Who Makes the Best Bath Sheets?
You know how things around the house all seem to fall apart at the same time? I think it's due to the time since you moved in, got housewarming/wedding/shower presents, had milestones that caused purchases, but it is annoying how suddenly one weekend you need to replace all the things. Both my husband and I realized when drying off with different torn and threadbare towels that it was time to upgrade the contents of our linen closet, starting with towels. It had been a while since we had bought towels and bath sheets, let alone any we liked. I was on the hunt for the best bath sheet and who makes the best bath sheet.
This post was originally published in 2021, but I updated it again in 2024 as I got more bath sheets and found one that may in fact beat out my original choice for the best bath sheet!
A good towel is a form of self-care. You live that life, it gets you dirty, you wash yourself clean. You deserve a good towel to celebrate the accomplishment. The thing is, if you're buying a towel for quality as well as a form of self-care, your needs may not be the same as my needs.
What Kind of Bath Sheet I Like
I've used a lot of different towels and bath sheets over the years, many of which have been recommended to me by people I trust and respect. But that doesn't mean they want the same thing out of a towel. This is what I am looking for:
- Bath Sheet, not Bath Towel. I am short and round, my husband is tall and lean, and so between the both of us, we desire a bath sheet. A bath sheet is usually 40″ x 70″ long while a bath towel measures 30” x 56”. I have used the terms interchangeably in this article but really what I am looking for is the best bath sheet which is the larger option.
- Made from 100% Cotton. I've tried bamboo and microfiber and blends, and I have found I prefer 100% cotton for feel, absorbency, and longevity.
- I Can't See Light Through It. If I can put the towel up to the window and see sunlight through it, it won't last and it won't feel cozy on a cold winter morning.
- Classic Style. No fringe, no fabric trim, no ribbing or waffle weave or… I don't want anything. I want a solid color, maybe with that smooth band near the bottom but that's it.
- Great Color. I don't desire a matched set, and I do desire color. There's nothing better than opening up the linen closet and seeing a rainbow of terrycloth.
Who Makes the Best Bath Sheets?
Asking about the best bath sheets or towels is one of the most popular questions in most of the Facebook groups I'm in and subreddits I read. And the bath sheets most recommended are from Costco. Yay, Costco has great prices. Boo, I don't have a Costco membership.
This post is updated in 2024 because I think I found a bath sheet that is better than Costco. It's from Quince, a direct-to-consumer brand that employs sustainable practices AND you don't need a Costco membership to purchase them. Below read my review for Costco Charisma bath sheets, Quince bath sheets, and then the bath sheets that get honorable mention for being pretty good.
I'm Not Going to Buy a Costco Membership Just to Buy Some Towels!
I live in a not-big home with not a lot of storage, not a lot of people, not a lot of specific needs, so I've never had Costco membership. I know, sacrilege! But I have done just fine for two decades in this not-big home with not a lot of storage without a Costco membership.
That was until I decided I wanted some awesome highly rated Costco towels. I remembered my mom had a Costco membership years ago, and had me as the second name on the account. I asked her if she still had a membership. Not only did she, she never removed my name from it. I had a Costco membership all that time!
That being said, a Costco membership is $60/year and Costco has free delivery on a bunch of things and has also partnered with InstaCart for grocery delivery. And in case you want to know about Costco's political donations you can check them out here and here.
What Costco Towels Are the Best?
While I found plenty of recommendations saying Costco made the best bath towels, few of those recommendations said WHICH Costco towels are the best. That's the problem with social media; lots of voices but they're not always providing the depth or detail you desire. Was it Turkish Towels? Purely Indulgent? Charisma? Hanae? Zoey?
So I did a bit of Googling to find out WHICH Costco towels were the ones everyone vaguely raved about. Because while social media offers instant gratification, websites offer a hell of a lot more detail and there are some you just know to trust more than others. Wirecutter changed its original towel review; it used to have Charisma from Costco prior to September 2021. Apartment Therapy is still a fan of the Charisma towels.
