How thoughtful are you when it comes to bath towel selection for your home? Many of us prefer towels that are fluffy, affordable, and match our bathroom décor. With so many to choose from at the store, white may get overlooked.

White towels are the standard for hotel rooms, giving the bathroom a touch of class and a dose of coziness. But HGTV host Erin Napier learned to make white towels the standard in her home thanks to some advice from her mother-in-law.

The Mississippi native has been married to her husband Ben – who’s also her co-host on Home Town – for ten years, and they both grew up in the state. She took the elder Mrs. Napier’s words to heart about towel choices because it made sense. In an Instagram post, she shared this:

“When we first got married my mother-in-law told me to always buy white towels. You can bleach them so they never mildew over the years. I’ve always been weirdly picky about my towels so I’m pretty jazzed that we’re carrying made in the USA towels made from Southern cotton, embroidered with our @laurelmercantile. I feel kinda fancy.”

The South is known for its hot and humid climate, creating the perfect conditions for moisture and mildew-prone towels. Tossing them into the wash with some bleach not only disinfects them and kills odors but keeps the color crisp. You don’t have to worry about fading!

What some people run into however, is yellowing. You can wash your towels with bleach or go the route of pouring a ½ cup of white vinegar into the rinse cycle. People who want to avoid the harsh qualities of bleach tend to wash and rinse their white towels with white vinegar.

You can also use chlorine-free bleach which will still allow you to achieve the same level of cleanliness that makes white towels so magical. It should be noted that bleach can wear down the fibers on your towels over time, so it’s not necessary to use it during every wash. Additionally, if the care instructions on your towels say no chlorine bleach, abide by that rule.

Of course, you want to wash them separately from other items. Laundry experts recommend cold or warm water cycles for white towels and drying them on low heat. If you are able to dry them outside, that’s even better!

Another point to remember is to avoid using fabric softeners which can create a coating on your towels, affecting their fluffiness and ability to absorb.

To sum it up, white towels are easier to keep clean and fresh. If you’re inspired to redo your linen closet this spring with the basic, but classic hue of white, you can go for Erin Napier’s Laurel Mercantile line or find another brand that floats your high-thread-count boat.

The better care you take of your towels, the longer they’ll hold up to stains, wear, and washes.

How do feel about simple white towels? Do you agree with Erin’s mother-in-law’s advice? Will you stick with colorful towels or go for a hotel look with white ones that can be bleached?