How to wash towels

1. Collect a full towel load — bath towels, hand towels, washcloths. Nothing else. See towels with clothes for why.
2. Warm water, normal (or heavy-duty) cycle, a normal dose of detergent — more detergent is not better; excess residue stiffens terry.
3. No fabric softener, no dryer sheets. Wool dryer balls if you want mechanical softening.
4. Dry on medium heat until completely dry through the seams and hems — then stop; over-drying stiffens and wears terry.

The common-sense range: bath towels every three or four uses (hung to dry fully between), washcloths every use or two, hand towels every couple of days in a busy bathroom, and everything more often when someone's ill. A towel that never fully dries between uses needs washing more, not less.

Mustiness is trapped moisture plus time — in the hamper, in the machine after the cycle ends, or in a towel folded away damp. Fix the habit (hang towels to dry between uses; move washes to the dryer promptly; dry fully) and reset the towels with one hot wash (color permitting). A cup of white vinegar in a hot detergent-free wash is a widely used residue-strip for towels that stay musty; check your machine manual's stance on vinegar first.

Counterintuitively, softener causes long-term stiffness: it coats terry loops with residue that builds wash after wash and blocks absorbency too. Detergent overdosing does the same. The fixes: correct dosing (see how much detergent to use), an occasional hot strip wash, dryer balls, and not line-drying into cardboard — a short tumble after the line softens them back up.

• New towels shed hard for their first few washes — run them alone, and expect a full lint filter.
• New colored towels also bleed — one more reason for the solo debut.
• Established towel loads still shed onto anything else in the drum or dryer; that's why activewear and microfiber never join.
• Whites hot with occasional chlorine bleach (label permitting); colors warm to preserve dye.

Bath mats without rubber backing, kitchen towels that aren't greasy, and cotton robes all fit naturally. Rubber-backed mats join the wash but skip the dryer. Clothes, bedding (except in a pinch — see towels with sheets), and anything synthetic stay out.