What really happens to old towels from hotel rooms

Walk into a hotel room and the first thing you notice in the bathroom is a thick, soft, white towel. That soft feel does not last forever, and after a few months the towel gets old. What happens to it then is something most people do not know. The truth is that no major hotel simply throws an old towel in the trash.

The same towel is used by hundreds of guests every day and washed daily. Repeated washing in hot water and chemicals makes the towel thin within a few months. It loses its whiteness, starts turning slightly yellow, and most importantly, its ability to absorb water drops. A five star hotel cannot give guests such an old, thin towel, so it is removed from the rooms. But that does not mean the towel becomes useless.

The hotel industry follows several methods to reuse old sheets and towels. If a towel is somewhat old but the fabric is still fine, it is put to another use. It is most commonly used for cleaning. Hotel staff tear the same towel into rags, which are used to wipe dust in rooms, clean mirrors and mop floors. Often, when painting or repair work is underway, the same towels are laid on the floor to protect it.

Every hotel has a different approach. Some large hotels donate such old but still usable towels and sheets to people in need. Some hotels give their old towels to orphanages or charitable organisations. One hotel group had started an initiative to donate old towels to animal shelters, where they are used for dogs and cats to protect them from the cold.

When a towel becomes completely worn out, tears and can no longer be used for any purpose, it is recycled. It is cut into small pieces and new items are made from its threads. Special initiatives are also underway in India for this, in which old towels and sheets are collected from hotels and hospitals and turned into doormats, car wiping cloths or new fabric.