Caring for your towels: our top tips for thick & thirsty towels!

We've put together our top tips for keeping your Eureco bamboo towels looking and feeling snuggle-icious!

Tips for brand new towels:

* We recommend that you wash your towels 3 times in plain warm water before use. All new towels will shed a little excess fibre at first and we think there's nothing more annoying than towel fluff sticking to you when you're just out of the shower! A few initial washes will eliminate this problem and leave your towels ready for service.

* Brand new towels will typically shrink a little upon initial washing. That might seem like a bad thing, but actually, the small amount of shrinkage that occurs during washing serves to tighten the towel's weave structure and will bind the terry loops more firmly into the cloth making your towels stronger, more durable and ready for service. Nifty eh?

* Sometimes snags (or slight pulls) can appear in new towels that have not yet been washed (because the weave has not yet tightened up). If you notice a pull or two in your towel, don't panic. Simply use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the snag off at the level of the pile. The towel will not ladder (run) or unravel.

Tips once towels are in regular use:

Washing:

When you're using and washing your towels on a regular basis, make sure the light and dark items are washed seperately. We always suggest that towels are washed with other towels or with other fluffy items like socks or tracksuit pants etc. We like to avoid washing our towels with our lovely black work pants...

Also, we know you want to save water but please don’t overload your machine when you're washing your Eureco towels. The excessive abrasion and agitation will cause the towel fibres to break down and this will reduce the durability and longevity of your lovely towels.

Soaps, detergents and additives:

There are lots of super-dooper washing detergents and fabric softeners on the market to 'transform' your washing into bright whiteness with every wash - but Eureco says no! Please do not use chlorine bleach, bluing agents or optic whiteners as these may alter or remove colour and can weaken fibres. A basic detergent will do.

Expert Tip: To help keep your towels extra soft (depending on the amount of soiling of course) try using only half the amount of detergent recommended by the manufacturer.

Make sure your detergent is added to the load as the washer fills, instead of pouring it directly onto the bamboo towels. This will avoid damage to the fabric and prevent a detergent build up which can reduce softness.

Expert Tip: Don't use fabric softener with your towels! Did you know that fabric softener acts in a similar way to hair conditioner? It coats the fibre and leaves it smooth, but ultimately it clogs up all the little gaps and micro-holes in the fibre that make it so absorbent!

Those in the know here at Eureco get very cranky with all those fabric softener TV commercials depicting lovely soft towels being hung on the line, or super cute kids snuggling into their snuggly towels and robes and thanking mum for using fabric softener! Don't be fooled - it's a misnomer! Keep your towels thick and thirsty by avoiding fabric softener.

Drying:

After washing, remove your towels from the machine promptly and give them a shake to help reduce wrinkling. We urge you to use nature's energy and line dry your towels, but if you absolutely have to use a dryer then a medium heat setting will be best.

Expert Tip: If you absolutely have to use a tumble dryer, be patient and avoid using a hot setting. The hot setting will burn the fibres, will cause them to start to break down, will cause excess linting and will ultimately reduce the durability and longevity of your towels.

Ironing: for OCD types (an the occassional photoshoot stylist)

At Eureco, we don't discriminate. If you really are inclined to iron your towels, please go for it! They are best ironed when still damp on a medium (cotton) setting.

Storage:

If you need to pack your bamboo towels away for a while, they should be stored in a cool, dry, well aerated place. We recommend storing towels in old cotton pillow cases, as storing them in plastic bags or boxes may cause yellowing over time. We also think reusing old pillowcases is cool.

Snags or Pulls:

If you notice a snag or two over the life of your towel, simply use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the snag off at the level of the pile.

Expert Tip: Looking over your old towels and snipping off any sneaky snags that have occured over time is a great way to reinvigorate your old towels and get them looking their best again!

Dry Cleaning:

Last of all, whatever you do, please DO NOT DRY-CLEAN your bamboo towels.

So there you have it, our top tips for caring for your lovely towels and keeping them soft, absorbent and long lasting!