Being in this business, I always wonder if online reviews are altered not based on better products found but better affiliate revenue. Costco does NOT offer commissions on sales from their site. There is no financial benefit to stating Costco towels are the best, while there is a benefit to say, recommending Frontgate which offers around a 10% commission on each sale or anything on Amazon since one doesn't just buy towels and the site gets a commission on all bought. For more info on this check out this post on how blogs make money.
Charisma is not a Costco brand, it's just a brand that is regularly available at Costco, like Venus razors and Oral-B toothbrush heads. Back in 2011, Good Housekeeping reviewed Charisma towels and stated they were available at Bloomingdale's. Charisma has a whole storefront on Amazon. Charisma is also available at Macy's. If Charisma was such an accessible brand, why was it so special from Costco? I wasn't going to question it, I was just going to get the Costco version. I figured at least I'd be getting a good price.
Armed with my Costco membership number and brand name, I headed to the Costco site and used their search tool to find “Charisma towels.” When I did this in 2021, there were two styles. Since 2022, there is only one style, the exact one I bought in 2021 and repurchased. It is the Charisma HygroCotton set.
What is HygroCotton?
HygroCotton is a term patented by the company Welspun. When I first published this article, there was an active HygroCotton website; it is now defunct. But from it I got this quote, “HygroCotton® is crafted with our proprietary spinning technology, producing yarn with a revolutionary hollow core. That means our sheets wick away moisture, keep you cooler in summer and warmer in winter, and actually get softer and more comfortable over time.”
Since my 2022 update of this post, the HygroCotton website is no longer up, plus all my other non-Welspun articles about HygroCotton that I referenced are now giving me 404 errors. I don't know what this means, but wanted to update this section to remove any broken links.
I decided to order a set of two of the Supima HygroCotton bath sheets from Costco. The price for the duo was $32.99 which was cheaper than anywhere else I had seen at that time.
Costco Charisma Bath Sheet Review
The color selection for the Charisma HygroCotton bath sheets is pretty meh. Pale blue, pale gray, sage green, ivory, and white. While I am more a fan of orange, fuschia, and cobalt, I went with the set of two bath sheets in pale blue.
The towel duo cost $22.99 and shipping was free. I received my order within a week. The towels look exactly like they do online: same color, same thickness, same weave. They felt very silky and were quite plush. The silky finish concerned me, thinking it wouldn't be absorbent. I put them in the wash and hoped that would wash off any silky finish so the towels would be super absorbent.
Our towels are washed with Tide detergent, no fabric softener, no dryer sheets. The Charisma towels came out of the dryer and appeared to be thicker than before, still soft but not with that silky finish. I had just finished a Peloton ride so I grabbed one and headed to the shower.
After my shower, I used the bath sheet to squeeze my hair before drying my body and was shocked. That single squeeze pulled out more water than my microfiber hair towels; my hair was only damp, no longer wet! And even better, that part of the towel wasn't saturated.
I barely had to brush my skin with the towel; this bath sheet was soaking up water like it was auditioning for a Bounty paper towels ad. I was floored. I had bought fancy towels before but never experienced such absorption. And it seemed with the first few washes, each time the towels got loftier and more absorbent without losing their softness. We have now washed and dried these towels a dozen times and believe that they are the best bath sheets on the market. And it's nice that they are also cheaper than many other brands that claim they make the best bath sheets.
One Year Later… My Review of the Best Bath Sheet from Costco
I originally published this review in October 2021; almost an exact year later, I updated it since I ordered some more Costco bath sheets after LOVING these for all these months.
Here is one of my year-old Charisma bath sheets from Costco. We don't baby our towels; we wash with Tide, throw in the dryer sometimes, line dry sometimes (with a quick tumble after to get rid of pollen). You can see the binding and hems are still intact, the terry loops still looking great. There is one thread hanging off a hem, but nothing that dramatic. Our Charisma bath sheets look like the newest towels in our linen closet, even though they are the most used and not the newest.
Quince Bath Sheet Review
I've tried Quince several times for women's apparel and accessories (read my Quince clothing review). When I saw Quince expanded into homegoods: sheets, towels, rugs, and more, I was intrigued.
