How To Deep Clean Towels (Easy Laundry Stripping Recipe)

If you’re looking to deep clean your towels, I’ve got an easy laundry stripping recipe for you — and it doesn’t require soaking your towels all day in the bathtub.

We all know there is nothing worse than stepping out of the shower to a towel that smells like it sat a little too long in the washer machine, right? Gross.

Each week I deep clean all my towels in one giant load. The load includes all the kitchen dish towels, bathroom hand towels, my make-up remover washcloths, and bath towels. I use this same method on pool towels too. Since we only wash all our towels once a week, we make sure they are completely dry before we throw them in the hamper. 

But before we get down to the laundry stripping process, I want to revisit our hilarious Instagram Bath Towel Discussion. I loved re-reading all the responses on how often you use your bath towels before washing over on Instagram! We try to use our towels a few times before tossing them in the laundry hamper, but inevitably the kids will take their towels to their rooms to get dressed and leave them somewhere along the way…then grab a new towel the next night. So they go through a lot more towels than we do.

Laundry Stripping Recipe Products

• White Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Glamorous Diva Wash (totally optional, but see notes below)

Easy Laundry Stripping Recipe

For this deep cleaning method, you do not need to use laundry detergent or fabric softener at all. In fact, I’ve been stripping laundry without powdered laundry detergent for years. But then I was introduced to Glamorous Diva luxury detergent and started using a small amount in the second rinse cycle (the baking soda cycle) and oh my gosh my towels smell absolutely incredible. This detergent is pricier than my regular detergent but I promise it is worth every penny…and will last a while as it is highly concentrated. I discovered this heavenly detergent back last December when April gifted it at our Community Group Favorite Things Party with the suggestion to use it on our own clothes (not the kids’ dirty socks and underwear), sheets, and towels! Solid advice. While it’s not the cheapest detergent, a little goes a LONG way! 

Quick disclaimer & story: This is a VERY strong fragrance and you will either love or HATE it. So start with a small bottle, maybe even split one with a friend to try. I was so excited to wash our sheets the very next day after receiving this detergent that I actually decided to clean out the washing machine filter just before using it. After throwing the sheets in the wash on the extra-long deep clean cycle, I sat on back-to-back calls the rest of the afternoon only to find my laundry room was completely FLOODED when I returned to flip the wash. Apparently, I had not screwed the filter back in all the way so the water just poured right out all over the floor for 90 minutes. Anywayyyyyyy, the fragrance was SO strong that my ENTIRE house smelled like this laundry detergent for DAYS! When Matt walked into the house that evening (not knowing about the flood), he could not stop raving about the fragrance! 

See my Instagram Reel HERE!

Lastly, let’s talk bath towels!

My Favorite Bath Towels

If you’ve been following me for awhile, you know I’m a huge Cozy Earth fan (if you don’t use their bamboo bed sheets…you’re missing out) and their bath towels are heavenly. I’ve tried every style but my favorite are the premium plush are my favorite. Matt prefers the standard size, but I’m a bath sheet-sized type of girl. They are huge (40″x65″) and feel like a luxurious blanket when you get out of the shower.

I genuinely love all my Cozy Earth products and did not get paid to promote them. However, they did offer me a 40% off promo code for my readers. Use code CAROLINACHARM40 at checkout.

Reader Favorite Bath Towels

Here are the top reader recommended bath towels:

• Costco Charisma Bath Towels
• Bed, Bath & Beyond Quick Dry Towels
• Crate & Barrel Bath Towels
• Vera Wang Bath Towels from Kohl’s
• Front Gate Resort Cotton Bath Towels
• LL Bean Premium Bath Towels
• Macy’s Hotel Collection
• Pottery Barn Bath Towels
• Parachute Home Bath Towels
• Calvin Klein Bath Towels
• JC Penney Liz Claiborne Bath Towels