In the hot and humid seasons, the used guest room face towels easily have odors. This not only has a bad impact on the customers’ user experience but also increases the difficulty of linen management. To solve this problem, people must know the reasons behind the problem. The material composition of the face towels is the key factor.
Material Composition
There are two kinds of common face towels:
● Pure Cotton (Cotton ≥ 95%)
Advantages: It has a good water absorption ability and strong air permeability. The touch of it is soft and comfortable. It doesn’t cause static electricity easily, and the washing performance is good.
Disadvantage: Easily shrinks. The price is relatively high.
● Cotton Blended (Cotton ≥ 75%)
Advantages: The price is more suitable. It has good durability and a low shrinkage rate. It does not easily have wrinkles, and the service life is relatively long.
Disadvantages: The water absorption and the air permeability are relatively worse than those of the pure cotton face towels. Due to a high proportion of chemical fibers (polyester, spandex), even recycled cotton (recycled cotton), it may easily have static electricity and breed bacteria and fungi when used in a humid environment or not completely dried, which causes obvious odors. Once an unpleasant smell occurs, it usually requires special methods to deal with it and is rather troublesome.
Why Do Cotton-Blended Face Towels More Easily Get Odors?
● The Proportion of Cotton
The cotton proportion of the cotton-blended face towels is lower than that of the all-cotton face towels, so that the cotton-blended ones have more chemical fibers. The natural water absorption ability of the chemical fibers is further lower than that of cotton. After use, the chemical fibers cannot absorb or diffuse the sweat, sebum, and other dirt, and moisture as quickly as all-cotton towels. If the face towels themselves don’t have enough cleanliness or cannot be thoroughly dried in time, the residual moisture will become the perfect humid environment for bacteria and fungi, especially anaerobic bacteria. These microorganisms metabolize and decompose organic matter, which is the main culprit causing unpleasant odors.
● Poor air permeability
High-proportion chemical fibers not only have poor water absorption ability but also have a structure that decreases the overall air permeability of the fabrics. The dirt and moisture are stuck in the gaps of the fibers and cannot easily volatilize. In warm and humid conditions, this accelerates the reproduction and metabolic activities of microorganisms, intensifying the generation of unpleasant odors.
● Residues of Chemical Fiber Components and Processing Aids
The characteristics of the chemical fibers:
Some synthetic fibers may release their inherent odor in damp conditions or when subjected to friction.
During the production of chemical fibers, textile auxiliaries such as antistatic oils and lubricants are often added. Some auxiliaries (nitrogen-containing or sulfur-containing compounds, or incompletely volatilized monomers and oligomers) may remain in trace amounts even after washing.
Under the effects of friction, sweat infiltration, and microorganisms during use, these residues may decompose or be released and then produce chemical odors (such as a greasy odor or plastic odor). Some aromatic hydrocarbon compounds may also convert into unpleasant odors under specific conditions.
How to Handle the Odors on the Face Towels
Once the face towels have stubborn odors, the common treatment and corresponding effects are as follows.
● Chemical substance washing method
Use the strong oxidants, like chlorine bleach (they should be used with caution because they easily damage the fibers and colors ), strong alkalinity, or immerse the face towels in the specific order and fungi remover, or do the high-temperature boiling and washing. This usually requires people to separately pick the face towels with odors out and handle them. However, picking the face towels out is troublesome and time-consuming, and the odors easily recur.
● Aroma masking method
Add fragrance after washing or use the fabric softener with a strong fragrance or refreshing spray to cover the odors. This method can temporarily cover the odors but cannot remove the sources of the odor (bacteria, residues). Also, the mix of fragrance and odors may have a disgusting odor. Also, the strong aroma itself may cause discomfort to some guests and have a secondary contamination. Long-term use of fragrance and softener also forms residual films on fibers, which further reduces water absorption and creates conditions for bacterial growth.
● Specialized detergent prevention method
Using the specialized detergents is a more recommended method. In the ordinary main wash programs, laundry detergent products specially developed for preventing odors in towel fabrics should be used. These kinds of products often contain powerful biological enzymes, targeted antibacterial agents, etc., which can efficiently break down organic dirt such as sebum and sweat stains. They can also effectively kill the bacteria and fungi that cause odors in the washing process, and form a certain protection on the fabric, which slows down the growth rate of bacteria after washing.
Adopting this method can effectively prevent the odor from forming. In this way, there is no need to pick out and handle the smelly towels separately, which is more convenient and highly efficient.
Conclusion
The odor problems of the guest room face towels in hot and humid seasons mainly lie in the poor water absorption and poor air permeability, which cause the microorganisms to multiply in large numbers in the humid environment and the hidden effects of chemical fibers and processing aids. Hotels can use the face towels with a high proportion of cotton (≥95%) to reduce the risks of odors.
Post time: Aug-22-2025