While Quince keeps colors pretty neutral, the Turkish Classic Bath Sheet Set offered colors like navy, mineral (a cadet blue) and mist (a pale celadon green). I was also impressed to find that Quince bath sheets are 40″ wide x 70″ long, while most bath sheets, including the Costco Charisma bath sheets, are 35″ wide. This means not just more coverage wrapping around the body but more coverage in length.
How Thick are the Quince Towels?
The Quince bath sheets shipped free and quickly, and arrived in a sturdy box, the towels wrapped in plastic and literally tied with a bow. I was floored by how big and thick they were; the stack of two folded matched the stack of four towels I just folded from the dryer.
They felt really soft, but anything can feel soft upon purchase. I washed and dried them as I do with any other towels and they lost that initial silky feel but that's a good thing as it makes the towels more absorbent. They didn't lose their thickness or loftiness with washing.
How do the Quince Towels Hold Up?
I held off writing this review until the Quince bath sheets had been washed and dried six times. No fabric softener, just wool dryer balls. They didn't shrink, they didn't shed in the dryer more than any other towel, and they didn't leave lint or fuzz on damp skin.
How Absorbent Are the Quince Towels?
These are not made from HygroCotton, but instead 100% premium, long staple Turkish cotton with 550 grams per square meter. I don't find them as absorbent as the Costco towels, but that could be due to the weight. Have I mentioned how thick and big these bath sheets are? It's like drying yourself with a bathrobe in regard to weight.
I haven't tried them, but Quince has Turkish cotton quick-dry bath towels. They're smaller (27″ x 54″) but get positive reviews for being absorbent and quick drying.
Do I Recommend Quince Bath Sheets?
These are really big bath sheets, really thick, and therefore will take longer to dry than thinner or smaller towels. But if you love a thick and cuddly bath sheet or live in a larger body that deserves a bigger towel, I can't recommend the Quince bath sheets enough.
The Quince Bath Sheets are a luxury experience. I like them so much I will consider Quince for other towels (Quince has bundles and sets of towels, bath sheets, hand towels, washcloths, and more). Quince even has Ultra Plush towels and considering the plushness of these bath sheets I can't imagine how thick those may be. At the time of publishing, the Quince Turkish Bath Sheet Set (2) is $74.90.
Honorable Mention for The Best Bath Sheets
As I mentioned, I have tried several brands of bath sheets before finding the great bath sheets above. Below are other bath sheets I have tried that are still available for purchase with my honest thoughts:
- Company Store Company Cotton™ Turkish Cotton Bath Towel: I am a Company Store fan and have been for decades. These are good towels; thick and soft and come in a fab range of colors. However, they are not nearly as thick at the Charisma HygroCotton, not as soft, and they lint far much more (the dryer lint trap will be coated with the color of the Company Store towel, even if it's the only one in the dryer). But if you are focused on color or monogram, this is a solid choice.
- Amazon Basics Cotton Bath Sheet: Seeing this towel recommended by sites I trust made me buy it… and stop trusting these sites. This is not a good towel. It is thin and scratchy and lint so bad within two months my towels were threadbare in spots. Don't buy this crap, you can find equal at Target for half the price.
- Cotton Paradise Bath Sheet: This is also highly recommended by some reputable sites and… it's much better than the Amazon Basics. It's thicker Turkish cotton and feels like a B version of the Company Store towel. But the quality is lacking and within a couple of months they began to fray on the edges.
- Casaluna Organic Bath Sheet: This is decent bath sheet from Target. It doesn't have the stitched band like many towels and instead a rougher cotton band at the hem which can hurt if the edge brushes your face or sensitive skin. And that hem is prone to unraveling after a couple of months. But the towel itself is nice.
- Brooklinen Super Plush Bath Sheets: These are super nice Turkish cotton towels… but honestly, I think the Quince bath sheets are thicker, softer, and 5″ longer. Oh and Quince is also cheaper!
Do you have a favorite bath sheet that isn't mentioned? Disagree with my reviews? Let me know in the comments below!
