Colorful Towel Vibrancy

Created: Tuesday, 12 November 2019 17:48

Colorful towels are an excellent investment and can improve aesthetics when they match your interior decoration. You can always switch things up and get new colored towels for a quick and easy redecorating. This gives your business or home interior an extra touch, improving your overall design scheme.

When you invest in bright, bold, colorful towels, you need to know how to keep them in the best possible shape. In maintaining your new towels, learning how to wash them more efficiently is the first step to securing their vibrancy for longer.

What You Need to Keep Towels Vibrant in the Wash

Can you use bleach on colored towels? No. Avoid using bleach, which can fade the color or create bleach stains, ruining your bright-colored towels. Before transferring towels from the washer to the dryer, shake them out to stop them from twisting in the dryer. Shaking avoids excessive drying time and activates the terry loops that help absorbency. It is advisable to avoid optical brightening agents, as this can mask the towel's real shade and eventually cause it to fade.

There is no need to iron towels. The heat can adversely affect the towel color, even when it is dry and damage the fibers that aid in absorbency. Also, ensure your towels are completely dry before storing them, as even slightly damp towels can attract mildew.

The best cleaning tool is a washing machine that allows you to select the exact settings you need. Additionally, you will need some supplies to use for washing and pre-washing:

• Temperature control: Invest in a washing machine that allows you to dial the exact temperature you want to wash your towels. The sweet spot is around 40 degrees Fahrenheit for colored towels, but read the care label instructions on your towels to confirm.
• Spin cycle: A machine with a high spin cycle will wring out just enough moisture to allow your towels to dry to full fluffiness.
• Detergent options: Select a detergent that protects colors and maintains towel integrity.
• A suitable dryer: Opt for a dryer that can handle your towels carefully, drying gently but completely. Look for settings that allow you to select temperature and time. Lower heat settings are best. Consider air drying if you have that option.
• Additional help: Stock up on vinegar, baking soda and borax to boost your cleaning and color-retaining efforts to keep vibrant colors alive in the wash.
• Dryer balls: These tools are essential to help your towels regain their fluffy texture during the drying phase if you use a dryer.

How to Keep Towels Vibrant in the Wash

Keeping towels vibrant in the wash starts with how you treat them before they get to the washing machine. Many cosmetics, including face washes, contain bleaches like benzoyl peroxide, which can lead to discolored patches or general color fading over time. Minimize colorful towel exposure to these substances as much as possible to help them keep their color evenly. Do regular maintenance checks on your towels and treat stains the moment you see them.

White towels might be lower maintenance since they need little help keeping their vibrancy, colored towels can change the atmosphere in a room much more quickly than an entire repaint. Whether you own a gym, a salon or a restaurant, colorful towels can serve numerous purposes and are sure to help boost your business' vibe. Towels also affect the mood in your kitchen or bathroom at home. Remember that removing stains might be a bit more complicated as you can't use regular bleach on colorful towels. Your color preferences may also change over time or with a rebrand, and these towels may show visible signs of fading over time. To keep even your brightest yellow and hot pink towels vibrant, follow these user-friendly tips:

1. Read the Care Label

When towels come with a care label, they're on there for a reason. You must look at the care instructions on the tag and follow those directions as closely as possible to ensure that your colored towels stay beautiful. The care instructions could also vary for different fibers and fabrics. If you notice that the care labels on the colored towels you purchased are warning about color fading, you want to be extra cautious as those towels are probably even more likely to bleed. Care instructions on the label will tell you how to wash colored towels — like washing with cold water, for example — and may sometimes even include drying instructions.

2. Avoid Washing With Hot Water

Washing your colored towels in hot water is often detrimental. The hot water works against your colored towels, loosening up the fibers and the attached dye. Not only does the color of your towels fade significantly faster, but it will negatively impact the towel quality. Try washing and rinsing your colored towels with cold water. While it's still possible that a trace amount of dye will come out, it will be significantly less than the amount you will see if you wash using hot water. The detergent will still perform as it should, and you may see a slight drop in your utility bill from using cold water.

