You step out of the shower and grab your towel. You expect it to wrap all the way around you so you can tuck it and hold it in place while you brush your teeth. Sadly, this towel comes a little short for that purpose.
When it comes to towels in your bathroom, the size of them does matter quite a bit. There are fingertip towels that are purely decorative and even bath mats count, believe it or not.
To help you find the right sized towels for your bathroom, here is a quick guide on the different towel sizes, the purposes they serve, and if you need them for your bathroom.
1. Washcloth
Washcloths are the smallest item in the towel category. They usually measure anywhere between 11X11 to 12X12. Their small size makes them great for washing your face or your entire body in the shower.
Even if you feel like you don’t need washcloths because you usually wash up with your loofa, your guests can’t share yours. Do them a favor and keep a few washcloths around.
They also look good hanging on a bar with a set of matching towels. Even if your guests don’t use them, at least you can use them for decorative reasons.
2. Fingertip Towel
Fingertip towels are slightly larger than a washcloth measuring around 11X18. As you can tell, unlike washcloths, fingertip towels are rectangular rather than square. Also, unlike washcloths, Fingertip towels aren’t necessary unless you have a large circulation of guests.
These towels are more for decorative purposes than anything. You can display them with a colorful set of towels as an accent piece for your bathroom.
If you have guests though, you can allow them to use fingertip towels rather than hand towels. These towels are smaller and are easier to fold so they can be more convenient than the alternative.
3. Hand Towel
Hand towels are the most versatile of all the towels. They will see the most use out of anything else in a bath set. You can also use them to dry your face after you wash off your make up at the sink or dry up a small puddle of water on the counter.
They are larger than the fingertip towels, usually measuring around 15X25 or 18X30.
4. Bath Towel
Bath towels are to dry off your entire body after a shower. They are less bulky than a bath sheet usually ranging from 20X40 to 30X58. These are best used for children or smaller adults who don’t need all the extra cloth that come from a bath sheet.
Some people use bath towels exclusively to wrap their hair in while using a bath sheet for the rest of their body.
5. Bath Sheet
Bath sheets range anywhere from 35X60 to 40X70, making them the largest item in the towel family. They’re bulkier than bath towels, but there is something spa-like about wrapping up in a big comfy towel.
These towels are great to use if you typically do other things after your shower besides dry off. For example, brushing your teeth or applying your make up before you put on the shirt you’re going to wear for the day.
6. Bath Mats
It may be a little strange to include bath mats in the towel category but they do technically qualify even though you’ll never use one for drying off. They still absorb water when you get out of the shower and are usually included in decorative bath towel sets.
As far as size goes, bath mats usually all come in the same size. Some are a bit smaller or a bit larger than average. What size you go with all depends on the size of your bathroom.
7. What are Your Needs?
Now that you know what the different type of bathroom towels are, it’s time to decide which ones you need. There are going to be a lot of factors in your decision, but the main ones are going to be the size of the towels you have now, the amount of space you have, and how often you plan to actually wash towels.
The Towels You Have Now
Before you decide on what size you should get your new towels in, you need to look at the sizes of your old ones. Take measurements and think of which ones you use more. This will help you decide if you need to go up or down in size.
How Much Space Do You Have?
If you have a rather small linen closet and get a bunch of bath sheets you won’t be able to store them away. This same rule applies to your towel bar.
If your towel bar is rather short then you won’t have enough space on it to accommodate bath sheets.
How Often do You Wash Towels?
If you don’t wash that many towels at once then you’re fine to get bath sheets. If you like to wash a bunch of towels all at once then bath towels it is. There are only so many bath sheets that you can fit in a washer.
Your Guide to Towel Sizes: Finding a Size that Meets Your Needs
When it comes to bath towels, size does matter. Use this towel sizes guide to pick up towels that will be large enough for you to get use out of while also adding a little bit of decorative appeal to your bathroom.
Do your local stores not have anything that you’re looking for? Browse through our Turkish cotton towels to see how we compare.
