How to Identify and Choose High Quality Bath Towels

Last Updated: February 16, 2022

How delightful it feels to wrap yourself in a soft, absorbent fluffy bath towel right after you get out of the shower! But not all towels are born equal. Even a towels seems super soft at the store, it may deflate after only a wash or two. However, with a good, trained eye, you'll be able to spot a quality bath towel in no time.

Steps

1
Understand what makes a towel a good towel. For starters, towels for different purposes will benefit from different fabrics, whether they're for drying your body or drying your dishes. Things to keep in mind include:^{[1]
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- Absorbency is created by maximizing surface area. Cotton towels are best for hands and bodies, while linen towels are best for dishes and glassware.
- Terry is the most absorbent of all weaves. It is an ideal towel for hand and body drying as it is looped both sides, thus increasing its surface area.
- Crash linen is a combination of linen, cotton and rayon that works really well for drying dishes. It helps to increase the evaporation rate.
- Damask linen works really well for drying glasses and dishes where lint-free results matter.
- Flax derived linen is super absorbent, and strong. It is naturally resistant to bacteria, won't leave lint on glassware, and absorbs 20 percent of its own weight in water.
2
Consider the content of the towel fabric. High quality towels are usually made out of fine, long cotton fiber. Some of the more expensive towels are made from Egyptian or Brazilian cotton. While hard to find, Supima cotton is another excellent choice of long fiber cotton that is grown in the United States.^{[2]
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3
Do your own testing. In store, try feeling and looking at towels to see if they match up to your needs and wants.^{[3]
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- Look closely. Do the fibers stand up like grass in a garden? That's a good sign! If they're flat as a tack, they won't feel very good or work that well.
- Feel them. Are they soft? Or are they rough? If the towel has a soft, velvety feel and a bit of weight to it, it is good quality. If the towel is scratchy, or feels like canvas, it is low quality (meaning, don't buy the dollar-store towels!).
- Check the size. If you're tall or large, look for bath sheets which are bigger than the average towel size and make drying yourself quickly a lot easier.
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Shop around.^{[4]
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- Look for the best deals. Decide how much you want to pay. If you want the very best quality, it will cost you more. On the plus side though, more expensive towels will also last longer, so you save money in the long run and don't have to replace them as often.
- Find towels that are the same color as your bathroom décor. Keep in mind that colored towels will eventually fade. White towels can always be bleached if needed to whiten them back up.

Community Q&A

Question

What does the "lb" refer to in towel selection?

Community Answer

Pounds - or the weight of the towel. Towel weights are typically expressed in terms of pounds per dozen - how many pounds a dozen of those towels would weight. The higher the weight, the more valuable the towel.
Question

Towel weight is 220 grams and the size is 137x68. How we calculate GSM?

Community Answer

GSM is grams per square meter. Express dimensions in meters, and divide the mass by the area of the fabric.
Question

How does one calculate the weight of a towel?

Community Answer

Weight of the towel is calculated in gsm or grams per square meter. For rough calculation, measure length and breadth of your towel and weigh it. Divide weight in gms by the square area of the towel to get its gsm. For cotton towels, you will have to go for at least 700 gsm to get a good quality towel. If you find a good bamboo towel, 600 GSM is supremely exotic. Visit jpliving.com. They sell authentic bamboo towels.

Warnings

Always wash new towels before use. Excess dye, chemicals, etc., can still reside in factory produce towels.

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While bleaching softens towels, it also causes them to wear out faster. If using fabric softener on bath towels, it is recommended to leave kitchen towels out of such a wash, to help them last longer. In addition, linen towels that have been washed in fabric conditioner can leave smear marks on glassware.

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