Can You Wash Towels With Clothes and Sheets? 5 Reasons You Shouldn’t

Would you like to know if towels can be used to wash clothes? What can and cannot be mixed in the wash is outlined in the following expert guide.

Will you be washing towels and clothes in the same load? If so, you must first ascertain the answer to the query Should You Wash Towels With Clothes? It is not recommended to wash towels with clothes and sheets. You might hurt them both if you make a mistake. That might be expensive.

Learn why washing towels with clothes is not advised in this article.

Can You Wash Towels With Clothes and Sheets?

With sheets and towels, you can wash clothing. In contrast, pay attention to the washing labels so you don’t wash the load at a hotter temperature than the lowest maximum indicated when taking all items into account, just as you would when washing sheets and towels together or clothes with towels.

A separate load is preferable for maximum hygiene, at least occasionally, because many clothing items require washing at lower temperatures than can be used for sheets and towels.

Avoid putting heavily soiled items with clothing and observe the rules regarding color mixing to prevent runs.

You may be interested in How to Wash Microfiber Towels?

Why Shouldn’t You Wash Towels With Clothes and Sheets?

Not washing towels with clothes is a good idea. There are many causes for the same. We will discuss these reasons in more detail below.

Towels Are Lint-producers

You’ll see that there is a ton of lint in the dryer screen if you wash a load of recently purchased towels. Towels naturally produce lint. Despite getting most of the lint on the dryer screen, it still gets on the clothes. And some fabrics act as magnets, drawing that lint to them. And that lint? It’s a pain to remove.

If you don’t believe me, try washing a pair of black pants with a white towel made of only cotton. You’ll struggle if you try to remove the lint with a lint brush, I can assure you of that.

Clothes Get Trapped Inside Sheets

The size and shape of sheets make them prone to balling up in the washer and dryer. Sheets catch other smaller items inside them while spinning in the washer.

When those clothes are trapped, they are prevented from rubbing against other garments. This agitation is partly what gets the laundry clean in the first place.

Similarly, clothes that are rolled up inside of a sheet and dried in the dryer will emerge wet. They will still come out wet even if your dryer has a damp sensor because the sensor believes the outside of the sheet to be dry.

Towels and Sheets Need to Be Washed on a Hot, Long Wash Cycle

Regular clothing typically doesn’t require a hot wash or a lengthy wash cycle. The heavy-duty wash is not necessary for washing clothes that have only undergone normal wear.

They’ll look stale quickly if you frequently wash them on a hot, long cycle. Towels and sheets always need to be washed on a hot and long wash cycle.

Your skin cells and sweat are all over those sheets because you’ve been sleeping on them for about a week. Those towels have been used by you a few times (at least), and your skin cells are all over them as well.

Because they are made of hardy cotton, towels, and sheets can withstand the trauma of being washed so vigorously and repeatedly. They must be washed every time in this setting in order to get truly clean.

Towels Can Deteriorate Soft Fabric

In general, towels can be quite harsh. While fresh towels are soft, they gradually become rough. Additionally, most modern washing machines come equipped with a dirt sensor. The water can become dirty when you’re washing towels.

As a result, the machine will extend the washing cycle automatically. So, a longer period of time will pass during which the towels are in contact with the soft fabric. The damage increases with the length of time the towels are in contact with the fabric.

It costs more money to buy softer fabrics. You’re going to pay a steep price for their damage. The towels may completely deteriorate if you rub them against the delicate fabric. If the clothing is made of lace and other delicate fabrics, repeated rubbing can weaken it over time. Washing towels and clothing separately is a solution to this issue.

Towels Need Harsher Detergent

A towel needs a different kind of detergent than delicate clothing does. The discoloration might happen if you wash the delicate clothes with a more abrasive detergent. Additionally, the fabric of the garment’s threads can scatter. The garment’s lifespan will be shortened as a result.

On the other hand, if you wash towels with mild detergent, it is impossible to get rid of dirt and other contaminants. You might have to wash the towels and clothes separately if the detergent is the wrong kind.

When Not to Wash Clothes With Towels?

When looking for cleaning advice on washing towels, temperature and isolation from other items are two factors to take into account.

Check the labels on your towels for the laundry symbols to determine the wash temperature. The towels can probably be washed in hot water if they say so. They can alternatively be washed at lower temperatures, so this isn’t a rule.

In order to maintain hygiene, it is best to wash towels that are shared at the high temperature recommended. The same rule applies to towels that are very dirty or if someone in your home is sick.

Apart from that, they can be washed in a regular cycle using a detergent without needing to be placed in a high-temperature wash.

When it comes to separation, it is best to wash shared towels in a separate load, and when a family member is sick at home, towels should be washed separately from other items.

What is the Best Way to Wash Towels and Sheets?

We advise using an enzyme-containing detergent to wash towels and sheets consistently on hot for a lengthy wash cycle.

Every time we use a towel, bacteria and skin cells are collected on it, and this means that towels sometimes need a deeper cleaning than most other items of clothing.

An unnecessary amount of agitation occurs when clothes are washed for a longer amount of time than is necessary. As a result, the clothing appears outdated before its time. Additionally, it can harm materials like lace and netting and speed up the breakdown of the elastic in some garments.

Are There Any Items I Can Wash With Towels?

Some sturdy clothes, like jeans and t-shirts, can be added if you’re running a small load of towels and really want to add extra items to save water. We would advise a warm (not hot) wash in this instance, as well as a dryer setting that is lower.

Wool dryer balls can speed up the drying process so that your clothes aren’t subjected to more heat than necessary.

Wrapping Up: Not Washing Towels With Clothes and Sheets

There are many reasons why washing towels with clothes is not a good idea. Clothes may become worn if you still wash them in the same load. The error could end up costing you a lot in terms of clothing damage. Avoid washing them together if possible to save yourself all of this trouble.

The rule does not apply to you if you are washing a load of sick laundry. When your child has thrown up for the majority of the night and you want to wash all of the towels, sheets, mattress toppers, and pajamas at once. Make sure to use bleach and put on the ‘Sanitize’ cycle if you have one. And then sanitize your washer.

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