3 ‘back from the beach’ laundry tips

Never just throw the contents of your beach bag in the washing machine! Follow our expert tips:

✗ DON’T WASH BEACH TOWELS AS SOON AS YOU GET HOME

If you want your washing machine to last as long as possible, never bung your sand-covered towels straight into the drum. ‘Sand is abrasive and could damage the drum as well as block the filter and pipes,’ explains Tailang Bu from Hotpoint. ‘Once sand has found its way into your machine, it’s hard to remove.’ Instead, dry towels fully and shake them vigorously outdoors to get rid of as much sand as possible before washing them.

✓ DO USE FABRIC SOFTENER SPARINGLY ON TOWELS

To keep your beach towels fluffy and absorbent, don’t add fabric softener when you wash them. ‘It can build up on towels if you use it every time you wash them,’ says Verity Mann, head of testing at the GHI. ‘This can cling to the fibres and reduce the absorbency.’ If you do use fabric softener, just use it once every few washes. If you want to keep your towels super-fluffy, dry them in the tumble dryer.

✓ DO HAND-WASH SWIMWEAR

Soak swimwear in cool water for around 20 minutes as soon as possible to rinse away the seawater, which can damage stretchy fibres over time. Gently squeeze out the water (avoid wringing) and dry your swimwear out of direct sunlight – this helps prevent colours from fading. To help it keep its shape, never hang swimwear by the straps and peg bikini tops by the fabric between the cups, as you would a bra. Hand-wash swimwear every few washes in tepid water to which a little laundry detergent has been added. Rinse, then dry as above.