# Does anyone else NOT like fluffy towels? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2010, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175 "2010-05-12T15:20:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/21 "2010-05-12T20:11:48Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > Did I mention that when I can’t find any burlap, I use sheets of 24 grit sandpaper from a floor sander. Removes moisture, and also exfoliates. OORAH! SEXY! ---
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/22 "2010-05-12T20:13:57Z")
Aargh! Towels with embroidery! That really is the living end. Why in hell would you do something that makes an item which exists only to be functional, less functional? I hate embroidered towels. I even dislike that woven section at the ends (I know it has a name. I don’t remember what it is). All towelling for me please, no messing about, and only ever cotton. We have one towel that’s not cotton. It’s the guest towel for guests we don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/23 "2010-05-12T20:45:08Z")
Oh, I’m totally with you. Last summer, at the supermarket, they had thin beach towels for $3.99. They’re perfect! I think I got a dozen of them. They’re great for my hair and they absorb so much more water than my regular moderately-fluffy but more attractive towels. And this is a big issue–they take up SO much less space in the closet. I live in an apartment. I don’t want to use up my precious closet space storing big fluffy white elephant towels. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/24 "2010-05-12T21:05:16Z")
For me, it’s not a function of the fluffy, it’s entirely the scrubby. Anyone who uses fabric softener of any kind in a load of towels deserves to only get half-dry. Wash them hard and dry them until just before they burst in to flame. ---
**Author:** ![Perciful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b38774/32.png) [@Perciful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Perciful)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/25 "2010-05-12T23:54:52Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > For me, it’s not a function of the fluffy, it’s entirely the scrubby. > > Anyone who uses fabric softener of any kind in a load of towels deserves to only get half-dry. Wash them hard and dry them until just before they burst in to flame. 😃 Fabric softner renders them useless. I like thirsty white cotton bath sheets. I can bleach them and they really can hold a lot of water. I don’t like colored towels because they can get that mildew smell. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/26 "2010-05-13T00:46:02Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > I have two beach towels. The rest of the family gets the nice fluffy ones. The beach towels are not to be TOUCHED by others. I like how they wrap around and tuck. Fluffy towels become untucked quickly. I really need one of those towel wrap things but the beach towels is fine. I do use a smaller one to cover my head if I wash my hair that day. I got one of those head wrap towels some time ago, and I LOVE it - I’m thinking about making a couple more. ETA: Now that I think about it, it is fairly nubby and thin-ish, not a thick, fluffy towel. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/27 "2010-05-13T02:32:11Z")
I like about average thickness towels, but fer Og’s sake, no fabric softener! I buy light colored towels, bleach them within an inch of their lives and dry them with no softener sheets. I keep a couple of cheap, thin, smaller towels for my hair and my washclothes tend to be the thin, white ones you buy 18 for five dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/28 "2010-05-13T02:34:09Z")
I feel similar. I have about five towels (just for me) and I have two that are really big. Not super fluffy but fluffy-ish. And I prefer the three that are kind of thinner. They absorb and everything but they aren’t huge ass thick ones. I feel like they dry faster and I am a small person so it’s just easier to walk around holding them. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/29 "2010-05-13T04:02:58Z")
I worked in the towel department of a department store for years when I was a student. I became an utterly unintended expert on towels, selling towels and (unfortunately) towel folding! High end scratchy towels are an untapped market as this thread shows. If you want a high quality towel in exactly the right shade of chartreuse you can get it but only in the shiny and luxurious style. If I had a customer who wanted a good range of colours and a good size, but scratchy, I had to take them to the cheap, low status, house brand towels. Which if you are pragmatic about your buying decisions is probably fine. But many a status conscious person that I served would want scratchy but get all sniffy at the idea of buying cheapo towels that they saw as beneath them, based on pricepoint and brand name. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/30 "2010-05-13T05:03:14Z")
I don’t like fluffy _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/31 "2010-05-13T05:14:50Z")
I prefer soft and absorbent. I don’t care if its thin or fluffy. My skin gets enough abuse from fixing stuff. My arms and hands usually look like I just wrestled a weed-eater Steve Irwin style. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/32 "2010-05-13T06:24:45Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > I’m there with you. I like large-area, thinner (but not threadbare), less fluffy towels. Fluffy thick towels are usually heavily-laden with fabric softener, and don’t absorb water well. My thinner, scratchier towels may be less comfy at first touch, but they dry me off fast, dry themselves out quickly. Thick towels feel like I’m wrapping myself up in the bathroom rug. Didn’t even need to read the rest of the thread, this describes my opinions exactly. I prefer the thick, fluffy stuff on bathrobes, so that way you can wear them after you’re already dried off. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/33 "2010-05-13T12:30:45Z")
"You vill talk - if not, Herr Mueller has his methods. … Bring in der fluffy towels!!" “AIEEEEEEEEEEE” ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/34 "2010-05-13T14:18:51Z")
Light super absorbant towel for my hair and the thickest plushest towel I can find for the rest of me. I don’t use fabric softener so they absorb perfectly and they just feel so much better. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175/35 "2010-05-13T19:34:13Z")
Fluffy towels feel slimy. Which is ok sometimes, but not usually when I’m getting out of the shower. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-else-not-like-fluffy-towels/539175.md?page=1)