Towel

foto9471-1Towels are home textiles that are used very intensively. Frequent use requires frequent washing.

In order for towels to serve and retain their attractiveness for a long time, they need to be properly washed, bleached, ironed, and dried.

Hand and machine washing of these products has its own characteristics, and they must be taken into account.

How to wash towels correctly, what to soak very dirty items in, how to bleach, do you need to iron after washing? Find answers to your questions in the article.

Preparing for the process: step-by-step instructions and how often to wash

A lot depends on the proper preparation of towels. Keeping these items looking good depends on how often they are washed.

Dermatologists recommend the following frequency:

  • bath towels – after three times of use;
  • kitchen towels – daily;
  • towels for face and hands – 1-2 days.

foto9471-2Before washing, towels are sorted by fabric type and color. Infants' linen must be washed separately from adult towels. Colored and white products do not need to be placed in the same drum.

Very dirty products remove fat and other impurities. You can use the washing machine's capabilities by selecting the pre-soak mode, or soak the towels in a separate container.

The next step is to select the washing, rinsing and spinning mode. Next comes loading the washing machine drum. Despite the volume declared by the manufacturers, you should not load the washing machine to the maximum.

To preserve fabric quality, it is optimal to use 80% of the drum volume. That is, if this volume is 5 kg, it is better to load 4 kg of laundry.



It is possible that washing embroidered items decorated with lace and silk ribbons will require the use of a special laundry bag.
Items with metal or plastic fittings must not be loaded into the machine drum in which towels are washed.

In an automatic washing machine: on what mode, at what temperature?

Kitchen and bath towels are most often made from different fabrics. Therefore, they should be washed in different modes. How to choose the right program and at what degrees to wash?

Washing bath terry, bamboo and velor towels - optimal parameters:

  • foto9471-3bamboo and modal fiber – temperature 30-40 degrees;
  • cotton, linen, microfiber – 40-60 degrees;
  • velor – 40 degrees;
  • liquid detergent is used;
  • spin mode – 800 rpm.

Kitchen washing towels:

  • colored products - 40 degrees;
  • white towels – 60 degrees;
  • spin mode – 800-1000 rpm;
  • washing mode – “cotton”;
  • All-purpose detergent is used.

To choose the optimal detergent, you need to remember that the wrong dosage of washing powder will lead to it settling on the surface of the towel.Allergies, hard hair, unpleasant odor - these are just a few of the consequences of such a mistake.

It is best to choose a liquid or gel detergent for washing face and body towels. The most popular brands are Laska, Tide, Ariel, Dreft, Frosh, Myth.

Children's clothes are washed with specially selected products:

  • Eared nanny,
  • Our mother,
  • Cotico,
  • Sonett,
  • Sodasan,
  • Umka.

Frequent use of fabric softener when washing terry towels will deteriorate its absorbent properties.

How to do it manually?

To properly wash towels by hand, you need to prepare a washing container, liquid detergent, salt and vinegar.

Step-by-step instructions for hand washing:

  1. foto9471-4Fill a deep basin or bathtub with warm water, add detergent to it until foam appears.
  2. Soften the water with vinegar - a glass (200 ml) per bucket of water.
  3. Soak the towels for 40 minutes.
  4. Wring out and rinse the products, changing the water several times.
  5. Fill a basin with warm water, dissolve 2-4 tablespoons of salt in it.
  6. Rinse the towel in this solution to make it soft.
  7. We squeeze it out.
  8. We hang a towel to dry on the loggia, on the balcony, in the fresh air.

When drying towels indoors, make sure it is well ventilated.

Essential oil of lemon, lavender, tangerine, added when rinsing, will give the towels a pleasant aroma.

A collection of folk recipes and remedies

Long-standing traditions of keeping the house clean have sorted out the most effective ways to wash towels.

With vegetable oil

foto9471-5It is carried out in very hot water, practically boiling water.

Their linen or cotton fabrics are poured with boiling water, in which are dissolved:

  • ? glasses of soda;
  • 1 tbsp.a spoonful of powder or liquid laundry detergent;
  • 50 ml vegetable oil;
  • 50 ml of any bleach.

