Towels

[MichelleCarmen]

These last few weeks I''ve been obsessing over buying new towels. . .

Has anyone found any superior towels that have held up to continously being washed - like daily? I don''t want to spend very much - preferably less than $15 per bath towel. . .I''ve tried the costco ones, which are super cheap, and they''ve literally fallen apart, so these are to be avoided.

Any suggestions?

 

[Mara]

I just get my towels at BBB...the reason is that I don't like to spend alot and also we use ALOT of towels, actually I use alot of towels, I use one a day and don't reuse them. So they get alot of washing in our house. We have about 30 bath towels. I also only ever buy white towels because then they go with everything. If I do decor towels they are almost always hand towels and then we only use them for the guest bathrooms.

I have found the BBB towels stand up pretty well, I usually spend about $10 per bath towel and they last me about 2-3 years getting washed weekly. So not bad at all.

I have spend $20-30 on towels at Macys and found that they hold up the same as the BBB $10 towels so honestly I could never justify paying more. The only time I ever have paid more was at a PB or something where I had to have a design hand towel to go with a guest bathroom theme or something. But not for bath towels.

My latest towel fun was for the downstairs guest bath, I was at C&B and they were having a sale on these awesome sky blue and white patterned large floral (kind of like an asian hawaiian floral if that makes sense) so I got 2 of the hand towels which are HUGE for hand towels, almost like mini bath towels and they were $7 each on sale. YAY and they look FAB in the downstairs bathroom which is taupes and whites and now blue for summer.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Thanks so much for this suggestion. Some of the Pottery Barn decorative designs have caught my eye, but the price for the sets is out of control especially since I'm doing up 2.5 baths. lol Of course, my kids don't need fancy towels, but since I'm doing a fish/water theme in their bath, I'd like the towels to coordinate w/the shower curtain. (ALSO since we're moving to a new house, I'm using this as an excuse to buy beyond my husband's normal tolerance level - he hasn't complained yet. . .lol - so might as well do a bit more shopping. . .

)

Okay, anyway, I'll try BBB. I love that store AND I have a $5.00 coupon to use. . .should pay for one washcloth. hahaha

 

[Kaleigh]

I love BBB. I buy all our towels there and they're great. Plus they have all the fun coordinating stuff there too. The prices are very resonable.

 

[Blue824]

I never spend a lot because I have soooooooo many. They''re all sort of in the same color family of greens and then whites, but to the point now we dont really try to match them up as much, but if I was moving and doing new bathrooms I''d totally start all over!

So I second (or third) bed beth & beyond because you can use as many coupons as you''ve got items. I mean, those coupons come in the mail like once a week and you can use them even if they''ve expired so we have like this huge bag full of them and just grab it whenever we''re going.

 

[Mara]

oh and MC you probably already know this but there are tons of PB kids items esp bathroom stuff on eBay!!! they have the rugs and towels and shower curtains so you could probably easily find a set for the new house!!

so along with my 30-35 white towels, i have about 12 hand towels (i buy them in pairs) in about 6 designs for the guest bathrooms to ''switch out'' for seasons etc etc.

the upstairs guest bathroom which greg uses when we have no guests has the restoration hardware striped soft yellow, blue and green shower curtain, they just came out with the matching duvet cover this year and i am SOO tempted to do the matching guest room/bathroom thing...but i don''t know!! i kind of like the way the guest room is now, it''s very simple which i think is fitting for a guest room because lots of different types may stay there, and goes with lots of different things on the walls (which i have not decided yet on either), so if i did a ''matching'' bedspread then it would kind of lock me into too many requirements. but the one thing RH did not have was matching striped towels...which i would have loved. so right now we just do cream ones to be neutral but i think i may actually spend $20 or so and get the matching silver sage RH towels, a solid light gray-bluegreen color, because i am thinking of painting that room a very soft green to go with the sage green in the shower curtain then i could have the contrasting silver sage towels and the floor is a soft whitish cream variegated tile. hmm..so many ideas. so little decision making!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

The colors on the left here are the shades I tend to gravitate toward. . .! I love these. They''re normally $40 a piece.

I''m also looking for bedding and finding decision making to be mentally exhausting. lol Too many choices.

 

[moremoremore]

MC- do you have a Home Goods or marshalls by you? That's the ONLY place I go...such high end stuff...amazing quality. Dirt cheap....Home Goods has only a very lame web site- only a very small pathetic representation of what they have

 

[Jennifer5973]

My favorite thing in the entire world is white Egyptian cotton towels freshly laundered with a touch of bleach...so white and crisp and fresh. Ahhhhhhhh......

