It might seem like no big deal—tossing your towels in with your everyday laundry. After all, they’re all dirty, right? But mixing towels with clothes in the same wash is a habit that could be quietly ruining your laundry routine. Here’s why you might want to keep them separate from now on:

1. Towels and Clothes Need Totally Different Washes

Towels are thick, heavy, and designed to soak up moisture. That means they need a hot, long wash cycle to truly get clean. Clothes? Not so much. Most garments—especially delicate items—prefer shorter, cooler, and gentler settings. When you mix the two, your towels often come out not fully clean, and your clothes can take a beating from the harsher settings.

2. Lint Everywhere (And It’s Not Pretty)

Fresh towels tend to shed a lot of lint—and when you wash them with clothing, especially dark items or synthetics, that lint ends up sticking everywhere. One wash can turn a black T-shirt into a lint-covered disaster. Not to mention, it takes extra time to clean it all up. Nobody has time for that.

3. Snags and Fabric Damage