3. Wash the Same Color Shades Together

Can you wash different color towels together? You can, but this is not a good idea as colors with red and blue tones are more prone to color bleeding. Instead, wash like colors together. Washing like kind towel colors together is crucial to minimize the effects of color bleeding. You wouldn't wash light colors with dark colors when it comes to clothing, so you should treat towels the same way. Additionally, make sure you're not putting towels in to wash with clothing. Rather, keep them in a separate load so you can easily adjust the settings on the washer. The idea is to protect the towels' fibers by grouping fabrics of the same or a similar weight together.

If you do experience color bleeding and your washer or dryer gets some stains, these are easy to remove. Make a paste with vinegar and baking powder and lightly scrub to remove. The dryer drum can pickup color over time, so keep an eye out for that and address it promptly to avoid color transfers.

4. Use Vinegar

While fabric softener makes towels feel soft and cozy by loosening the fibers, it can also cause the color to fade faster. Instead of fabric softener, use about half a cup of white vinegar in each load. You'll also want to stop using the full amount of recommended detergent. Use half that amount when washing your towels with vinegar. Vinegar helps remove any excess residue from detergent and locks in your towel's vibrant colors. Vinegar will also aid in removing stains, mildew and lingering odors from your towels by acting as a neutralizing agent.

Vinegar is a natural fabric softener, softening the fibers on towels without stretching them out. The scent will wash out thoroughly with the rinse water, making your towels smell fresh and soft. Adding a cup of baking soda can boost your detergent's cleaning and deodorizing effects. You can also use borax, a natural cleaner, with your detergent and watch your towels go from dingy to dazzling.

5. Avoid Overloading the Washer

If you have a business and go through many towels daily, avoid overloading your washing machine by trying to wash them all in one go. If you put too many in the washer for one load, they won't spin around properly and will experience more friction, which leads to tearing, pilling, threads coming undone and more color bleeding. Additionally, the soapy water isn't being distributed uniformly so your towels aren't getting as clean as they should be. 

Aim for a maximum machine capacity of 75% — and even that's pushing it. To prevent overfilling with towels, which also takes a toll on your washer since it has to work harder, try to wash towels in small or medium-sized loads as they're used throughout the day. Load your towels individually, as this will allow them to move around more in the washing machine.

6. Use the Right Amount of Fabric Softener or Detergent

Towel fibers can weaken faster and lose their ability to absorb water if you use too much fabric softener. If you continually use fabric softener on your colored towels, it can even cause a wax buildup on the towel fibers over time. Be cautious with how often you use fabric softeners, and try to use them sparingly, only once every three to four wash cycles. Skipping cycles can also help keep your towels absorbent.

Using excessive detergent doesn't help prolong your towel's color either. Any residual soap that isn't rinsed off in the rinse cycle can make towels appear dingy. Make sure you use detergent with added brighteners and color-safe bleach to help freshen up your towels. You often only need about one-third to one-half of the amount of recommended detergent. Cutting down on detergent keeps the residue at bay while still cleaning your towels.

7. Separate Towels by Function and Fabric

Just like you separate towels based on color before washing, separate them by fabric and how you use them. While some of your towels might be made from natural materials, such as cotton or wool, you may opt for some made from synthetic fibers, like nylon or polyester. These synthetic materials typically result in less fading or dye transfer in the wash, so if you have towels made from both natural and synthetic fibers, wash them in two different loads. Some fabrics easily attract lint, hair or dust, so separating fabrics helps to reduce this transfer between materials.

You also have to think about how you're using the towels. If, for example, you own a salon and use towels when coloring a client's hair and in facial or waxing, you don't want to wash them together. If you have specific towels you use to wipe surfaces where bleach may be present, clean these together as well. Before washing, separate these towels into different piles to ensure the longevity of each fabric and function towel.

8. Know When to Wash Towels

Wash your colored towels before you use them for the first time. New towels often have silicone or some other coating that makes them feel extra fluffy but blocks absorbency. Washing removes the finishes when you get home and ensures their optimal absorbency.

Once you start using your colored towels at home, you should make sure to wash them every three to four days or so. However, some say washing bath towels after about three uses will help your towels last. Clean washcloths, face and hand towels after each use. The same goes for kitchen towels, but you can put kitchen towels in a diluted bleach solution between uses to minimize the spread of bacteria.