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Chiming in to say I just purchased the quick-drying ribbed towels from Quince and we love them so far. They’re soft, thick, and seem to dry very quickly. They’re also very elegant and well made. I would say they’re absorbent enough that I don’t feel damp after using them, but they don’t seem quite as amazing as your Charisma towels in that respect. I’ve been very impressed by everything I’ve purchased from Quince so far (towels and ponte knit pants) and I’m getting ready to place an order for percale sheets.
Thanks Dawn, that’s great to know!
Just a PSA that while yes, most prices at Costco are a bit cheaper in store than online, most items online can be bought without a membership (unless they say Members Only) for a 3% surcharge. I bought the Charisma ones after reading your review in 2021 and they are still going strong 🙂
Great tip thank you Erin!
I didn’t read all the comments to see if anyone mentioned them, but I just recently bought the Cozy Earth bath sheets – both the Nantucket and the premium plush. I like them both, but prefer the premium plush. Pricey – so I hope they hold up!
Ha ! I do have the Costco membership and decided to try out the Charisma sheets. Thanks for putting me on! They are having a promo right now so I went ahead and got three of the designated sets for 18 dollars off, yay! I’m also curious about the Amazon and Quince sheets now.
Maybe I bought a different Charisma towel from Costco, but I was very disappointed in them. They got shaggy within a few months, so much so that they are no longer in regular use, but relegated to the back of the closet should we need an emergency towel.
Oh no! I do know they used to have a variety of different Charisma towels before. The HygroCotton is the only one I’ve tried.
I was also coming to the comments to say that the Charisma bath sheets I bought a few months ago from Costco weren’t great. I had been buying them for years, but was very disappointed in my most recent purchase.
I just purchased the Quince towels on your recommendation! I’ve been wanting a bathsheet ever since I tried them in my room at a fancy hotel. Its like drying off in a warm hug. Also the Quince website asked at check out how I heard about the brand and there was a space to put blogger/influencer and the person’s name/blog. Better believe I put down Wardrobe Oxygen!
Aww thanks Brea! I hope you love them !
! I also use the Costco Charisma bath towels. Amazing!
My state got its first (& so far, only) Costco last fall. We got a membership & just the savings on the gas alone make it worth the price. But the towels— they are so good! And, I had to laugh when you mentioned how everyone refers to them as “the Costco towels.” Can’t even count how many times my friends & I have said that when discussing them! Those towels are good. Makes me think I may need to grab another set if I go to the store this weekend.
I recently switched over to the Vera Wang towels from Kohls – lOVE them! Their largest bath towel is huge! Very soft – has held up well washing/drying too. Decently priced with coupons/kohls cash as well.
These are what I have
https://bit.ly/3ewwJgo
My most recent towels are the fluffy Sonoma Goods for Life towels here: https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-4569319/product.jsp
Frontgate has the best towels per Wirecutter? I don’t think so! I will never read a Wirecutter review without ‘following the money.’ We remodeled our house and I needed new towels. Frontgate had THE color, so despite them being VERY pricey. I bought 4 sets for the master bath. A summer set and a winter set. I expected them to last a lifetime, so the cost per drying off was low. After 2 summers of use, one set has frayed at the edges, the pile has thinned, and the color faded. My usually oblivious husband commented they did not dry well. I got upset and put them in the rag bin! On my weekly visit to Costco, I saw they had THE color at the entrance! They were Calvin Klein, but a very thick, luxurious CK. They dry well, and don’t leave as much lint in the dryer trap as the Frontgate.
I don’t even need towels, but this review was so fantastic I’m tempted to go out and buy those towels. Things in our home have been breaking down too and I’ve been really frustrated with reviews….I have come to the point I don’t trust anyone. For ex: Dozens of “best of” lists named Parachute featherbeds the best, and when you go to the site it looks like all their ratings are five star – which made me suspicious. Well, I discovered that Parachute has hidden all the bad reviews at the END of the reviews….you have to go to, like, page 90 of reviews, but then the bad ones are pouring in! I feel completely disenchanted. Along the same lines, dozens of “best of” lists name such-and-such item the best, link to it on Amazon, but Amazon has 2,000 reviews and . . . a 3-star average? How did this make all the “best of” lists? I’m even losing faith in Consumer Reports as now you have to buy a membership to see reviews. Is nothing sacred? LOL, anyway, just to say thank you for being an honest reviewer!
