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I have a bunch of towels for guest use, which I purchased in three different batches, January, July and September 2016. They still seem usable, but maybe it’s time to start thinking about replacing at least some of them? They are looking a little bit thin perhaps. I suppose they get worn down, and nobody likes scratchy towels. And they do get washed a lot, so I guess that doesn’t exactly enhance their lifespan.
Do you simply replace your towels after a specific time, or do you check them individually before replacing? And what do you do with the old towels? Since I’m in India, specific recommendations are probably not useful unless you happen to live in India too.
I’m looking at Amazon, and this microfiber towel is highly rated. I don’t know if I have ever bought a non-cotton towel before. Thoughts?
This post is topical as I was just thinking about upgrading our towels. I don’t think they’re worn yet, and there are some things we can do to keep them fluffy such as adding vinegar to the fabric softener compartment of the washer, however I’d like to provide towels that are more plush.
I’m very skeptical about microfiber towels as they seem gimmicky to me. I mean, I like them for cleaning, but for bath towels would go with 100% cotton towels. For our personal use, we have really plush towels from Frontgate. The towels are great and, after months of use, have not lost their softness. Now, I have other issues with the company and the number of catalogs we received after the purchase, but that’s another story!
For guests, I feel we must balance towel plushness with somewhat quick drying. Towels that dry more quickly encourage a second or multiple uses.
To answer your question, we don’t have a set schedule but have been conscientiously rotating what we have so every towel is washed an equal number of times and keep an eye on them for issues.
I can’t think why anyone would replace a perfectly good towel on a ‘schedule’. Seems very wasteful and environmentally unsound. Cheap towels wear quickly, I only buy high quality bath sheets, usually on sale and in white. Each person gets 2 white fluffy towels, always dried in the dryer to keep fluffy. They get replaced as required.
I have never stayed in an Airbnb with a decent towel and some of these have been super expensive stays. They are usually tiny and low quality towels and it’s always been a disappointment. Glad you are focused on a nice towel for your customer experience
I’d like to do the same, assuming I can figure out what is high quality and what isn’t. Any tips? My current towels are supposedly high quality, and are among the more highly rated cotton bath towels on Amazon India. But the oldest ones are now going on for 2 years old, which I suppose is quite old for a towel that is in regular use and is constantly being washed. Anyway, I’d say they are definitely showing signs of wear. All the towels I’ve bought have been the same brand, so I was thinking that maybe I’d branch out. Also, that brand has put up its prices significantly from when I purchased them. And in case anyone cares, this is the brand.
Any special reason you prefer white? I usually go with colored towels, normally in shades I find pleasing.
Towels are important. The Hitchhikers Guide says so, so it must be true.
I don’t know anything about microfiber, except that is what glass cleaning cloths are made of. I suppose I could try one and see - they are cheap enough. Though I must admit I like a soft thick cotton towel. I suppose everyone does.
Is that a reason to prefer zero twist towels? Any tips for buying such towels? Things to look for? Unfortunately specific recommendations from the US don’t seem terribly useful, though to my surprise, I did find a towel labelled Costco on Amazon India, but I’m not sure what Costco has to do with it, if anything.
You sound much more organized than me. I don’t actually put the towels there - the lady who does the cleaning does so. And I doubt she keeps them in strict rotation. I suppose it would not be a difficult task to do so, however.
I buy new towels when I need to. I have replaced a few because they started to look dingy or had lost their “fluff.” Two hand towels I replaced due to “unknown cosmetic stains.” When replacing, I “clip” the tags so we can use them and tell them apart. I am buying towels that are white with grey bands. I replace with the exact same item, preferably when they go on sale. In fact, last year, i realized that I didn’t have enough towels to sustain an “emergency”… stained towels and/or a guest who used all of them, so when the towels went on sale in January, I bought extras so I could put them into rotation without creating chaos for me.
I usually buy Sheridan as they a good quality and quite thick and fluffy. I buy white as various face products guests were using (I have a lot of Asian guests who use bleaching agents in all their creams) were leaving bleach marks on my lovely grey and mint green towels and sheets. One guest even called Airbnb to demand I give her a new pillow and pillow case after she made bleach stains on the pillow cover. Airbnb effectively told her to get a life as did I.
[quote=“faheem, post:1, topic:18871, full:true”]
Do you simply replace your towels after a specific time, or do you check them individually before replacing? And what do you do with the old towels? Since I’m in India, specific recommendations are probably not useful unless you happen to live in India too.[/quote]
If a towel is good, why changing it? I check towels every 2 months. If it’s old, or simply don’t feel good anymore it’s gotta go. Also, all towels being checked for stains every cleaning. If stains appear that can’t go out - I toss them. Same with sheets.
By the way, it’s also always useful to 3 sets of towels. 1 at the house, 1 for a quick replacement after check-out and 1 for backup.
I use white cotton Costco Grandeur hospitality towels & washcloths.
Available on Amazon so I’m guessing may be available on Amazon India.
I use white so I can Chlorox or Oxyclean stains.
Nice size. Plush. Wear well. Replace when stained.
My experience with microfiber has been for hair towels. The $20 ones absorb water & dry my hair well then dry quickly. The $5 ones look like the $20 towels but don’t absorb water. Classic case of you get what you pay for.
I love good quality and white towels so that I don’t have to repalce them too often and I often buy them from amazon. There is a wide range to choose from and reviews left by customers who have bought the products. Sometimes if I want to save my time and money, I will check promopure first. They gather all of the best amazon daily deals with great qualtiy and nice price and I’m a fan of them now.
