If you’re a regular at your local gym, you’ll understand how important it is to have a towel handy. Whether you’re smashing out a spin class or tackling your strength routine, profuse sweat is unavoidable, and you’re bound to leave with a dripping towel in tow.
Sound like you? In the aftermath of a global pandemic, it’s more important than ever to keep yourself and the equipment as clean as can be. In today’s blog, we’re sharing our top 5 laundry tips for gym towels, so keep reading to find out more!
5 Laundry Tips for Gym Towels
1. Wash Regularly to Keep Bacteria at Bay
While the gym may seem pretty sanitary, there’s plenty of dirt and grime floating around that the naked eye can’t see. Every time you wipe down a piece of equipment or mop the sweat from your face, your towel will inevitably collect this invisible bacteria. For most people, this spread usually manifests itself in breakouts or irritation, but for others, it can lead to more serious infections.
Experts recommend washing your gym towel after EVERY use. If you can’t commit to that kind of schedule, buy a couple of back-ups that you can alternate between for each workout!
2. Ditch the Fabric Softeners
When you’re using your gym towel to wipe your face constantly, it can be tempting to go overboard on the fabric conditioner to make it as soft and fresh-smelling as possible. The problem is, softening products contain large amounts of oil that can coat towel fibers and limit absorbency. Your trusty towel may smell better than before, but it won’t be able to dry up your sweat as you need it to.
Want to know more about why you should avoid fabric softeners when washing towels? Read our recent blog on the subject!
Once you’ve ditched the conditioners and scent boosters, head to our next tip to learn how to keep your towels as fresh as possible!
3. Use Baking Soda + White Vinegar
If you’re set on boosting the scent and softness of your go-to gym towel, it’s time to rustle around in your pantry and dig out two staple products: baking soda and white vinegar. While baking soda functions as a booster and conditioning agent, the vinegar will work to deodorize and kill off any unwanted bacteria!
Here’s how to use them effectively:
To make sure your towels are extra soft and fluffy, use a few scoops of baking soda alongside your usual detergent.
Select your usual wash cycle (the warmer, the better) and press GO.
Stop the wash between the wash and rinse cycle, add in a small amount of white vinegar (⅓ of a cup should do the trick), and allow to rinse. If you are not able to stop your washing machine mid-cycle, you can add the white vinegar to the fabric softener tray, which goes in during the rinse cycle.
TOP TIP: Never add baking soda AND vinegar at the same time. The two will react together, and things won’t end well… trust us.
4. Always Warm Wash
While most clothes should be tackled on a cooler wash to save both your fabric and the environment, gym towels need a more heavy-duty solution. Heat is one of the most effective ways to kill mold and bacteria, so it’s crucial to ramp up the temperature next time your towels are in the wash. If you’re using specialist equipment or unsure how hot you should go, read our best tips for choosing the right temperature here.
5. Choose an Ozone Laundromat
The main goal of a gym towel wash is to sanitize the threat of bacteria, so why not use Ozone? This effective solution is known as nature’s disinfectant—the product of a natural chemical reaction that can destroy bacteria up to 3,200 times faster than chlorine bleach.
Not only will it keep your gym towels ultra-clean, but it will also ensure they smell fresher than ever before. Don’t believe us? Search for ‘Ozone laundry near me’ and find out for yourself!
So, that concludes our handy list of laundry tips for keeping your gym towels fresh, absorbent, and bacteria-free! For more insights and advice, head to our blog now and become a laundry expert—just like the WaveMAX laundromat team!
