I hate buying towels

My linen closet is full of rags, but I can't find decent towels. I don't really like the super thick ones - they're like trying to dry yourself with a wet poodle. On the other hand, the thin Turkish style ones are like paper towels. Have you found nice towels that are snag-free, dry fairly fast, keep their color and don't unravel? Is that asking too much?

Ralph Lauren (and the more moderately-priced Ralph line) makes very good quality linens that last and last and last.

Costco has some bath towels for 6.99. I bought two yesterday, so I don't know how long they last, but they seem absorbent and are 100% cotton. I know just what you mean about pricey towels that never feel like they are getting you dry

Pottery Barn Hydro Cotton towels are great.

callista said:
Costco has some bath towels for 6.99. I bought two yesterday, so I don't know how long they last, but they seem absorbent and are 100% cotton. I know just what you mean about pricey towels that never feel like they are getting you dry

I think a lot of that has to do with using fabric softener with towels. Feels like it prevents the towels from absorbing water effectively. That's my guess, anyway.

I thought I was the only person in the world who hated plush towels. For years, I've bought my towels at Target and K-Mart because the thicker and fancier the towel, the less effective it is at getting me dry. But now I too have shelves full of ratty, faded, threadbare towels, plus a few nice ones for guests. I might have to check out the Pottery Barn ones.

mauras said:
I thought I was the only person in the world who hated plush towels. For years, I've bought my towels at Target and K-Mart because the thicker and fancier the towel, the less effective it is at getting me dry. But now I too have shelves full of ratty, faded, threadbare towels, plus a few nice ones for guests. I might have to check out the Pottery Barn ones.

LOL. I actually prefer rough and almost scratchy towels.

Target has a line of what they call quick-dry towels. Not super thick and they stay nice and soft. They come in really pretty colors too.

I love them , but they aren't that durable. The hem tends to get all ratty. But they go on sale for $4 each so I don't expect them to last forever.

Years ago, maybe 10 even, I got fabulous towels at Restoration Hardware. They are still going strong and look like new. But I'm not sure RH makes towels anymore. You have to check.

I bought a Ralph Lauren towel for (ulp) $20 in 1991. Needed something that didn't look embarrassing when guests came over. It was colorful and pretty, at the time quite an extravagance. We wound up using it a lot.

24 years later, it's still a remarkably attractive towel. It has not gone threadbare, the seams have not unraveled, it hasn't even faded as much as could reasonably have been expected. We use it all the time.

But I've also found a few good ones at Costco. Maybe a little more plush than some people like.

My Ralph Lauren towels (which were mostly replaced by my Restoration Towels) frayed at the ends. However, I still use them at the gym and they work great. They are thinner than my RH towels, but still absorbent. I bought them at Century 21, which was (is hopefully) a great place to buy towels. If you buy good towels, you rarely have to buy towels.

(somehow landed in wrong thread, sorry)

mbaldwin said:

I think a lot of that has to do with using fabric softener with towels. Feels like it prevents the towels from absorbing water effectively. That's my guess, anyway.

You are correct! It's a fact that fabric softener is not supposed to be used on towels because the chemicals coat the cotton fibers and decrease their absorbency.

A washing machine repair guy told me to never use fabric softener, period. He said it damages the machines. So I use those rubber balls with the spike-y nubs in the dryer. They seem to work fine.

But back to towels - I'll check out the Ralph Lauren towels, although who knows whether the quality is still the same after 20 years. And also Costco, because you have to figure they can't afford to have millions of people complaining about their towels.

I bought Diane Von Furstenberg towels at Sears back in 1983. My favorite towels ever -- perfect size, ideal blend of plush and rough, dry well -- and they still look great. (Smell a little funky after a few days, though.) I was surprised to find this fairly recent article about them in Curbed.

http://curbed.com/archives/2011/01/20/who-knew-that-diane-von-furstenberg-designed-a-home-line-for-sears.php

I hate that the bath towels are so small--54 inches. I like bath sheets --approx 70 ins and they are rarely available or ridiculously expensive. Anyone know where to find them?

Bloomingdales. Watch for sales. Sometimes they are very inexpensive and very nice. I don't use fabric softener, so I can't address that issue. I wash in hot water with All free and clear. Dry on high..

IKEA has nice, large, absorbent and inexpensive cotton towels.

harden said:
I hate that the bath towels are so small--54 inches. I like bath sheets --approx 70 ins and they are rarely available or ridiculously expensive. Anyone know where to find them?

To answer this and the OP-- I love the Westin bath sheets. They're not thick but they're heavy... May have to google for how to buy direct (you can, along with the bed, sheets, etc). Also have scads of RH towels that are great, bug the sheets are a tad heavy though not plush

Scully said:
IKEA has nice, large, absorbent and inexpensive cotton towels.

I love these, and they have the loop sewn into the middle of one edge to hang up on a hook. They are 59" in length which I found to be generous even when 9 months pregnant.

Here's another question...how do you prevent kids from using a towel once and throwing in the laundry? I keep telling them use a few times....how many times do you use a towel before washing it?

Macy's has good high end towels just know the good ones cost more. Spend money where you'll use it. Sheets and towels and blankets and pillows.

Hah, @starsong, I wish I knew! I wound up color-coding the family towels as a result of teens who thought one use was enough. Now their towels are part of their laundry detail. What happens at college . . . I don't even want to know.

I'm on a search for something like those Westin bath sheets @ctrzaska describes -- heavy but not thick or plush or loopy. More sheet than towel, like a good hotel bath sheet. And a bathrobe to match.

The higher end Target towels should be solid as well

I've been buying Pottery Barn towels for awhile now, and love them. I didn't know that about fabric softener, though, and will buy the spiky rubber balls for future use! Anybody know why they work to get rid of static, just out of curiosity?

I also have bought plenty of towels from Marshall's and TJ Maxx, and usually I just feel my way up and down the row of towels, looking for the perfect thickness and feel. The Hotel brand they carry works pretty well for us.

I think the issue with fabric softener sheets is that many userendered animal fats (gross). You can try a plant based sheet. Oursdon't seem to leave any weird residue behind.

The problem isn't so much dryer sheets, but rather the fabric softener in the rinse water, which works by leaving a slimy residue. Makes clothes feel soft, renders towels waterproof. (Although I gather dryer sheets do the same.)

I really like Target, but I've never had a towel from there to hold up. Seems like to me just about every place has bath "sheets" which are too much for me. I used to find towels that lasted forever. Now, not so much.

mbaldwin said:

mauras said:
I thought I was the only person in the world who hated plush towels. For years, I've bought my towels at Target and K-Mart because the thicker and fancier the towel, the less effective it is at getting me dry. But now I too have shelves full of ratty, faded, threadbare towels, plus a few nice ones for guests. I might have to check out the Pottery Barn ones.

LOL. I actually prefer rough and almost scratchy towels.

Me, too. I don't use dryer sheets or fabric softeners on the towels. Some of my scratchy thin ones date back to college. Some newer ones can't hold up with our hard water. Time to donate to the Furry Hearts rescue.

I recommend Kohl's THE BIG ONE, currently on Home Close-Out for $4.99. Picked up a few 5 or 6 years ago and went back for more.

I use three bath towels for a week. I use the large body one every day, because it dries fairly quickly and I rotate the other two for my hair, because they stay damp longer

Starsong said:
Here's another question...how do you prevent kids from using a towel once and throwing in the laundry? I keep telling them use a few times....how many times do you use a towel before washing it?