After this “cocktail” has cooled, the towels should be rinsed thoroughly. Read more about this washing method Here.

In the microwave

For such a wash, you need to prepare a durable plastic bag, laundry soap and stain remover.

Two or three towels should be moistened with water and soaped with soap. You can treat stains with dishwashing detergent or stain remover. There is no need to tie the bag.

Processing mode towels:

  • time – 90 seconds;
  • power – 450-500.

If the towels become hot, then the process was successful. If not, then the procedure is repeated. This is followed by rinsing by hand or in a washing machine.

You can learn more about washing towels in the microwave from this articles.

With vinegar

foto9471-6Washing with table or apple cider vinegar will preserve the brightness of the color of the fabric, will remove bacterial contamination and odor, give softness and tenderness to rough terry towels.

To do this, just pour 1-2 glasses into the conditioner compartment or directly into the drum of the washing machine.

Pre-soaking towels in a vinegar solution (500 ml per 5 liters of water) will remove old stains.

With boiling

To wash using this method, you need a large container in which to boil the laundry.

To increase the effect, add to the water:

  • washing powder or laundry soap (2 tbsp per 1 liter of water);
  • soda ash;
  • silicate glue (1 tbsp);
  • hydrogen peroxide (4 tablespoons), plus ammonia (1 tablespoon).
The process lasts 15-20 minutes, then the towels must be removed from the boiling water with all precautions and rinsed.It is advisable to dry them in the fresh air to remove the smell of soap.

It is better not to boil colored towels to avoid loss of brightness.

With mustard powder and boric acid

foto9471-7Mustard powder is dissolved in hot water to a paste consistency.. It is applied to damp towels and left for 7-8 hours.

Next, the items are washed, rinsed and dried as usual. To prevent the mustard mixture from drying out, you can leave the towels in a plastic bag.

Boric acid will give cleanliness and freshness to terry or cotton products. dense structure To do this, they are immersed in an acid solution (2 tablespoons per 4-5 liters of water) and left there for 2-3 hours.

This is followed by normal washing, rinsing and drying.

How to make fabric soft?

Reasons for deterioration in quality towels:

  • hardness of water;
  • use of low-quality washing powders;
  • incorrectly selected washing mode - high temperature, insufficient rinsing, intensive spin;
  • boiling towels, ironing instead of steaming.
To soften the water when rinsing towels, use table vinegar in a proportion of 100-200 ml per 10 liters of water. When machine washing, vinegar is poured into the conditioner compartment.

How to keep your towels soft and fluffy didn't get tough:

  1. Wash with liquid detergents without chlorine and phosphates.
  2. Use the quick wash mode more often for minimal impact on the fabric.
  3. Use an extra rinse.
  4. Bleaching terry cloth is absolutely necessary.
  5. Soften hard water.

Getting rid of the smell

foto9471-8Possible reasons:

  • incorrectly selected washing and drying mode:
  • long-term use of kitchen towels,
  • insufficient ventilation of the bathroom,
  • high humidity in the room for drying products.

To get rid of the smell on towels, they are soaked for 8-10 hours in a solution of baking soda and vinegar. The ingredients are mixed in a 1:1 ratio (a glass of vinegar to a glass of soda), after which the washing is carried out as usual.

Terry towels are machine washed using a similar solution. You don’t have to add washing powder, use an extra spin.

If the above remedies are ineffective, Oxiclean will come to the rescue.. Three-quarters of a glass of detergent is dissolved in hot water and the foul-smelling towels are left for 1-2 days.

Preserving the tenderness of terry products

What to do to terry towels retained their pristine softness for a long time? Recommendations depend on the washing method.

For washing machine:

  • wash in soft water;
  • use delicate mode, temperature not higher than 60; spin mode does not exceed 500 rpm;
  • to prevent terry fibers from being wrinkled, you need to put special balls in the drum of the washing machine;
  • air dry, iron with a steam generator.