 

[Kamuelamom]

I gave the Walmart (Martex brand?) & Kmart (Martha Stewart brand) towels a chance (the nice big ones) and am pleasantly surprised that for only about $6.00/ea, a very thick, plush towel can be had and enjoyed. I stayed away from the cheapy thinner ones and went straight for the bigger thicker ones. These are washed weekly and get better with each washing.

I never use softener on them, just good ''ole dryer heat. I am a cotton lover and very picky about my towels, they have to absorb water well for me to like them or even keep them in my house. I will donate them if they do not absorb well. These needed a couple of good washings to take out the newness, but after that they have been the best towels I''ve had. I cannot see spending $20 or so on a towel so I tried these and have not regretted them at all. Best of all I can get them in any color of the rainbow.

 

[Blue824]

Date: 7/24/2005 3:17:12 AM
Author: Kamuelamom
I am a cotton lover and very picky about my towels, they have to absorb water well for me to like them or even keep them in my house. I will donate them if they do not absorb well. These needed a couple of good washings to take out the newness, but after that they have been the best towels I''ve had. I cannot see spending $20 or so on a towel so I tried these and have not regretted them at all. Best of all I can get them in any color of the rainbow.

OMG that is THE most annoying thing ever. I dont remember where I bought these towels now that I think of it, but I just fell in love with them because they were sooo soft and they don''t absorb any water!? What is the point of a towel if it doesnt absorb water?! Ugh I was so mad. Now they line the bottoms of my cat carriers, so at least they''re gettting some use

 

[Mara]

I agree re: ridiculous when townels don''t aborb water, what is up with that anyway??? It''s like there''s some weird water repellant on some towels...useless!!

 

[yellowfan]

I just purchased my daughter a complete set of towels, solid and stripe, and wash cloths at Jc Penney and they seem to be fine.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/24/2005 3:17:12 AM
Author: Kamuelamom
I gave the Walmart (Martex brand?) & Kmart (Martha Stewart brand) towels a chance (the nice big ones) and am pleasantly surprised that for only about $6.00/ea, a very thick, plush towel can be had and enjoyed.

Costco sells Martex too, also for $6.00, and they do absorb water well but these are the ones that fell apart on me. The seams on the edges unravelved after a few months. Maybe I just purchased a bad batch

?

 

[Kamuelamom]

I totally agree, what IS the point of an unabsorbing towel?

MC, correction on the Walmart towels I bought, I just checked and they are Jubilee brand, NOT Martex and are very wonderful, absorbent and soft! Mara, do you use softener in your towels? I don't even put a dryer sheet in with the towels because of the "coating" which seems to make them unabsorbent. Plain ole dryer heat. If I had my way I'd hang them out to dry in the sunshine, but we don't get dependable sun in this area long enough for them to dry outdoors. The weather here is kinda similar to the Pacific northwest, like where you are, Michelle. Typically a more wet, humid area.

 

[Mara]

I usually put dryer sheets in with the towels because it does make them a bit softer...doesn''t seem to really have a negative effect on the absorbency as long as they are absorbent towels to begin with. But I have bought a few that turn out to be those unabsorbent towels and they drive me nuts, we never use them and I am horrible about returning things, so who knows where they end up. Probably I end up giving them to Goodwill at some point!

But I''ve been really happy with the towels at BBB the last few times I went over there...and I am getting better at determining by feel what would have good absorbency before I buy them!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Mara, is BBB Bed, Bath & Beyond? Gosh I wish we had one of those stores here. I could stay in there all day. I love the kitchen stores too. But I digress.

I know what you mean by feel, I usually rub the towel first to feel it too. But I also check labels. ONLY thick 100% cotton for me. I''m even checking loops lately. The tighter the loops, the more absorbent. I can tell that the really cheap ones have lots of spaces between the loops.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Which towels don''t asborb? I''ve never never noticed this being a problem.

Yesterday, I headed over to BBB and looked, but only purchased a few wash clothes. lol I''m still thinking on colors. . .I wanted towels before moving in, but may end up waiting until next week because I''m afraid of picking out colors that won''t coordinate.

Oh, and I found the bedroom sheets I want. So expensive. Little purchases here and there are usually okay, but I''m panicking about the costs. . .we also purchased a second couch, two ottomans and a chair (in addition to the other set we bought last week) and so, well I was a bit afraid to buy anything else (even spend $200) after ordering our new furnture.

Anyway, hopefully the bedding I want goes on sale. There''s cute towels to match too!

They''re all in pink. My poor husband. lol

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/25/2005 5:32:53 AM
Author: Kamuelamom
Mara, is BBB Bed, Bath & Beyond? Gosh I wish we had one of those stores here. I could stay in there all day. I love the kitchen stores too. But I digress.

