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Having a few high-quality towels is a must when it comes to having a well-stocked bathroom. But even the most luxurious towels can end up in bad shape after years of use and hundreds of washes. While you probably wash your towels regularly, do you know if you’re changing them out frequently enough? And how long should you keep the same rotation of towels at home before buying a new set?
After just a few months, the texture and feel of towels deteriorate and even if you wash them, they sometimes don’t always smell fresh. To find out how often you should change your towels to wash them and when it’s time to consider buying a new set, I spoke with laundry experts for their guidance and recommendations.
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How often should you wash your towels?
You should change out and wash towels after every two to five uses to make sure they don’t get too soiled, according to Frej Lewenhaupt, the owner and CEO of clothing care company Steamery.
“It’s important to make sure you’re drying your bath towel fully in between each use to avoid bacteria and mildew growth, which can lead to an unpleasant smell,” he says. “A tip to ensure this is to rotate between two towels so they each get the chance to fully dry before the next use.”
With this in mind, you should always have at least two clean towels available throughout the week, particularly if you shower multiple times a day.
How often should you replace your towels?
While it depends on the quality of your towels and how often you use them, you should replace towels every two to four years, according to Salvador Villareal, the co-founder of laundry services company VIP Cleaners & Laundry.
“Replace them once they turn thin, rough, or permanently stained, or once they develop persistent odors or lose absorbency,” he says. It’s often easy to tell the difference between a fresh, brand new towel versus one that you’ve used and washed regularly for a few years because the texture often changes and, depending on how you launder them, they don’t always smell great even after a single wash. If it becomes hard to get that odor out on the first try, that’s probably a sign you should throw out the towel.
Should you wash a towel every time you use it?
You don’t necessarily have to wash your towel each time you use it — you can wash it after every two to five uses, as Lewenhaupt recommends above. With that said, this could change depending on things like how humid your bathroom is, how well you’re washing your towels when you do wash them and if they’re drying well in between uses.
As mentioned above, you should use at least two different towels at a time and alternate between them throughout the week. If they don’t have time to dry, they start to develop mildew, which causes unpleasant smells. So while you may not need to wash your towel after one use, you might want to swap it with a clean towel, which means you’d grab it after every other shower or bath.
What’s the best way to wash towels?
It’s best to wash towels separately from regular clothing with warm water, according to Villareal. “Go easy on fabric softener, it coats the fibers and cuts absorbency,” he says. “Use the recommended detergent amount and dry towels thoroughly before folding or storing.” Additionally, Villareal says that it’s a misconception that using more detergent gets clothing cleaner, when it really depends more on the technique and temperature you use.
The best products for washing and replacing towels
Below are a few editor-approved products for washing towels and even recommendations if you’re in the market for a new set.
OxiClean’s Odor Blasters powdered laundry stain remover is a popular product, particularly for getting rid of odors. In fact, the brand even mentions that it’s effective on musty-smelling towels and other fabrics that come in contact with sweat and body odor, like socks and athletic apparel. You can use it in both cold and hot water, though for cold, you have to dissolve it in warm water before adding it to the washer drum with the rest of the water. Since it’s a booster, it’s meant to be used with regular laundry detergent, not in lieu of it.
Similar to OxiClean’s Odor Blaster laundry detergent booster, Lysol’s laundry sanitizer is effective at getting rid of stubborn odors, such as from fabrics like towels. It’s safe to use with cold water and it kills bacteria. It’s also particularly effective on apparel like bedding and athletic clothing, according to the brand.
NBC Selected senior editor Shalwah Evans started adding these pods to the washing machine drum when she found that her towels were still coming out smelly. “My husband can really soak a towel, so it’s easy for them to absorb bacteria and odors. It was really annoying to pull them out of the machine and still get that funky soiled towel smell,” she says. “Ever since I started throwing these into the mix we’ve been able to avoid that. Just one works for a full load of about four large towels and they smell clean and feel soft after.”
I ordered a few of these towels when I first moved into my apartment, and I love how luxurious and cozy they feel. While they’re a little pricey, they feel so high quality when you wrap them around you. They hold up well after many washes and they dry relatively fast, though I always make sure my bathroom is well ventilated in between showers. They’re available in 15 colors and designs, including multiple striped options. You can also get their matching hand towels, washcloths and bath sheets.
Meet our laundry experts
At NBC Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and without undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Salvador Villarreal is the owner of VIP Cleaners & Laundry in San Diego, CA.
- Frej Lewenhaupt is the co-founder and CEO of Steamery, clothing and laundry brand, based in Stockholm.
Why trust NBC Selected?
I’m a commerce editor at NBC Selected, where I write about deals and sale events, as well as roundups of the best products, reviews and brand guides. I also write about home, kitchen and cleaning appliances like vacuums, air fryers, ice cream makers. For this story, I talked to multiple laundry experts for their guidance on when to change out towels and clean them and when to buy new ones.
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