Nothing screams summer like the image of a bright, sunny day and a big beach towel spread over white sand, under the shade of a ginormous umbrella. But have you ever stopped to think how much of a beating the towels take from all the sand, sun, sweat, and sunscreen? People don’t really put much thought into laundering their beach towels but it is important to wash them properly. Whether you spend your day lazing on the beach or by the pool, your towel is bound to get dirty. The easiest solution would be to toss it into the washing machine, wouldn’t it? Not quite. Beach towels are a little different from their regular bathing counterparts. Once they are caked with wet sand, they cannot be machine-washed because the machines are not designed to deal with so much sand. Instead, here’s what you should do:

1.Shake

The first thing you should do is shake your towel to remove any loose sand or soil from it. Do this while you are still at the beach. Give it a good shake even if it is wet. Make sure to do it away from people because the debris is likely to fly all over the place.

2.Dry

Dry the towel before you pack it up. This will help get rid of the sand that has clung to the wet towel as well as the bacteria that it picked up from the beach. The warm UV rays of the sun will not only dry your towel but also kill the germs.

3.Shake again

Unless you want to track sand into your house, shake your towel again after it dries in the sun. This will also prevent sand from getting into the washing machine. You want to make sure there is as little sand as possible.

4.Wash on a cold setting

Washing on a cold setting is key because it makes it less likely that any leftover sand will be embedded into the towel fibers. Embedded sand can damage the fibers, which makes them look dirty and feel rough.

5.Spot clean

Before drying the towel, check for stains. If you see any sunscreen, tanner, or oil stains, treat the spot(s). Drying the stains will make them harder to remove.

6.Hang to dry

While you can tumble dry your beach towel on low, the best way to dry it is to hang it up. But make sure you check for instructions on the label.

How Often Should You Wash Your Beach Towels?

Knowing how to clean your beach towel will make it last for many summers to come.

Beach towels should ideally be washed after every use to keep them clean and bacteria-free. If it is not too dirty, you can wash it after every third use. But when you are on vacation, that may not be possible. So, between uses, make sure you hang them to dry in the sun.

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