Before hand washing, towels are soaked in a warm detergent solution. At least 2-3 rinses are required to completely remove the detergent.

If the towel has already become hard, soak it in salt water (4 tablespoons per 10 liters) before hand washing.

You can learn how to properly wash washed terry towels Here.

What should you consider when washing kitchen towels?

To preserve the beauty of kitchen towels for a long time, The following rules must be observed:

  • foto9471-9textile towels of bright colors are washed at a temperature not exceeding 60
  • waffle towels in light shades will become clean when washed at a temperature of 90-100
  • It is advisable to neutralize grease stains by pre-soaking them before putting towels in the washing machine;
  • Ironing in the optimal mode is necessary to maintain the neatness and cleanliness of the fabric.

Disinfecting kitchen towels with ammonia, a solution of manganese or chlorine-containing substances if the dosage is incorrectly chosen destroys the fabric. It is advisable to have separate towels for hands and dishes.

Read more about washing kitchen towels Here.

We take into account the features of microfiber products

This canvas has unique properties. Microfiber towels are light, soft, perfectly absorb moisture, and are wear-resistant. They can withstand up to 500 washes without losing their properties..

How to properly wash microfiber towels in a washing machine:

  • optimal washing mode – delicate, at 40-60;
  • for heavily soiled items, pre-soaking is used;
  • Do not put faded items from other fabrics into the drum, as microfiber easily takes on the shades of dyed items;
  • no need to use air conditioner;
  • Microfiber towels should be dried outside the washing machine.
When washing very dirty towels by hand, pre-soak them in a soap solution, intensively lathering particularly dirty areas. You can apply a paste of baking soda to the stains.

Towels are rinsed in water with the addition of citric acid or natural juice. Do not bleach these towels.

Whitening - gentle and effective

Typically, bleaching is carried out during the washing process, when bleach is loaded into a special section of the machine. If hand washing is planned, the product is used in accordance with the instructions.

Types of bleaches:

  • foto9471-10optical (Belofor, Persol, Dimerax) – bleaching occurs due to the sedimentation of microparticles of the product on the fibers of the fabric;
  • oxygen (Swan, White without chlorine, Tadox, Vanish) – do not damage fabric, are effective when bleaching in slightly warm or cool water;
  • chlorine-containing (Chlorin, Domestos, Belizna, AC) – used for bleaching cotton or linen towels.

One of the most effective methods of whitening towels is to soak them in a solution of 72% laundry soap. It needs to be rubbed and filled with hot water until it dissolves and produces foam.

Products made from terry cloth, linen, and cotton are kept in this solution for about an hour. Next comes hand or machine wash and rinse. The above method not only whitens, but also softens towels.

Another affordable and cheap whitening product is hydrogen peroxide. Sequence of use:

  1. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of peroxide in 5 liters of water.
  2. Place the towels in the solution for 40-50 minutes, stirring them from time to time.
  3. Rinse the items and hang them to dry.
Hydrogen peroxide can be replaced with hydroperite tablets. Two tablespoons of the product can be replaced with 4-5 tablets.

Ironing - pros and cons

foto9471-11How many copies have been broken in the debate about whether to iron towels or not, but there is still no consensus. The terry pile of towels gets crushed when ironed and they become hard. The fabric loses its hygroscopicity, it absorbs moisture much worse.

Terry towels need to be hung carefully after washing and folded just as neatly after drying.. An exception can be made when ironing terry towels for young infants. Here, ironing disinfects the fabric, killing any possible bacteria on the linen.

Linen and cotton kitchen towels are ironed right side out.Embroidered kitchen utensils are steamed or ironed from the inside out.

Thin microfiber cannot be ironed, since synthetic fibers are destroyed by the action of a hot iron.

You will find maximum useful information about washing clothes and various fabric products Here.

Conclusion

When choosing a washing and spinning mode and detergent, you need to take into account the material from which the towel is made. The hand washing algorithm can be supplemented with additional methods to remove stains and give freshness to towels. Heavy stains are removed by bleaching and pre-soaking.

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