Hmmm… I thought that Consumer Reports always made you pay for reviews. It’s how they make money. But anyway, i bet your public library has a subscription/accesses.
I find that a lot or most of these online/digital businesses usually bury their worst reviews at the far back of the line. And they often don’t let you sort for lowest ratings to highest, etc. They might let you see “Most Recent” or “Most Relevant” at most. I hate it. And of course, there’s also the businesses that probably suppress their negative reviews.
On the topic of towels, our household has converted to Turkish style towels (Peshtemal) in the past couple years. We love that they’re thin but absorbent and they dry much quicker. We live in a small city apartment and all of those aspects help — thin means less storage needed. Our area has a great deal of humidity, so the fast-drying helps too.
However, I do miss the feel of a good thick terrycloth towel sometimes (esp. when it’s colder). If we lived in a place with real winters, I might gravitate back. For now, this really works.
Because of the thinness and lightness of the peshtemal towels, it’s also easy to pack them for a trip and have our own backup towels for an airbnb/hotel room with shitty towels or a quick jaunt to a beach. In a pinch, they make great picnic blankets as well. You can get peshtemal towels anywhere now, but I like sourcing them from etsy. There’s some great sellers in Turkey and they don’t cost a lot.
BTW, for long or thick hair toweling, I highly recommend the Japanese waffle towels (onsen). I bought my first Uchino waffle towel on discount at Bloomingdale’s and have never looked back. It also works great, wrapped up around my drying hair. And they are thin and dry quicker too.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/10/cnn-underscored/onsen-towel-review/index.html
I’m pretty sure you’ve always had to pay for Consumer Reports, first in magazine form, and now online. I have had a Consumer Reports online subscription for about five years, and as annoying as it is to pay for, it is worth every penny. I researched and saved money on my car, dishwasher, washer and dryer so far, and have been happy with each choice.
Yes, I’ve subscribed to the magazine for 30+ years, but they revamped a few years ago and now even subscribers can’t access full reviews without paying extra. That bothers me! It is definitely worth it if you’re making a big purchase like appliances though. And their car issue is amazing.
I was nodding along with almost everything in the post! My husband had always used bath sheets while I only had big towels. A few years ago I decided all I wanted for my birthday was a bath sheet! Like you, I wanted it in bright orange, though, and that was way more difficult to find than I thought it would be. I ended up with one from the Company Store, and I really like it. I bought my husband one more recently, and noticed how much softer and fluffier a new one was, so the idea of a towel getting fluffier over time is really appealing. The reason I bought husband a new one is because the ones from Target he had been using all started fraying/unraveling at the ends, just as you mentioned.
You’ve definitely convinced me to try these from Costco (with three teenagers in the house, a Costco membership is practically required), but I hate that there aren’t more color choices.
Costco items are generally cheaper in-store than online, so I suggest dropping by a store. Also, a few times each year, Costco offers several dollars off the Charisma towels, but I am not sure about the bath sheets. I have used both the Charisma and the Lands End supima and give a slight edge to the LE, but one must wait until a 50% off everything with free shipping offer. There should be one in the next few weeks.
I’ve been wanting to replace our towels for a while and I’ve looked around for info and you don’t know who to trust (did they get paid to write a review) or you can’t be sure if the version they reviewed is still the one available–so I close the browser windows and put it off. BUT this Allison is is why I love your blog!! You research something and you recommended the best option even if it’s one you won’t make any money off. Your readers trust you. I do try to navigate from a link on your site anytime I plan to actually buy something from Anthro or Talbots. Hopefully some pennies from my meager online shopping boost your bottom line and support you and your family.
My husband has used the Costco Charisma towels for several years now in his bathroom, and they have held up well, still look new. Too bad the colors are so boring. I’ve had navy Hotel Collection towels from Macy’s in my bathroom for at least 5 years and while I like them, the dark color did stain my white washcloths and hair wraps, and the lint trap on the dryer is still full after drying them. I probably wouldn’t get them again even though I love the rich color.
