the
washington
post
.
thursday,
june
9
,2022
DC
6
Homequality, medium-weight towel
runs 400 to 600 GSM. One that is
700 to 900 GSM will be soft, plush
and heavy. The higher the GSM,
the thicker the towel, and thicker
towels are more absorbent, says
Mark Feldman, general manager
and chief home merchandising of-
ficer for Riverbend Home, an on-
line retailer.
Use. I nterior designer Dawn
Cook, co-owner of BLDC Design in
Ohio, says to think about where
the towels will be stored and who
will be using them. Are you storing
them in a cabinet or on a towel
rack for display? Will they be used
by the family or on pets? Do you
want to keep them for years to
come, or are you buying them for
your college-bound kids? “You
may want to splurge on a set that
looks nice and you keep out of the
family rotation,” she says.
Dimensions. Although towels
come in standard sizes, there is
little to no regulation regarding
their measurements. And even
within a single company, each
towel line may have different di-
mensions. Typically, a washcloth
is 12 by 12 inches, a hand towel is 16
by 30 inches and a bath towel is
about 27 by 52 inches, Feldman
says. “The largest manufacturers
adhere to the standard and maybegive you a bit more, while other
retailers may cheat in sizing to get
the price down.” So it pays to check
the size before you buy, especially
if you want to ensure that the
towel will cover your head or body.
Those with a larger frame may
want to upsize from a bath towel
to a bath sheet (35 by 60 inches to
40 by 70) for ample coverage.Specifications. Marini says the
hardest part of buying towels is
doing your homework. Find a
brand and go to the company’s
website. “Look up the towel to see
where they source the cotton,” he
says. “If the company isn’t as repu-
table, you may have to dig to find
the information. If someone is
proud of their towel, they will put
the information on the front
page.” You also want to note GSM,
construction and size.
In a perfect world, you would
find something like this: Bath tow-
els are generously sized at 27 by
54 inches. Each towel is spun from
handpicked, 700 GSM, long-
staple, 100 percent Supima cotton.
Whatever the circumstances,
don’t choose a towel based on how
it feels in the store. Many manu-
facturers use a chemical finish, so
the towel feels soft at first touch.
However, that feel may disappear
after five or so washes.
Marini says it’s best to have a
plan when you shop. Write down
what you need, whether that’s
washcloths, hand towels, bath
towels or bath sheets. Most sales-
people should be knowledgeable.
Ask: “ ‘What’s the best-quality, not
the most expensive, towel for my
face?’ ” he says. Cook suggests
shopping at reputable retailersand buying from a known source,
so you can get the same towel
again in the future.
Like with many other items,
cotton prices have skyrocketed,
MacDonald says. Although a
100 percent cotton towel is still
the best buy, expect to pay a premi-
um for those on the high end.
Marini says a 100 percent cotton
bath towel with a high GSM starts
around $70; a medium-grade one
runs about $29 to $50. But good
towels should last you up to
10 years. Invest in quality for piec-
es you will use often, and select
medium-quality options for oth-
ers. “It may be worth it to compare
towels in store, then go home, do
some research and wait for a sale,
so when it hits, you are ready to
buy,” Marini says. And if someone
says they will sell you a 900 GSM
towel for $9.99 — buyer beware,
Feldman says.
Finally, realize that towels are
an investment, so take care of
them. Wash towels at least once a
week. Don’t use fabric softener
or bleach, which will damage the
fibers, and tumble-dry on low.Denver-based writer Laura Daily
specializes in consumer advocacy and
travel strategies. Find her at
dailywriter.net.BY LAURA DAILY
Buying new bath towels seems
as if it should be simple enough:
Determine the size and quantity
you need, choose your color(s),
then go to your favorite store and
pick out the ones you like best,
right? Well, maybe. If you’re lucky,
the towels will be soft, absorbent
and long-lasting. But they could
also pucker, shred and start to
degrade within a few months.
The problem most consumers
face when buying towels is the
limited information on labels and
packaging, making it hard to
know exactly what you’re getting.
“Industry brands have done a
good job of obfuscating the facts,
offering few details,” says Jimmy
MacDonald, co-founder of
Authenticity50, which offers cot-
ton home goods.
“If you were buying a car, you
could do online research for its
features, such as a backup cam-
era,” says home economics expert
Joseph Marini of the lifestyle web-
site At Home with Joseph. “That’s
difficult to find for bath towels.
Just because a towel is beautiful or
carries a celebrity’s name doesn’t
always equal quality.”
MacDonald compares towels to
cooking: You can’t make a good
towel with poor ingredients.
The key component is cotton. It
dictates softness, durability and
absorbency. But not all cotton is
created equal. Ideally, you want a
towel woven from what is known
as long-staple or extra-long-staple
cotton, which you should be able
to find in the towel’s description or
specifications. That’s because as
the staple length — or the length of
the individual fibers used — in-
creases, so does the soft, silky feel
of the cotton. Through the spin-
ning and weaving process, a lon-
ger length yields a smoother sur-
face with fewer exposed fiber
ends. Items made with long-staple
cotton are also more durable.
Marini says you also need to
consider where the cotton is
grown and harvested. American-
grown cotton with extra-long fi-
bers (called “Supima”) is compara-
ble to Egyptian or Turkish cotton.
Experts agree that all three are
fine options if the towel contains
100 percent of the product. You
want to avoid any type of cotton-
polyester mix, which is prone to
shredding or shrinkage and feels
rough against the skin. Here are
some other things to consider
when shopping.
Weight. Towels are rated on a
grams per square meter (GSM)
scale. Towels that are heavier,
more expensive or higher quality
have a greater GSM than cheaper
towels. Typically, the more loops
that are woven into a towel, the
higher the GSM. The lightest tow-
els are 300 to 400 GSM. A decent-Looking for soft, long-lasting towels? Here’s how to find them.
ISTOCK
When buying towels,
think about where they
will be stored, suggests
Dawn Cook, co-owner
of BLDC Design.“Just because a
towel is beautiful
or carries a
celebrity’s name
doesn’t always
equal quality.”
Joseph Marini,
a home economics expert