Why Do My Towels Have Strings?

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Why Do My Towels Have Strings? Strings in towels. Those annoying stands of loose cotton fibres that keep popping out even as you cut the ones that are visible, it’s usually a slippery slope when strings begin to form in your towel.

Towels usually have strings because it has ripped somewhere or the fabric has become weak and has begun to fall apart. Whatever reason your towels have strings for, depending on the reason, it is usually reversible. Before you purchase a new set of towels, here are some reasons your towel may have strings.

Contents

9 Reasons why towels have strings

Torn or Ripped

Towels have a fluffy and soft fabric which makes them ideal for scrubbing your body which also makes them very susceptible to ripping, if your towels get caught on sharp or point objects around the house they may rip if you pull on them. When your towels rip, the fibres will begin to pull out which are the strings that you’ll begin to see.

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It’s a little difficult fixing a ripped towel, because it just goes downhill from there, even if you patch it up. It would definitely rip again after a while.

Worn out

If you use your towel regularly, the constant friction will cause it to begin to wear and tear. When it becomes worn out, strings will begin to pull from the towel fabric.

It’s ideal to have more than a pair of towels, it doesn’t matter if they are hand towels or face towels. Purchase several pairs that you can switch between to give your towels longevity.

Old

You can’t use towels for over 5 years and expect that it won’t begin to give away, everything has an expiration date no matter how good you take care of it.

The same goes with your towels, if it is an expensive piece, when it becomes old, the cotton fibres will begin to gradually pull out. If your towels are old, then it’s time to get another set. Don’t be that guy that uses towels till they become napkins.

Misuse

If you purchase a set of towels for a purpose, either and you deviate and begin to use them for something else, for example, if you get body towels and begin to use them as hand towels, or kitchen towels.

Due to the fact that the towels were designed for body use, they’ve been manufactured to be delicate for body feel, when you use the same towels for other stuff they begin to deteriorate and strings begin to show.

If you need kitchen towels, purchase kitchen towels. If they are body towels, use them exclusively for your body. Switching just ruins them faster. Check these hand towels Amazon basics hand towels and fluffy body towels like Turkish bath towels.

Over-washing

I know it’s hygienic to wash your towels regularly but how regular is considered regularly? Every day? Every other day? Every week? If you wash your towels after every use, it will be detrimental to the towel fabric.

Your towels don’t need to be washed all that regularly, you should give at least 2 days between each wash, washing them every will begin to weaken the fabric. And when the fabric begins to weaken, the fibres begin to separate and the strings will gradually begin to surface.

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Not washing properly

Every fabric has its mode of washing and technique used to maximise longevity and maintain quality. If you don’t follow the manufacturer’s guide to wash your towels they may gradually lose their quality and begin to give way.

If you wash your jeans in the washing machine and you wash them with jeans, either the zippers of the jeans may end up ripping your towels or the jeans may bleed into your towels and the dye will cause your towels to brittle. Both of these scenarios can cause your towels to produce strings.

How often do you use fabric softeners on your towels? I know you want to keep your towels fluffy and soft, however, always applying fabric softeners to your towels when washing will make your towels more susceptible to tearing.

Dirt

I can’t emphasise this enough, WASH YOUR TOWELS EVEN IF IT DOESN’T LOOK DIRTY if you have dark coloured towels.

It may not be glaringly obvious when it’s dirty compared to a white towel, if you use your towels for a couple of days, always wash them because there may be specs of dead skin and dirt that aren’t visible to you.

This will make your towels brittle over time, and after a month of not washing your towels will begin to gradually loosen and break up by themselves. Don’t just assume your towels are clean based on look and smell, wash them regularly.

Low Quality

You know those really cheap towels you purchase and you think you got them for a bargain? Yeah, those are sometimes of very low quality and after a while or even after the very first wash, the towels will begin to bleed, shrink and the fibres will begin to pull.

When purchasing towels, it’s an important personal belonging that should be considered an investment. You’re investing in your overall skincare, the better your towels, the more absorbent they are and they’ll save you from skin irritations and strings. Quality towels? Check out the Utopia towel set.

Detergent

If you use detergents that aren’t ideal for cotton fabric to wash your towels, it may ruin the texture of your towels over time.

It will make it more prone to tearing because the fibres will become weakened by the corrosiveness of the detergent. Here are some ideal detergents that are ideal for towels and other towel-like fabric, the Tide odour rescue detergent

FAQS

Should you cut the tags off the towels?

The tags can sometimes be overbearing, they are itchy when they touch your skin and make you uncomfortable whenever you use your towel to dry off.

However, cutting off the tag may cause the seams at the edge of the towel to begin to come undone and ruin the towels. If you’re going to cut the tags off them, ensure you sew any loose edges adequately to stop them from unravelling.

How do you fix snags in towels?

Snags are super easy to fix and can be done in the comfort of your home with a pair of scissors or a sharp blade of some sort. In 3 simple steps.

Lay your towel on a flat surface, preferably on your bed. Run your palm across the face of your towel so that it’s nice and flat, so you can see the entire surface.
Locate the snags and gently use the scissors or blade to trim off the protruding fabric, do not cut too deep and rip your towel. You have to be careful.
After you’ve done the trimming, cross-check to confirm you didn’t miss any spots, the warms wash to help shrink the cotton fibres you cut so they don’t form strings.

Easy enough, right?

Do laundry bags prevent pilling?

Laundry bags can prevent pulling if you’re organised enough to use them. Oftentimes we always have this one chair in our room that acts as our “laundry chair”, we just toss our clothes on the chair whenever we take them off.

If you use a laundry bag approximately, there will be fewer loose pieces of clothing lying around all over your room and make your room clean.

What is the best towel fabric?

It is a known fact that cotton is the best material for towels because they are so absorbent and soft. However, with the different types of cotton on the market, knowing the best kind of cotton to purchase is ideal to get the best towel.

Turkish and Egyptian cotton are tipped to be the best cotton for towels because they are 100% cotton, are super moisture absorbent and super fluffy. Therefore, next time you are purchasing new towels lookout for Turkish and Egyptian cotton towels.

How long do good towels last?

Depending on the quality of your towels and the maintenance practice, a good piece of towel should last between 4-8 years.

However, if your Towels begin to show some defects like maybe they lose their fluff, then that’s your cue to get a new towel. Long story short. Your quality towel should last you at least 5 years.