Never use too much laundry detergent, it reverses the cleaning affect that it is supposed to have and bogs your soft bath towels down with too much junk to be cleaned off effectively in one washer load.

Skip the liquid fabric softener and the dryer sheets. While they claim to make items soft and delicious smelling, what they can really do, especially after time, is build up residue on your thick towels that weighs them down. Fabric softener is good for reducing or eliminating static cling, but the adverse affects are a waxy build up that destroys the absorbency of your towels. Air dry your towels, if possible, and then put them in the dryer on the air fluff cycle for about fifteen minutes. You will be very surprised at how much of a difference this can make after just a couple of washings.

Throw four or five dryer balls in the electric dryer with your towels, if you have to use one to get them dry. Once they are dry, fluff them for a few minutes before folding. The balls serve to soften and fluff the towels, as well as remove any lumps.
Never put more than a few towels in an electric dryer at once. Towels are heavy, and too many of them will keep the dryer from working as it is intended to do. The longer it takes to dry the towels, the higher the chance they will come out scratchy.

A. Towels are one of the most important pieces of laundry to keep clean and dry. Damp towels are vulnerable to bacterial growth, which causes that “musty” or “sour” smell. (Gross but true: That unpleasant odor is the smell of bacteria breeding.)

According to Steve Boorstein, a coauthor of The Clothing Doctor’s 99 Secrets of Cleaning and Clothing Care ($5, amazon.com), you can retard the growth of bacteria with a holistic approach to the problem. He recommends following these five steps to keep towels smelling fresh.

1. Scrub diligently with soap in the shower or bath, especially sweat “hot spots,” such as the feet, the underarms, and the groin. “Good hygiene in the shower is critical,” says Boorstein. “Some people―including most kids―don’t wash thoroughly when bathing. Any bacteria from sweat and body oils that isn’t washed away gets transferred to your towel.”

2. Always hang up a towel after using it. A rack is ideal for airing out the maximum amount of surface area. Don’t throw a damp towel―whether it has been used in the kitchen or the bathroom―on the floor or in a hamper to dry. The residual buildup of bacteria only worsens if a damp towel doesn’t dry completely between uses.

3. Make sure your washing machine itself is sanitary. “People shed about 1 billion dead skin cells every day, much of which ends up in your clothes, towels, and washing machine,” says Boorstein. “Before washing your towels, do your whites, if you use bleach. Or run an empty load with ¼ cup bleach to disinfect the interior.”

4. Perform some heavy-duty cleaning on your towels. Boorstein recommends washing small loads of no more than three towels in hot water on the longest setting. Use a regular detergent plus a booster (such as OxiClean’s Versatile Stain Remover; $10, amazon.com). Remove them from the warm environment of the washing machine quickly or bacteria will start breeding within one to two hours. And be sure to dry towels completely.

If a towel continues to have a smell, it means that bacteria are still in your machine or on your towel. Run the washing machine again with bleach, or wash the towel a second time to remove the stubborn bacteria.

5. Wash your towels frequently. Follow the steps above, says Boorstein, and use a bath towel no more than three times between washings.

—Lori Seto

Washing
Before you use a newly-purchased luxury bath towel, wash it in warm water with laundry detergent to remove any sizing or fabric coating that may be on the fibers from manufacturing. Without doing this first, the new soft towel will not be effective in absorbing the moisture from your body. When you do this first washing, add about quarter of a cup of Epsom salt or table salt to the wash cycle. This not only helps remove the coating, but will help set the color of the towel.
Add 1/2 cup of baking soda, along with your detergent, to the wash cycle to keep your soft towels smelling fresh. To keep luxury towels soft, add a 1 cup of white vinegar to the final rinse cycle. Do not add fabric softener to the wash cycle.
Don’t wash your luxury towels with other laundry items; if you must, be sure to wash similar colored items together.

Read more: The Best Way to Wash Bath Towels | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5167293_way-wash-bath-towels.html#ixzz1beWvuPcX