How to Care for 100% Cotton Towels So They Last for Years

The First Wash Changes Everything

Most people pull a new cotton towel out of its packaging and use it immediately. That’s the first mistake.

Cotton towels are treated with a silicone finish at the end of the manufacturing process — this provides the perception of softness to customers touching the towel in a store. In reality, that silicone coats the fibers and significantly diminishes their absorbency. So the towel that feels plush on the shelf might barely wick water the first time you step out of the shower.

Washing your towels before use can help to enhance absorbency, allowing their cotton fibers to ‘open up’ and become more receptive to water, making them more effective at drying. A good approach for the inaugural wash: run the towels through a warm cycle with one cup of white distilled vinegar and no detergent. The mild acid dissolves deposits without damaging the cotton. Follow that with a second cycle using half a cup of baking soda — again, no detergent. Baking soda softens water naturally and removes odors without coating fibers. Then dry as directed. After those two cycles, your towels are genuinely ready to use.

Matteo’s Riviera bath towels are garment-washed before they ship, which takes some of that break-in work off your hands — but the first-wash vinegar step still helps remove any residual dye and fully opens the weave.

Washing: Temperature, Detergent, and What to Skip

The best washing setting for cotton towels is a Normal or Permanent Press cycle using warm water. This temperature is effective at killing germs and removing soils without damaging the cotton fibers, which helps preserve the softness and integrity of the towel. For colored towels, lean toward the cooler end of warm — for darker colors, use cold water to prevent fading.

Detergent quantity matters more than most people realize. The most common mistake is using too much detergent. Excess detergent binds with the cotton, leaving towels stiff. Use roughly half the amount the packaging suggests, especially if you have soft municipal water. Choose mild, pH-balanced detergents that clean effectively without harsh chemicals that can damage fibers. Liquid detergents dissolve better in cold water than powders, making them a better choice if you’re washing at lower temperatures.

Fabric softener is the single most damaging thing you can add to a cotton towel wash. You should never use fabric softener on cotton towels. Fabric softener leaves a waxy residue that coats the cotton fibers, severely reducing the towel’s ability to absorb moisture. The same applies to dryer sheets. Fabric softeners and dryer sheets coat cotton to offer an illusion of softness, but can actually irritate the skin and break down the cotton fibers more quickly. If your towels have gone stiff from softener buildup, run them through a hot cycle with a cup of white vinegar — the acid dissolves the deposits without damaging the cotton. Repeat every 8 to 12 washes to maintain performance.

On load size: do not overload the machine, as this will damage long cotton fibers. Towels need room to tumble and rinse cleanly. A stuffed drum means detergent doesn’t fully rinse out, which compounds the residue problem over time. And avoid washing lint-producing items like fleece or wool with your towels, as this can transfer unwanted lint and debris onto the cotton.

Drying: The Step That Determines Long-Term Softness

Heat is where most cotton towels age prematurely. Tumble dry on a low or medium heat setting. High heat is the enemy of cotton — it causes shrinkage and stiffens the fibers, leading to scratchy towels. The physics behind this: drying towels at high heat — 180°F (82°C) or above — damages the cotton polymer chains. After repeated high-heat cycles, the fibers become brittle and break. Broken fibers cannot wick water inward, so the towel becomes rough and loses absorbency.

Before the towels go into the dryer, shake each one out firmly. Shaking excess water out of your towels before putting them in the dryer will help fluff the terry loops and keep them absorbent. This takes about ten seconds per towel and makes a noticeable difference in how they feel when dry.

If you want to skip the dryer entirely or finish drying naturally, air drying is a solid option — especially in a dry climate like Los Angeles where towels dry quickly hung over a rod or rack. After use, hang your wet towel to air dry in a warm space to prevent mildew and unpleasant smells. The tradeoff with air drying is that towels can come out slightly stiffer than dryer-dried ones, but a short five-minute tumble in the dryer on low heat at the end will restore the fluff without the fiber damage of a full high-heat cycle.

For wool dryer balls: use wool dryer balls for static control in the dryer. They cut drying time by 15 to 20 percent and keep towels fluffy without chemicals. Two or three balls per load is enough.

Don’t let wet towels sit in the washer for too long, as this can result in an unpleasant mildew smell. If you forget a load overnight, run a quick rinse cycle before drying.

Storage and Everyday Habits That Extend Towel Life

Where and how you store cotton towels affects their longevity more than most people expect. Make sure your towels are fully dry before folding them or putting them in a cupboard. Storing even slightly damp towels in an enclosed linen closet is the fastest route to mildew — and once that smell sets in, it’s difficult to fully remove.

For hanging between uses, give each towel its own bar or hook rather than doubling them up. A folded towel draped over another towel won’t dry properly between uses, which shortens the wash interval and adds unnecessary wash cycles over a towel’s lifetime. Counting uses is more important than counting days between washes — laundering every three uses is a good rule of thumb.

If a terry loop snags or pulls, cut it immediately with scissors rather than pulling it. Sometimes, no amount of care will stop the occasional pull and snag on your towel. Make sure that you cut the pulled loop as soon as possible so it doesn’t worsen. Pulling a loose loop unravels the surrounding weave and creates a visible worn patch.

For towels with garment-dyed colors — like many in Matteo’s Riviera collection — keep them away from products that contain whitening agents. Avoid products that contain whitening agents such as chlorine bleach, alpha hydroxy acids, and benzoyl peroxide on garment-dyed items. The reactive dyes used for garment-dyeing are not resistant to these whitening agents. That includes some acne face washes and certain skincare products — worth knowing if you use your bath towels to pat your face dry.

With consistent habits — warm washes, low-heat drying, no fabric softener, and proper storage — a well-made 100% cotton towel should hold its weight, softness, and absorbency for well over five years. The care routine takes almost no extra time once it’s established. The towels do the rest.