This towel buying guide will help you choose the right bathroom linens

Everyone knows the difference between a good towel and a substandard one. Use it once and you know the answer. Before heading out to purchase your next batch, learn some tips from a towel buying guide.

Did you know? ….

Towels have a fabric weight. It is measured with grams per square meter (GSM) number. The fabric weight is the density within the material used. The lower the GSM, the thinner and lighter the cloth. The higher the density of the cloth, the more absorbent it is. Luxury cloths are approximately 800 grams per meter.

If you want the perfect towel, purchase a genuine cotton Turkish type, made in Turkey. It is luxurious and woven in a special way, using zero twist technology. This allows water molecules and air to be incorporated into the individual terry loops, which leads to the most absorbent, softest and plushest cloth you have ever wrapped yourself in. This cloth is 700 gram weight and becomes more absorbent the more you wash it because the thick terry loops bloom.

Every-day towels are made of standard cotton. More upscale items are made of Egyptian cotton, which are extra absorbent because they contain additional fibrous threads. Another material you should be on the look-out for is Pima Cotton.

~

To ensure what you are buying is authentic Egyptian cotton, check out the label. It should say 100 percent Egyptian cotton. Look for the Supima trademark, which ensures the item is 100 percent American Pima cotton.

Another fabric option is cellulose, which is derived from the beech tree. It is more absorbent than cotton and doesn’t lose its color.

Bamboo is another good material because it is very soft and feels like velvet. It possesses a looser texture than cotton. Both bamboo and hemp, another choice, do not mildew.

Although not a natural fiber, micro fiber is nice because it feels like suede and is very absorbent.

Luxury towels consisting of silk in the weave are exceptionally soft.

If the cloth is shiny, this generally means it contains synthetic materials, which are not desirable because absorbency is limited.

Size

Tiny towels are annoying. They are not large enough to cover an average adult. Over-sized towels range in size from 33 X 66 inches to 40 X 70 inches. A regular towel is much smaller. It is either 27 X 50 inches or 30 X 36 inches.

Accessorizing

Nothing is going to spruce up your bathroom any more effectively (and inexpensively) than a display of fluffy, neatly folded towels. Pick colors complementing your bathroom or choose white, which is always a good choice. It looks classy.

Care

• The cloth may initially look good but after you wash it time and time again it loses is color. Some newer towels are coated with fabric softener, which makes them fluffier; however, the downside is they aren’t absorbent until have you have washed them a few times.

• Some people toss their towel into the dryer to fluff it up before using, which is fine. Just don’t get carried away. When you do this repeatedly it damages the fibers.

• Don’t wash your colored and white items together. This is basic laundry 101. If you do, your whites are going to become pink in short order, or some other ghastly color that they are not supposed to be.

• Use Woolite for your upscale items. This makes the cloth stay softer longer.

• Did you know using fabric softener actually makes the fabric wear quicker and become less absorbent? Cut back on fabric softener usage to safeguard the material.

There is something extremely luxurious and downright indulgent about wrapping oneself in a fluffy, soft, large piece of material after emerging from a shower or bath. Towels aren’t that pricy so go out and buy some really nice ones that will last a long time and give you and your family a lot of pleasure.