Blood, sweat, tears, and high levels of use. These are the things your gym towels face every day. It’s a tall order for any detergent! So how do you know what detergent will get the job done at the scale you need?

If you’re washing your gym towels in-house and you’re using a standard grocery store detergent, chances are, you’re causing more harm than good. Fancy, fragrant detergents are rarely the strongest or the safest for gym towels.

Your top priority should be ensuring the detergent you use will keep towels clean and your members safe from germs.

Use Powder Detergents Whenever Possible

Powder laundry detergents are generally more powerful than liquid. They dissolve and disperse easily and are easier to clean should a spill occur. Powder options are also more economical and environmentally friendly.

Avoid Fabric Softeners

While you can’t track what members of your gym have sensitive skin and those that don’t, you can do yourself, and your customers, a favor by treating your towels as if they all have sensitive skin. This means skipping the highly scented detergents, fabric brighteners, and dyes.

Silicon is usually one of the main ingredients in fabric softeners. Always avoid using any softeners as this can deteriorate the absorbency of your towels over time. This also prevents the appearance that they’ve just been spritzed with happy smells, rather than deep cleaned and sanitized.

Skip the Cold Water Detergents

Some detergents are designed to be run in cold water washes. It’s true. This can save your gym money and reduces the negative effect on the environment.

However, cold water washes aren’t going to sanitize your high-use gym towels. To keep your gym members and equipment safe and clean, hot or warm water washing is essential. This also means that whether you choose powder or liquid detergent, it will be easily dissolved in a hot water wash.

Affordability

As a business owner or manager, you’re always thinking about your bottom line: money. There is a common misconception that the more soap you use, the cleaner the towels will be, right?

Unfortunately, using too much detergent will contribute to a build-up of residue and cost you more money in wasted soap. Using extra detergent will also trap more odors and bacteria, decreasing the overall absorbency of your towels. This could mean you end up buying new towels more frequently, further damaging your profit margins.

Bleach & Scent Boosters

Towels and bed sheets work hard to keep you dry, clean and comfortable. In the process they pick up stains, dirt and unseen “body soil” made up of body oils, dead skin flakes and sweat. Washing with detergent alone is not enough to keep sheets and towels truly clean.

Towels can hold germs like E. Coli for days, especially if they’re super absorbent, which can lead to illness in members. If you provide towels at your gym, launder and sanitize them daily using a hot wash with bleach and a hot drying cycle.