Am I just ultra sensitive?
I bought tons of lovely towels for both bathrooms in our new place. I decorated all around their colours.
When I get out of the shower and wrap those lovely fat towels around my (aged) wet body,[B] THEY ARE ICE COLD AND CLAMMY!!![/B]
What is with that?!!! They are good cotton towels. They are clean and dry and hanging up. They are as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes the instant they hit my dripping bod.
I can't believe I am the only one who has this problem. It is most unpleasant. I've never had cold towels before. What should I be looking for when I am shopping for towels, because I am going to have to toss these.:mad:
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Ah yes, I am such a delicate soul:laugh:
Nope ... inside wall.
Eliza,
I noticed you said you have a "new place". I'm just wondering if the towel rack in your new place is on an outside wall that may not be insulated properly (and possibly cold as a result). Just a thought....
I can imagine how uncomfortable it would be for a "fair lady" ;) like you to be cold after a shower.
Actually my problem was that I didn't know who made it.. However, this has inspired me and I've been hunting and found it - it's made by a South African company called Jeeves. I haven't found a Canadian Source yet but I did find the resume of the western Canadian rep - lol. Gotta love the internet!
Have you asked at one of your local plumbing stores to see if they can order you one in?
I bought a freestanding one a couple of years ago from Home Hardware for less than 100$. It stays on all the time, but it draws so little electricity it's not expensive. It also has an on/off switch if you want to turn it off, but because it is such a low heat it takes a while to heat the towels up. I leave it on all the time because it also helps to cut down on the humidity in the bathroom, which keeps it fresher.
While looking on the internet at about that time I came across a hardwired one I loved from a plumbing shop in, I think, Burnaby and silly me, I didn't buy it immediately, and have never been able to find it again. It was about 300$ so if anyone sees it please let me know - lol.
Linens N Things had them on sale too before they announced their big going out of business sale.
I've never used one but I imagine they would heat up quickly like a flat iron.
Thanks a bunch. I'll get over there tomorrow.
Thanks everyone for your input. Let's hope you are right on about the "stuff" the manufacturers have added to the fabric to make it soft. I've about had it with COLD showers!:laugh:
HomeOutfitters had them on sale before Christmas about $30 off, I think they are normally around $80 and they are probably still on sale now.
Linens N Things had them on sale too before they announced their big going out of business sale.
I've never used one but I imagine they would heat up quickly like a flat iron.
I just did some googling on towels and one site recommended washing with hydrogen bleach (not chlorine bleach... I wonder if that means hydrogen peroxide?) to get rid of some of the chemicals mfg put on the towels to make them feel softer in the store. apparently the same chemicals they put on to make them feel soft when new are what can prevent them from being absorbent.
Y'know that towel warmer thing sounds like a really good idea. Do you have to leave the thing running all the time - or does it heat up in a few minutes? If you happen to hear of them on sale somewhere I'd appreciate the heads up.
Unfortunately we have in-floor heating so there is no register to drape them over.
One of the posters mentioned that they think the clammy towel situation will disappear with use. Yesterday I used one of the bath towels that has not been washed as much as the other set I've been using. It was [I]freezing[/I]! The other towels are still defintely unpleasant, but not to the extent that the newer ones are.
This is the kind of thing I've only felt before on those velvety towels that were around for awhile. They were horrible.
I don't use fabric softener. I use the sanitize setting on my front loader and I use the extra rinse. Hopefully I will eventually beat the hell out of the cotton fibres and they will warm up!:D
Same here I put my towel rack over the heat register or you can buy the towel warmer and that is a real luxury.
I haven't noticed it personally but for the last several years I place the wet towels over a "thing" like a quilt holder and then place it over the bathroom heat register to dry them out so they can be recycled for a few more times before washing. I've noticed when taking a dry towel off the "thing" it's lovely and warm. You can also buy towel warmers from Home Outfitters and places like that also.
I agree with DBD post
I had the same problem with thick new towels. Seems to be some type of coating on them. They got better with time.
I'm not sure buying new towels means you will get a different temperature. I've noticed a big difference since I stopped using fabric softener with towels. They aren't as soft but they do dry better which seems to make a difference in how fast I get dry/stay warm. I've also heard some towels have a coating of some sort that means they are not very absorbent. I wonder if that has anything to do with your perceptions.
I have to say the one thing I miss about my last house is the register was right under the towel bar and sometimes those towels got nice a toasty.