How to wash and dry towels

This one is particularly important if you have white or light-coloured towels, as with washing other items they can take on the colours of darker shades, if not separated properly. It's best to wash towels separately to other clothes items so you can look after them properly.

Have you ever felt a towel that has a hard, crunchy feel to it? That's because too much soap can damage towels, and they'll lose their soft fluffy texture. Instead, use half the amount of detergent you would use on a normal load of laundry when washing your towels. The same principal can be applied to fabric softeners too - so even though they smell nice, try not to get carried away!

Most towels should be washed at a high temperature - to get rid of all the germs hiding in there! However, for darker-coloured towels, you may want to wash them at a warm temperature to avoid any bleeding of the dye. For more delicate linen towels, a cold wash is best so they don't get damaged.

Towels should be dried fully after they've been washed and after use. You can use a tumble dryer, but the heat does damage the towel fibres, so the best option is to let them dry hanging up. Shake out the towels and hang them out neatly in an airy, warm location - whether that's outdoors on the washing line or, on a clothes horse inside during the winter.