There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a fresh, fluffy towel fresh out of the airing cupboard, or that hotel-quality softness you experience while staying away from home. But how many of us are guilty of ignoring our towels at home, leaving them to become stiff, rough or musty over time?
If you’ve noticed your towels losing their softness, there’s a good chance it’s not the towels themselves – it’s what’s building up in the fibres. And while towels are usually the first thing we think of, they’re not the only bathroom textile that benefits from a proper refresh. Here’s how to bring the hotel treatment to everything in your bathroom.
Over time, regular detergent and fabric softener leave behind a residue that coats cotton fibres. This buildup is what makes towels feel stiff and scratchy, and it also reduces their absorbency – which is precisely the opposite of what you want from a towel. Combined with dampness that isn’t given the chance to properly dry out, this residue buildup is also what causes that musty smell many of us have simply learned to live with.
A tip shared on TikTok by user Mama_Mila has been winning over viewers for its simplicity: skip the fabric softener altogether, and use white vinegar instead.
Her method: wash your towels on a warm cycle using half a cup of white vinegar in place of your usual fabric softener. Vinegar helps strip away built-up detergent residue without leaving any coating behind, which is what allows towels to regain their natural fluffiness and absorbency. Once washed, let the towels air dry most of the way, then finish with a short 10–15 minute tumble dry to fluff them back up.
A few things worth knowing before you try it:
Use hot water for whites, warm or cold for colours, to avoid any fading.
Don’t overdo the vinegar. Half a cup per load is plenty — using much more, repeatedly, over a long period can potentially affect elastic trims or certain towel finishes.
Wash towels every three uses. This is the general rule of thumb recommended by textile care experts, since damp towels left much longer than that become a breeding ground for bacteria, regardless of how well you wash them.
Bath mats live in one of the dampest, warmest spots in the house, which makes them prime real estate for mould, mildew and bacteria if they’re not cleaned regularly. How you wash one depends heavily on what it’s made of.
Cotton, microfibre and chenille mats can generally be machine-washed in warm water and tumble-dried on low. Skip the fabric softener on microfibre specifically, as it reduces the mat’s absorbency over time – much like it does with towels.
Rubber-backed mats should never go in the dryer, as heat can cause the backing to crack, warp or peel away entirely. Wash on a gentle, cool cycle and air dry instead, or spot-treat mould spots with an equal-parts vinegar and warm water spray, left to sit for up to an hour before scrubbing.
Memory foam mats need the most careful handling – remove the fabric cover and wash it separately, and hand-wash the foam insert itself in cool water, gently pressing (never wringing) out excess moisture before laying it flat to air dry.
As a general guide, wash bath mats every three to five days in a household with two or more people using the bathroom regularly, since the more frequently a mat gets stepped on while wet, the less time it has to properly dry between uses.
Unlike towels and mats, the main goal with shower curtains isn’t softness – it’s stopping mould and mildew before they take hold. Shower curtains sit in a constantly damp environment, and fabric liners in particular absorb moisture and soap scum more readily than plastic ones, making them a common trouble spot.
Fabric shower curtains can typically be machine-washed with a couple of towels thrown in – the towels help balance the load and add gentle scrubbing friction. Wash on a gentle cycle using warm to hot water, adding a cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle to help sanitise and cut through mildew.
Plastic or vinyl liners should be washed more gently – a mild detergent and soft sponge or brush, avoiding harsh abrasive cleaners that can scratch the surface. These can also often be machine-washed on a gentle cycle alongside towels, then simply re-hung to air dry rather than placed in the dryer.
General mould prevention matters more than any single wash: run your exhaust fan during and after showering, squeegee the shower walls after use, and leave the curtain pulled out fully (rather than bunched up) so it has a chance to dry properly between uses.
Aim to wash your shower curtain at least once a month, and consider replacing it altogether every six months or so, or sooner if you notice mould returning quickly or the fabric starting to wear.
The bottom line
A few small adjustments to how you wash your bathroom textiles – the right ingredients, the right water temperature, and simply not neglecting the items that quietly do the least glamorous work in the house – can make an enormous difference to how fresh, soft and genuinely hotel-quality your bathroom feels. Give your towels the vinegar treatment, give your bath mats and shower curtain the attention they’re usually denied, and enjoy the difference every time you step out of the shower.
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