.
- Wash activewear cold and gentle, hang to dry — see washing workout clothes.
- Wash towels warm or hot in the towel load, tumble dry fully.
Check the care labels
Activewear labels almost universally say cold wash, no softener, low or no heat — and towel labels say the opposite end of every scale. There is no label-compliant shared cycle for typical items of each.
This is general guidance. If a garment's care label says something different, follow the care label.
Sources
- Established fiber and fabric care practice — Widely documented fabric-care knowledge. Well-established, uncontroversial properties of common fibers — e.g. cotton shrinks in heat, wool felts with agitation and heat, dark dyes can transfer when new, terry cloth sheds lint, microfiber attracts lint, elastics degrade in high heat. Used only for claims of this uncontroversial kind.
- Laundry Basics — Sorting it Out — American Cleaning Institute. Consumer guidance on sorting laundry by color, fabric, and lint behavior (whites separate; brights and darks by themselves; light synthetics pick up dark dyes). Used for sorting and color-separation guidance.
Last reviewed: . See our editorial policy for how this page was checked.