I know what you mean by feel, I usually rub the towel first to feel it too. But I also check labels. ONLY thick 100% cotton for me. I''m even checking loops lately. The tighter the loops, the more absorbent. I can tell that the really cheap ones have lots of spaces between the loops.

Me too! I spent 45 min in BBB yesterday and left only because my husband was disgruntled - having to watch the kids while I bought furniture and house crap.

Do you have Cost Plus over there, KM? I''ve been going crazy in there lately. The manager recognized me a few weeks back (how embarrassing) but this paid off as I found a mirror w/a solid wood frame that my husband and I both love and since it was the last one and has a few knicks on the frame, he gave me 45% off! lol

 

[Kamuelamom]

Michelle, we do not have a Cost Plus. Is that like a warehouse store (like Costco)? This island was more island-living like, but slowly more and more we are getting some of the bigger stores like Lowe''s, Home Depot, Costco & Walmart & Starbucks! Someday I''m dreaming for more big names to come in, but the trade off is that the local small businesses suffer when the big names come in. AAAAah well, all the price of growth I suppose.

 

[Blue824]

MC, I have no clue what kind of towels it was that I bought that didnt absorb. I get sucked into soft things, I'll buy a $60 basic tshirt because "its soft" and so I bought these towels for a new apartment one year, and omg, you'd get out and dry off, and yeah, you'd still be wet. So I had to buy a whole new set and yes, now they're the bottom of my cat carriers and cut up for my hamster's bed. I'm sure I could look for the brand, I bought them at like Tuesday Morning? I'll admit they were really cheap because I never gave it a second thought, but I'll never make that mistake again. I didnt really want to bring a nice set to college because I was only using it for a year.

I always call it Cost Plus too, but some people refer to it as World Market so maybe Kmom you know it by that name? It has all sorts of odds and ends, decorating things, furniture, foods. Its a fun little store, however I find myself going in and looking for a while but never buying anything. Maybe when I get a new place. Check it out: www.worldmarket.com It sort of reminds me of Pier One but a little bit more worldly.

ETA: I just checked on their listings of locations and they're not in Hawaii yet.

 

[mrssalvo]

my Ralph Lauren towels did not absorb at all

My husband hated them and I ended up having to replace them all. We registered for them for wedding gifts so I had about 12 sets.

My mom recently purchased new towels from Restoration Hardware. They are a awesome and sooo soft, but are very pricey.

 

[canuk-gal]

Date: 7/26/2005 9:45:28 AM
Author: mrssalvo
my Ralph Lauren towels did not absorb at all

My husband hated them and I ended up having to replace them all. We registered for them for wedding gifts so I had about 12 sets.

My mom recently purchased new towels from Restoration Hardware. They are a awesome and sooo soft, but are very pricey.

HI:

I had the same issue with RL--luckily I had only one set... My new favorite towels are made by Grand Patrician--''Seduction'' if you can find that line of theirs--I have several sets and they are consistent in quality in that they do not fade, are abosrbent, and remain soft and fluffy after repeated wash.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Mara]

mrssalvo, the RH ones are the ones I am secretly coveting, but yes they are pricey! RH just had their annual bath sale in spring so guess I missed it!

 

[Kaleigh]

I had no clue that RH sold towels I will have to check them out.

 

[noobie]

All I know is that we have some expensive RL towels with little horses on them that shed like crazy and are not very good at all. We don''t use them, not evenas occasional guest towels.

anyone bought towels from Overstock?

 

[Mara]

oh yeah and what is up with the towels that SHED so when you dry your hands all kinds of little fibers come off on them? EW! I have two towels like this from PB and they are horrible. the first time I made the mistake of drying my face with one and then I put lotion on and all this stuff was all over my hands. UGH. horrible!!!

I haven''t been that intrigued by Overstock for towels, their selection esp colors seem really limited. I love them for bedding though!!

 

[cutes814]

I buy my towels from Target. They''re big, absorbent, soft, and very durable. I''ve had my towels for about two years now and they still look pretty darn new. I don''t remember the exact brand, but I''ll check when I get home. They were very fairly priced too. Only $5-7 per towel, I think.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 7/26/2005 5:51:48 PM
Author: Mara
oh yeah and what is up with the towels that SHED so when you dry your hands all kinds of little fibers come off on them? EW! I have two towels like this from PB and they are horrible. the first time I made the mistake of drying my face with one and then I put lotion on and all this stuff was all over my hands. UGH. horrible!!!

hahaha - this happens with every towel I''ve purchased. The worst are the darker colors. . .I bought purple towels from Linen and Things and had to wash them four or so times to avoid looking like a purple lint ball attacked me. . .

 

[cutes814]

Michelle,

The towels that I get from Target are by a brand called Rhapsody.