What could be nicer than wrapping yourself in a fluffy bath towel after a shower, to dry off with pleasure and then enjoying the cozy warmth of a cuddly bathrobe? You have this wonderful experience as a toddler - and the memory of it stays with you for a lifetime.
On the contrary, how great can the disappointment be if the terry towel in the hotel room does not even come close to meeting your expectations! How sobering it is when the bath towel hardly absorbs any moisture and slips on your skin like soap! But why is it that towels can have such different properties. Why do some have a good drying effect and others a poor one?
For a pleasant and intense drying effect, two essential requirements must be met: Both the fibers and the textile structure must be particularly absorbent.
Cotton makes bath towels particularly absorbent
Cotton is the ideal fiber for terry towels. Due to its chemical structure - it consists of cellulose - and physical forces, the natural fiber does attract and bind water molecules. This effect is enhanced by the internal structure of the fibers: the natural cellulose fiber can absorb up to 12 percent of water (based on its own weight) without feeling damp. In terms of absorbency, cotton is therefore far ahead of other fibers and is only surpassed by wool.
The storage of water in the long, internal capillary structure of natural cotton has another advantage: the fibers swell due to the moisture. This gives them a particularly high wet tear resistance - a property that is indispensable in industrial laundry.
Cotton works also excellently when releasing water
When drying, the cotton releases the water, i.e. the stored moisture, again. To do this, the bound water molecules must evaporate. This is possible if the ambient temperature contains enough energy to convert water from a liquid to a gaseous state. However, heat alone is not enough. Sufficient air movement is required to transport the resulting "water vapor" away.
In addition, the humidity in the air must be as low as possible so that no saturation effect occurs. Under these conditions, a kind of blotting paper effect occurs, which draws the stored water out of the fiber and carries it away.
In tropical climates, this process cannot work or works only to a limited extent: the natural fiber absorbs water vapor from the humid air until an equilibrium is established. This is why a towel in such regions feels damp even before it has been used to dry off. And it remains clammy even after use!
Natural cotton must be pre-treated
Nature has given cotton many excellent properties. This also includes protecting the fibers well. They are covered with a wax coat that keeps rain off. However, when you use a terry towel this layer of fat and wax is annoying because it basically prevents water from penetrating. The cotton's natural protective layer must therefore be removed.
The removal is done after weaving during the so-called off-boiling process, where the textiles are washed with special detergents and at high temperatures. This process is in many ways important as it not only gives the natural fibers their high absorbency but provides them also with a lighter and more even appearance!
Absorbent terry towels from the first wash
Nevertheless, many laundries think that new goods must be washed several times before they reach the desired absorbency. This has undesirable side effects: washing-in causes unnecessary costs and is time-consuming.
Our Floringo terry linen saves every laundry this hassle as they can use our terry articles immediately! We place particular emphasis on this pre-treatment which is executed with great care so that the accompanying substances of the cotton fibers are completely removed!
In addition to that, we give our terry towels a further ‘finish’ that provides them with optimal absorbency and high volume from the first wash. With noticeable results!
Hotel guests enjoy it when drying off; rental laundries recognize the difference to conventional treatment throughout their entire operational process.
Soft yarns give volume and support drying properties
The drying effect of terry linen also depends on the kind of cotton yarn used for it. For example, for a rather robust bathmat double or twisted yarns are used; for a fluffy and soft bath towel single yarns are an ideal choice - woven into the pile. The pile has always a loop structure, independent of the yarn which is used for it.
Floringo`s soft yarns which are available in various kinds do a top job in every respect: They are extraordinarily voluminous, absorbent, particularly soft and yet durable. In short: They combine excellent functionality with pleasant comfort.
But not only that! They also enable the realization of attractive designs like motifs in a high-low profile to appear with beautiful clarity. Textile service companies, hotels and professional retailers are looking for exactly that: Branding is expressed with terry articles whose properties like softness, absorbency and long service life remain undiminished. Done this way, they maximize the intended promotional effect!
Loops create warmth – the more the better
The classic terry cloth towel consists of upright loops that are lined up close together. The hollowness in-between traps the air which has an insulating effect because it remains in the towel. And air is a poor conductor of heat! The loops thus form a buffer zone in which your own body temperature is "held back" - an effect that not only gives bathrobes and towels their warming effect, but also coarsely knitted sweaters.
Higher density in the fabric also means a higher proportion of cotton fibers, which in turn have more contact points with the skin. Natural fiber can therefore absorb additional body heat and slowly release it again. Literally, an air cushion is created which is warming longer. More loops also store more heat. This means that even a strong gust of wind blowing over the pool area has no consequences for bathers: the wind cannot break through the heat cushion!