Towels

Towels run from tea towels for drying dishes and glasses to bar towels, hand and bath towels and washcloths. The weave and the fiber decide how much water a towel takes up and how quickly it dries.

How to choose Towels

  • Linen. Spun from flax, linen absorbs and releases moisture quickly, so a damp cloth is ready again soon, and its low stretch gives it a hard, smooth surface.
  • Terry. An absorbent fabric with an even surface of uncut loops, which give it the soak-up power of a bath towel.
  • Huckaback. An absorbent, durable weave of cotton, linen or both, made mainly for towels.
  • Fiber percentages. The label lists each fiber by share of weight, with anything under 5 percent allowed to appear as other fiber.

About Towels

Towels are absorbent cloths for drying hands, bodies, dishes and glasses. The name tea towel, for a cloth that dries dishes, has been in print since 1863. Flax, the plant behind linen, is one of the oldest fibers people have spun, and fine linen has turned up in ancient Egyptian tombs.

Federal rules also require the label to name the country of origin and the company responsible, by name or RN number. Between uses, hang towels so they dry, and wash them after three to five uses on a normal cotton cycle with warm or hot water. A medium-heat dryer cycle suits everyday cottons and linens; empty the lint trap often.

At a glance

Made from
Linen, cotton, cotton and linen blends, microfiber
Main types
Tea, bar, hand and bath towels, washcloths
Label terms
Fiber percentages, country of origin, company name or RN

Towels questions

Why do new towels leave lint on everything?

New towels tend to shed loose fibers onto other laundry during their first trips through the washer. Wash them on their own until the shedding stops, and clear the dryer lint trap after each load. A clear lint trap also helps the dryer work properly.

Are linen tea towels better than cotton ones?

For drying glasses and dishes, linen has two advantages. It is stronger than cotton and dries faster, so one cloth holds up through a long evening of washing up. The tradeoff is that linen wrinkles easily, so it comes out of the drawer creased unless it has been ironed.

Is microfiber a natural fiber?

No. Microfiber is made from very fine synthetic fibers, usually polyester and nylon. Federal rules make labels use generic fiber names, so a microfiber towel's label lists fibers such as polyester or nylon rather than microfiber. Read the fiber line to learn what a cloth is actually made of.

Sources: Federal Trade Commission; American Cleaning Institute; Merriam-Webster.

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