Pay attention to the soil settings on your washing machine, as these settings determine how heavily the cleaning cycle runs. For instance, dirty gym shorts or workwear will be washed using the heavy soil setting, but your colored towels won't. Don't automatically wash all your towels on normal or heavy cycles. Instead, wash them depending on how dirty they are. You could even run the towels on the gentle cycle to prevent fibers from tearing or looking worn and keep their color locked in.

9. Perform a Pre-Soak

Sometimes, your colored towels need a little extra care in the form of a pre-soak before you wash them. It is a great way to keep them vibrant and get rid of any dinginess. For pre-soaks, you can use something like Oxyclean, borax or dishwasher detergent. To use Oxyclean, mix one or two cups with hot water in your washer and let your colored towels soak for about half an hour to an hour. Then add detergent and wash as usual, repeating the process if necessary. You can add the same amount of borax and follow the same procedure as well.

If you need to pre-treat any oil-based stains, dishwashing detergent is a good option. Mix in one cup of dishwashing detergent with the hot water in your washer, and allow your towels to soak overnight. In the morning, you can empty your machine before filling it with more hot water and your regular detergent to wash towels as usual.

You could also come back to vinegar and incorporate it into your pre-soak. You need half a cup of vinegar, half a tablespoon of salt, half a gallon of warm water and a big bucket. Add the water, vinegar and salt into the bucket and mix gently to dissolve the salt and vinegar before you put a towel into your bucket and submerge it entirely under the water mix. Let it soak in the solution for about an hour, and then wring it out. After, rinse the towel with new cold water and wash as usual. You can repeat this process if you see color in the rinse water.

10. Dry Your Towels Properly

Since your colored towels are already susceptible to fading, keeping the towel quality in top-notch condition is crucial. Drying them the right way is one way to do this. Make sure you shake out all your towels after washing and run your fingers over their loops before you dry them to add fluff and assist with absorbency. Consider a clean lint catcher to keep your towels fresh, and dry your towels with nylon netting to remove any excess lint. Instead of dryer sheets, which can cause towels to lose their absorbency slowly, try dryer balls to help fluff your towels up and get the lumps out of them while they're in the dryer.

Choose the Best Colored Towels for Your Business

Whether you're switching over from white towels or just picking a new color for your business, think about how you plan to use the colored towels before you buy. Will they get stained? If so, opt for a darker color, like navy blue. Are you folding towels up on a shelf or rolling them up and placing them in baskets? Think about your display and what colors you want to show off. Are you only using one color throughout your business or a few? Go with towels that flow with your business' overall design.

Mixing and matching towels is a great way to stay within the color scheme while providing some variety and drawing visual attention. You could even rotate different colors depending on the time of the year. For summer, you could choose yellow towels, while you might select pink ones for spring. For fall, you could try red or orange towels and a darker color for winter, like forest green.

Choosing the color you want your towels to be can be hard. Consider the following color connotations for some colors you might consider so you can achieve the atmosphere you want to create in your business.

• Red: Red often evokes feelings of love, excitement, intensity, energy, warmth and comfort.
• Orange: Orange exudes excitement, energy and happiness and has a visually stimulating effect.
• Yellow: This color catches attention and gives off welcoming vibes. Yellow is an intense, energetic color that can represent optimism and happiness.
• Green: Green creates a sense of peacefulness and tranquility, renewal, calmness and nature.
• Blue: To evoke a sense of wisdom, serene feelings, spirituality and focus, opt for blue colors.
• Purple: Purple has connections with royalty and ceremony. It is also commonly seen in spirituality, mystery and enlightenment.
• Gray: Grey is a neutral that stands the test of time in class and sophistication.

Shop Towel Super Center to Buy Colorful Towels in Bulk

Washing colored towels with the right techniques and considerations can boost their color vibrancy and practical longevity. The essential strategic measures you can take include using cold water, a gentle detergent, vinegar and separating colors before washing. It is also a good idea to avoid towel overuse by regularly rotating towels. Distributing this workload can help keep their color in check for longer.

No matter your line of business, you can spruce things up with colored towels from Towel Super Center. Whether you own a hotel, a golf course or a gym, Towel Super Center can equip your business with durable, high-quality wholesale towels sure to stay strong, soft and colorful wash after wash. Available in a variety of materials, colors and sizes, you'll find the perfect towels at Towel Super Center to give your business that added special touch while saving money by buying in bulk. Incorporate more color into your business — contact us today and find towels that are sure to stand out.