Same here. My husband has had the Costco Charisma bath sheets for at least 10 years and they still look like new. I like their softness too. But the colors are *SO* boring. About the same time, I bought bath sheets and hand towels from the Macy’s navy Hotel Collection for my bathroom. I do still like them, the color has held up well, and only one hem on one hand towel has partially come undone, but they did stain every washcloth (I prefer thinner washcloths) and hair wrap I have even when using Color Savers. As you wrote, the lint trap is still full after drying them all these years later. They’re holding up so well I think it will be years before I need to replace them.
I can’t speak to any reviewed as I haven’t tried them. I do love the Lands End cotton supima towels (only purchase on sale). I’ve had two sets for years and they do not have the stink that towels get after many uses. I may need to try some of these mentioned though…Great idea though for a gift
We also settled on Lands End bath sheets after a long hunt. Absorbent, soft, and not too heavy.
Thirding Lands End cotton Supima towels! I bought bath sheets and bath towels in this after last year’s towel post. I chose them partly out of nostalgia, but also because they ship internationally, and I live outside the US. They have been dreamy. They still look like new a year on (no snags/pulls/unravelling). They are thick but not too thick, so they work well with the towel warmers you see al over NZ/Australia. Wrapping myself in a huge fluffy bath sheet fresh from the towel warmer – OH YEAH.
Land’s End also has Charisma ringspun towels under a different brand name… but they won’t ship them overseas. If you’re in NZ/Australia/the UK and want the ringspun experience, the towels you want are Christy. Christy towels come in a ‘bath towel’ size as a default – you have to hunt a bit for the bath sheets.
I had a run of houseguests and decided I needed new towels and went with LE.
They’ve held up well. I agree that cotton is the fabric you want. Cotton items have increased in price over the past couple of years, but I wouldn’t switch off of it because I think it’s the best material for a towel.
I’m glad to read that someone else in the world doesn’t belong to Costco. It’s just Hubs and i and we don’t consume in enough bulk to make back the membership savings, nor do we have storage space for bulk purchases.
My Mother who lives in another part of the county has a membership, but she needs hearing aides and the savings on those more than makes up for the membership. It all depends on your needs.
My hubby works in the hospital and he takes a shower when he gets home and then his hospital clothes and the towel from the shower go in the hot wash cycle, day after day. I tried a bunch of different towels over the years that would hold up to that repeated washing and always come back to Land’s End Supima Cotton Bath towels. They are super thick and heavy and hold up well. Price is not too bad when on sale. And they come in lots of colors, although we only get the white ones, so I am not sure how well the dark colors would hold up.
Hmm, I could use some new bath towels. And I have a Costco membership. Done! 🙂
I have had the Costco Charisma for several years. I only buy white towels (I know boring) but they wash and dry beautifully. I always wait for a sale and add a couple more so we have plenty. Empty nesters with extra room. Worth the Costco membership. Also, I live in Colorado so everything dries quickly.
I have had the Costco Charisma for several years. I only buy white towels (I know boring) but they wash and dry beautifully. I always wait for a sale and add a couple more so we have plenty. Empty nesters with extra room. Worth the Costco membership.
I bought a set from Brooklinen about a year ago. Within six months the edges were frayed on the hand towel. These were pricey towels and I was so disappointed. Another thing is that they only have the raised pattern on one end of the towel. Not a big thing, but for the price it seems like I shouldn’t have to check how I am hanging them every day. Thanks for the recommendation. I love Costco and will go there the next time. One warning though, my husband (and many of my friend’s husbands) seem to think that Costco is the only place to go for fashion. It is funny the weird clothing items he comes home with. Ha!
This is great information, although I don’t have a Costco subscription for the same reason: no storage and a very small household. I guess it’s time to get past it.
I bought Frontgate towels because Wirecutter recommended them. They have faded far more than any other towel I’ve used. They are all still serviceable, but the color now is so ugly and faded.
Sheets: I have bought West Elm’s 100% organic cotton sheets for years and like them. They are definitely not 600 thread. Either 200 or 400, I can’t tell from the label.
