How to Wash Bamboo Towels: Care, Storage and Making a Roll Last

How to wash bamboo towels: rinse straight after use, machine wash at 40°C with your regular load, skip the fabric softener, and air dry or tumble dry on low. One Reusable Bamboo Towel sheet lasts 85 washes on average.

Why bamboo towels feel different after the first wash

New sheets are a bit fluffy straight off the roll, and they shrink a little in the first few washes. That's not a fault. "Sometimes there are loose fibres left over from the production process, but laundering a few times should help get rid of them," says Kristy Hunter, co-founder of Good Change.

Namz, a Good Change customer, noticed it on her first wash: "I tried washing the first lot that I had bought, but they shrunk."

Katey kept using hers anyway: "they shrink a little during the first wash. Still, they are incredible and so cool."

 Dimity's only note was early loose fibres.

How to wash bamboo towels: the four-step method

• Rinse straight after use. It stops a stain setting before wash day.
• Machine wash at 40°C, with your normal load. They can go much hotter, but the hotter the wash, the more they shrink. Go hotter when you want to get rid of germs.
• Skip the fabric softener. It coats the fibres and cuts absorbency.
• Air dry (prefered) or tumble dry on low. Gently pull each sheet back into shape as it dries and it will dry in that bigger shape.

Once dry, the sheets need somewhere to live, which decides whether a three-roll system sticks. Melanie keeps hers in a jar on the bench: "I store the clean washed ones in a jar on the bench so it takes a long time to get through a roll." Tracey uses a drawstring fabric bag on a hook in the pantry, "space saving and practical."

Reusable Bamboo Towel vs. Standard Microfibre Cloth

Both are reusable. The difference shows up after a few months of washing.

	Good Change Reusable Bamboo Towel	Standard Microfibre Cloth
Wash temperature	40°C with your normal load	Usually needs a separate, cooler wash
Washes per unit	85 on average, some get 150	Loses grip and streaks after repeated washing
After washing	Store in a jar or bag, ready to reuse	Can smell if left damp
End of life	Compost or worm farm	Synthetic, goes to landfill
First-wash change	Fluffy at first, shrinks a little, cleans the same	Minimal change

What Stine says about keeping a roll going

We recommend a normal wash at 40°C. They can go much hotter, but they shrink a bit more from the wear and tear. They're fluffy off the roll, which is normal, and the fluff goes once they've been washed. One tip: don't use brand-new ones on windows. After a few washes they're great for glass.

"Shrinking does not change how they clean. Even after many washes, with visible wear, the cleaning ability and absorbency are exactly the same. Only the look changes, so it comes down to how you feel about them sitting next to your sink." - Stine, co-founder of Good Change

For the bathroom, we cut the corner off the old ones that look like they've had enough. For a big bathroom clean, if you were going to throw the cloth out anyway, you can bin it or compost it afterwards. Otherwise give it a hot wash. It's one of your really old sheets, so you can be a bit rough with it.

End of life is a visual thing, because the cleaning ability stays the same. Our recommendation is to find one last job for it, and ours is the barbecue, a hot tip from the husbands:

"Once you're done with the barbecue and it's still warm, squeeze some lemon juice over it and scrub with the bamboo towel. It gets the towel very dirty, but that's fine at end of life. It doesn't leave little bits of paper behind like paper towels used to." - Stine, co-founder of Good Change

Then it goes in the compost. Some customers also cut them into pieces for the worm farm. We say 85 washes because washing is what wears the cloths. It's an average: some customers get 150, some get 3.

Common Questions

How do you wash reusable bamboo towels?

Rinse after use, then machine wash at 40°C with your regular load. Skip fabric softener. Wash hotter if you want to get rid of germs. Air dry or tumble dry on low.

Can bamboo towels go in the dishwasher?

Some customers run them through the dishwasher for a quick clean between washes and report good results. The washing machine is still more reliable for a full clean.

Why do bamboo towels shrink or go a bit fluffy after the first wash?

They're a bit fluffy off the roll, and the fluff goes once they've been washed. Some shrinking is normal, and the hotter the wash, the more they shrink. Pull them gently back into shape as they dry. It doesn't change how they clean.

How many times can you wash one bamboo towel sheet?

85 washes is an average. At 85 a sheet is pretty worn and looks ready to go. Some customers get 150 washes, some get 3, and it comes down to personal preference.

What do you do with a bamboo towel at the end of its life?

Give it one last job, like a bathroom clean or scrubbing the barbecue. Then put it in the compost, or cut it up for the worm farm. The cleaning ability stays the same, so end of life is about how it looks.

The Bamboo offer runs this month: buy 2 rolls and get a third free, or buy 5 and get a 6th roll free plus a free coloured Eco Cloth 2-pack. Shop Reusable Bamboo Towels.