Gym Towel Buying Guide

By Wayne Kotulic Jr. | June 1, 2017 | Gym Towels

Gym towels are a sometimes-overlooked part of the health club industry. They are however part of the fabric of the industry, and as long as people sweat, and people shower, there will be a need for wholesale gym towels and suppliers that provide exceptional service and selection.

Successful club ownership and/or management understands that while treadmills can cost thousands of dollars each, it is equally as important to know which type of towels are best for your business. When providing a towel service, it is also crucial to balance customer needs against business profits or the budget.

Over many years, we have been involved with the opening of hundreds of university recreation centers, community rec centers, pools and aquatic centers, as well as small personal fitness and training studios. What we have learned over the years is that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution for those searching for bulk gym towels.

If you were to call Texon Towel today,(which you should???? ) we would likely ask a lot of questions about your towel needs. Some of these questions are below and are worth a read if you are in the market for a new supplier or are new to running any type of fitness facility.

What type of club or facility are you envisioning for your clients? Are you a high dollar boutique studio offering personal training to a client paying top dollar, or do you offer a low dollar monthly membership? Do you want to only provide the basics, or is your customer’s experience the most vital part of your business model’s mission statement? Depending on this answer, we look at either premium or economy to start the towel search. After this we look at size and weight of the towels which depends on your laundry equipment.
What type of laundry equipment and storage do you currently have? Often with smaller gyms they will not have the commercial washers/dryers that a university or large community recreation facility would have. Commercial washers and dryers are needed if you are seeing hundreds to thousands of client visits per day. If you only are seeing 50-100 clients a large residential unit may work for your needs.
If you use noncommercial laundry equipment, we likely will recommend using lighter weight towels. Secondly, the facility needs to have enough in stock to provide for 1 day’s usage, plus sufficient backup for at least a day in the event residential equipment fails.
If you have commercial equipment from companies like UniMac, Wascomat, Speed Queen or Electrolux these are generally installed with pump system detergents and may be able to accept well over 25,50, or even 100 lbs of towels per load. If you operate commercial laundry equipment, the weight and size of the towels you choose, while important, are not as much a factor. That being said, towel drying time, client head count and employees utilized in this function all play a part in picking the correct towels for your gym. Your Texon representative can assist you in this.

How do you hand out your shower and small gym towels? History tells us that leaving piles of gym towels in the locker rooms does two things. It allows towels to grow legs, amazing I know, but for some reason towels can just walk away from your facility! Secondly, many guilty patrons will tell us, they use more than one and can be quite wasteful with them. Stand on one, one on around the waist, one on the shoulders, etc….This leads to a ton of laundry and lots of towel folding. We recommend always offering your shower towels at check-in. This is not always possible but works well with most of our clients. We realize not everyone showers at the gym, as many clients go home to shower. One or two good towels should suffice about any client, and will keep loss of the more expensive towels at a lower level.

With Smaller gym towels and sweat towels there are several thoughts on this.
Gym Towels are cheaper than large shower towels.
Gym Towels are used more often than shower towels.
Gym Towels keep bio-loads, sweat, rust and grime off your expensive equipment.
You don’t go to dinner without a napkin, and you should not be at the gym without a gym towel!

Purchasing gym towels that fit your needs does not have to be a difficult process, that is why we recommend when speaking with your Texon Towel representative that you ask to see samples, if not familiar with the product. Like you, we are looking for happy, longtime business partners too!

There are also many types of towels, and for someone not as familiar, it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, we answer all these questions and more in our Gym Towel Buying Guide.

Microfiber Towels

Microfiber towels are a type of gym towel, popular among gym owners because of their absorbency and durability properties. Texon’s microfiber towels consist of 80% polyester and 20% polyamide material which makes them absorbent for sweat and water, while still being lightweight and compact. The material is strong, durable, and lint-free so they’ll last longer that cotton towels. However, microfiber is not used as often on the skin as it can feel rough. Cotton towels are still by far the most popular. We do recommend microfiber heavily for cleaning!

The microfiber material picks up dirt and dust easily while drying the surface at the same time, making them ideal for wiping down benches and gym equipment. They also dry faster than cotton towels. Remember that microfiber must be washed by itself. It cannot be mixed with standard cotton towels.

Washcloths

Washcloths are small, square-shaped cloths used for lathering and scrubbing in the shower to wash your face or body. Texon’s washcloths are made from 100% ringspun cotton so they are soft and un-abrasive to skin while scrubbing. Sold by the dozen, these gym towels available in white or an assortment of colors and are an economical way to provide washcloths. Because of their low cost, these towels are often used for facility cleaning, or in gym locker rooms for drying hands.

Gym Towels

Providing gym towels adds a nice touch, but for many of our customers they feel it should be mandatory for health and cleanliness. Most of our gym towels are sizes at 16”x27” and weigh 3.25 lbs per dozen. That is a very common size gym towel As discussed above, keep bacteria and rust off your fitness equipment. Elevate the experience of your gym members and give them the impression that you’re a premium fitness facility.

Hand towels can be used to wipe away sweat while working out, as well as wiping down benches or equipment. Texon’s hand towels are made from ring spun cotton so they are soft and provide maximum comfort. They also have a stylish border and can be bought with a matching bath towel, so you can maintain a consistent image throughout your gym.

Center Stripe Gym Towels

Center stripe gym towels are used for wiping away sweat. The colored center stripe makes it easy to identify which towel is yours and it prevents mix-ups with someone else’s towel. It’s helpful in team sports environments such as football or basketball. The distinctive colored stripe also helps to prevent loss and theft. These towels are available in black, blue, green and yellow. They’re a great addition to your gym towel service.

Bath/Shower Towels

Providing wholesale shower towels in your gym is a great convenience for your members. Texon’s shower towels come in a very wide selection- from cheap, get’s you by and feels like sandpaper on our lower grade products, to our premium, soft, plush and durable lines of towels. We carry everything from prison grade to professional grade towels. For over 40 years, Texon has offered a huge inventory selection on wholesale gym towels.

Hopefully, after reading this guide, you are well on the way to selecting the right gym towels for your gym. If you still have questions or need to place an order please call us at 800-328-3966.