We didn’t renew our CostCo membership for years. We live in a city apartment with maxed-out storage. But we recently decided to renew it, so that my husband could buy good-quality meat and fish at decent prices and then just store them in our freezer. So we only go for food. We also buy good-quality cheese and coldcuts and freeze those as well. We don’t generally get the super-big packs of toilet paper and kitchen towels, etc.
Love the description of the Charisma towels, however, like you, I want better colors. Right now, I have a set of Lands End supima cotton towels in turquoise and one in purple — and another set of forest green from TJM, where I used to find all my best towels.
TJ Maxx was my towel go-to as well. I’d always find some Ralph Lauren or hotel brand in the clearance aisle, just one or two in some amazing color. But I found I spent money on things I didn’t need when I went there and the last few times I didn’t see a lot of color or the kind of fab brands I used to see in towels.
I bought a bunch of Charisma bath towels from Costco five years ago when we moved. They still look great, but I had been considering replacing them. I noticed our towels were starting to smell a little musty sometimes and were taking longer to dry after use. Then I read Laundry Love by Patric Richardson. I never thought about it, but the Tide Free & Gentle detergent and Bounce unscented dryer sheets were leaving a greasy film on the towels – And I’m assuming trapping bacteria. It turns out, laundry detergents contain a lot of petrochemicals! So based on the recommendations in the book, I switched detergents (not recommended specifically, but I went with Charlie’s Soap Laundry Flakes and love it!) and stopped using dryer sheets. My five year old towels have gone through the wash with the new soap twice and I’ve already noticed that they seem cleaner, smell fresher, and dry faster. The first time with no fabric softener, they felt a little rough – but after the second wash – they feel like new!
Anamarie, great info. I stopped using dryer sheets years ago after reading about the way they leave a petrochemical film on everything — plus, the fragrance is obnoxious and extremely hard to remove (because of the waxy base). I think I’ll try Charlie’s. They’ve been on my list for awhile — I appreciate the reminder.
Scented dryer sheets always gave me headaches. Good luck with Charlie’s! Another tip from that book I referenced – he recommends washing EVERYTHING in warm water and only on the quick wash cycle – which on my machine is 26 minutes. Saves time, water and gets your laundry just as clean!
I don’t have a membership to Costco -so I looked at the other places -even if I payed more it would be cheaper than getting a membership. Well it turns out that the other stores don’t have the Charisma Hygrocotton towels. The other stores have Charisma American Heritage or Charisma II …so I guess it is to Costco I go!
Looks like it’s time for me to renew that Costco membership.
Seriously, why is it so darn difficult to but a quality bath towel? My current favorites are the SALT brand from Bed, Bath & Beyond. However, I can no longer find them there. They’re a quick-dry, cotton blend. Great for humid Florida because they do actually dry out between showers. But I still long for a big, fuzzy, wrap me up, towel.
I used to have that trouble …then I got an inexpensive towel warmer –and they are completely dry….and warm!
Ditto on the towel warmer. We put ours on a timer so it only runs 4 hours in the summer, and it still works great to keep musty towel smell at bay.
Thirding the recommendation towel warmer. I live in a humid climate and my towel warmer guarantees that I have dry towels when I want them.
This is such a helpful post and discussion thread – thank you, Alison and everybody!
Great article! I also use the Costco Charisma bath towels. Ours are about 3 months old still super soft and super absorbent. I washed and dried them 3x to get rid of the extra fluff, to stop lint/fluff from floating around the bath room.
I would really appreciate if you could do an article on bed sheets. My favorite sheets were bamboo, because they are usable year round, cool in summer, warm in winter. The first set of sheets lasted a couple years, but other sets barely make it 9 months, before they tear, shred or pill up. I have not been able to find any good quality bamboo -or cotton sheets, and would love some guidance.
I got a pair of Bamboo sheets from Ettitude last year around this time and they’re still going strong, even with having to yank the heck out of them to get them around our thicker mattress. And they are washed every other week (switched out with a pair not worth mentioning and will be replaced soon) and put in the dryer. In fact, I ordered another pair to be the replacement ones for the sheets we hate: https://bit.ly/3pLQNPp