Recently a friend of mine made a comment that I found hard to swallow. She stated that white towels are much more absorbant than towels of other colors. Now, just as I was coming to a conclusion in my little brain as to whether to laugh hysterically or calmly refute her comment, another person chimed in with a ringing endorsement of truth. The second person uttered the inarguable proof that her “mother told her this years ago, so it must be true.” Then the first friend stated that “of course it’s true. A white towel has more room to absorb moisture because it hasn’t absorbed all that color dye.”
Now, leaving aside the question about whether I should get more intelligent friends or not, is there any truth to this? My hunch is that a towel with the fabric dyed one color or another (including white) will be no more or less absorbant than any other color. Please tell me I’m not insane (in regards to this matter).
Hmmm…I have towels of several different colors. I find my white ones are more absorbent, but I always thought that had something to do with the fact that I bleach them. Interesting question.
I’ve got white towels, and towels of color. The towels of color ( T.O.C. ) tend to be more absorbent, gathering in moisture in a gentle and accepting way. The white towels, they stay to themselves in the linen closet, and rarely absorb anything but bleach.
I think I need to do some selective removal. Whooops, look at the time, back to my planet I go !!
So if the colored towel in question is a polyester blend, it will be less absorbent. However, on to the question of the OP.
This car detailing guy also says:
He’s backed up by another expert, no less than the august body of the International Society of Hospitality Purchasers, Inc. (read: Hotel Purchasing Agents)
I believe without a doubt that white towels are more absorbant than darker colors. In fact, I’ve even noticed that the light color such as beige are also more absorbant. It must have something to do with the dyes being used.
This is also the case with clothes. I recently purchased 2 pairs of Banana Republic khakis (chinos). They are the exact same model. The beige-colored pants are lighter and softer than the black ones. And this isn’t an isolated example. Light-colored clothes always seem to be softer and lighter than dark-colored clothes.
I’m in total agreement with Duck Duck Goose - the darker and deeper the color a towel is dyed, the less absorbent that towel will be, as the dye stuffs permanently clog a portion of the pores of the cotton that absorb water… it’s simple physics kids - when the fiber absorbs the dye, it uses up some of the fiber’s absorbency… same with ‘fabric softener’ that simply absorbs into the fibers and uses up even more of the fiber’s absorbency…
A common misconception is that white towels are more absorbent than colored towels, or that dyeing reduces a towel’s drying capacity. In reality, the modern dyeing process does not compromise the absorbency of quality cotton fibers.
Cotton can absorb water into its fibers, but only about 25% of its mass.
In the case of a 100g towel, the amount of water that the cotton fibers can absorb is only 25g (25ml), or about 5 teaspoons. Nevertheless, the amount of water that a towel can absorb is about 2 to 3 times its own weight for a typical cotton towel, and about 5 to 6 times its own weight for a highly absorbent towel.
This means that a 100g towel can absorb up to 600ml of water.
If the amount of water absorbed by the cotton itself is 25 ml, where does the remaining 575 ml of water go?
The answer is exactly that: the gaps between the fibers.
That is, the vast majority of water absorbed by a towel ends up between the fibers, held by capillary action, not into “pores” in the thread.
It’s bunk. Color does not make a difference with real cotton toweling.
You can get other fibers, now, that may be more efficient but I’m not gonna do the science to prove it. I like cotton on my skin. They can’t keep the micro fibre, bamboo and polyester. Don’t need it in my world.
