Beach towels: how to wash them and keep them clean and soft

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During summertime, beach towels are our constant companions! But with exposure to salty water, chlorine and sweat, it is necessary that beach towels are washed frequently - and this, in turn, can make them start to feel rough and hard on our skin. So, how can we keep our beach towels clean and soft? Well, let's find out:

Caring for beach towels: things to remember before washing them

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There are steps you can take to take care of your beach towels before you wash them. In fact, while still at the beach (or next to the pool, etc), remember to:

• Shake out the towel vigorously to remove as much sand and loose dirt as possible;
• Allow the towel to dry out thoroughly before placing it in a bag. Putting a damp towel in a bag - even a breathable one - could cause an unpleasant odor to develop in the towel's fibers;
• If you spill sunscreen on the towel, remove the bulk of the spill immediately, and then use a little sand to soak up the excess.

Once you're home and ready to do the laundry, proceed as follows:

• Shake out the towel again: by the time you get home the towel will be dryer than when you left the beach/pool. Given this, a good shake will dislodge even more loose dirt and debris you don't want going into your washing machine!
• Pre-treating stubborn stains: these are typically stains caused by sunscreen lotions that have penetrated deeply into the towel's fabric. It's best to do a quick, topical treatment of these stains before putting the towel in the washing machine. Use a small amount of detergent on these stains, leave on for a while to act, then rub a little and rinse out. Once pre-treated in this way, the towel can go into the wash, with the water temperature set to cold or, at the most, set to lukewarm.

How to wash beach towels

For machine washing your beach towels, we recommend the following:

• Use cold or low-temperature water settings: at low temperatures, sand or similar debris will be more effectively removed from between the towel's fibers;
• Do not mix colors: even at low temperatures, it is always best not mix towels of very different colors together (especially if some are white or light and the others are colored);
• Use only a little detergent and no fabric softener: excess detergent and fabric softeners (and especially in low-temperature washes), will leave surfactant residue between the towel's fibers, making the towel feel hard and rough when dry;
• Do not use the dryer: avoid "stressing" your towels by putting them in the dryer. It is best to air-dry beach towels and this should not be a problem during the summer. If, however, you do use the dryer, select a cool/cold drying program.

How often should you wash beach towels?

The answer to this question varies: if your towels are very dirty (with salt, sweat, dirt, sand, etc), then you should wash them immediately. But if, after shaking them out and allowing them to dry thoroughly (and there are no unpleasant odors!), you can wash your towels after every two or three uses.