Short answer: one that soaks up a lot of water, and that you use dry. That last bit is where most people go wrong.
Short answer
You use a drying towel dry. That is how it soaks up the most water.
That is the whole idea. Where you use a Wonder Cloth slightly damp to polish, you pick up the drying towel bone dry. That way it absorbs as much as it possibly can, which makes it the right choice for the wettest spot in the house. The iZi-Dry Towel M holds up to 800 ml: enough to do an average shower screen in one go.
What should you look for in a drying towel?
Four things. Absorbency is one of them, and the other three only show up after a few weeks.
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1
How much water it soaks up
A towel that does not absorb enough gets saturated and simply pushes the water around. That is exactly what leaves you with streaks. The iZi-Dry Towel M holds up to 800 ml, and that is the level at which you do a shower screen in one go.
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2
Whether it leaves lint behind
A towel that leaves fibres on glass doubles the work. On a mirror and a shower door you spot it straight away.
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3
The finish on the edge
A frayed edge is the one part of a microfibre cloth that can scratch. On glass and chrome you want a neat, stitched edge.
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4
Whether it keeps absorbing after a wash
This is where the cheap towel comes unstuck fastest. A cloth that stops doing its job after three months is no saving.
Drying towel or Wonder Cloth: which do you reach for?
They do much the same job. The difference is in how you use them: the Wonder Cloth slightly damp, the drying towel bone dry.
| Wonder Cloth | Drying towel | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Slightly damp | Dry |
| What it excels at | Polishing and a streak-free finish | Soaking up really wet surfaces |
| Typical moment | Windows, mirrors, kitchen, daily upkeep | Shower screen and tiles straight after a shower |
| What you use them both for | Bathroom fittings, taps, glass doors, mirrors, tiles, windows, washbasins, worktops and the car | |
In short: the wetter it is, the sooner you reach for the drying towel. In the bathroom most people use them side by side. Clean with the damp Wonder Cloth first, then dry off with the drying towel. That drying step is what makes the difference between almost clear and properly clear.
Drying towel, squeegee or an ordinary towel?
All three take water away. But two of the three leave something behind.
A window squeegee or glass wiper pushes the water downwards. On a flat pane that works, but in the bathroom almost nothing is flat. You cannot get at the frame, the hinges, the seals and the corners, and those are precisely the places where water sits. On the final pass you are left with a streak as well.
An ordinary towel does not absorb enough, leaves lint behind and ends up soaked through. After that it hangs there wet in a room you were trying to get the damp out of.
A drying towel soaks the water up instead of moving it around, gets into the corners and along the frame, and is still not saturated after one pass. You do not need a second tool alongside it.
Why limescale forms
Limescale is not down to how you clean, it is down to water drying on the surface. Leave droplets standing and the water evaporates, but the limescale stays behind.
Every droplet you leave standing leaves a little limescale behind. Day after day that builds up into the dull haze on your glass door and the white marks on your tap.
The solution is right there in it: take the water away before it can dry, and there is nothing left to cake on. That is not a cleaning job and it is not scrubbing out the shower, it is thirty seconds of work.
Want to tackle the whole bathroom at once? Then have a look at everything for the bathroom.
Get it clean first, then keep it protected
Got limescale already? Then give the bathroom one proper clean. After that the drying towel takes over.
A drying towel prevents limescale, it does not lift off the build-up that is already there. That distinction matters, because it decides where you start. Which products do the job, and what you should never put acid on, is in removing limescale: what works and what does not.
It is the difference between scrubbing every month and thirty seconds every day. The second one wins every time.
Which size should you choose?
| Size | What you use it for | Dimensions and absorbency |
|---|---|---|
| iZi-Dry Towel M | Shower screen, glass doors, tiled walls. Our top pick for the bathroom. | 60 x 40 cm, up to 800 ml |
| iZi-Dry Towel S | Taps, washbasin, mirror. Handy to keep within reach. | 30 x 40 cm, up to 400 ml |
Plenty of customers buy one of each: the M for the big surfaces, the S on a hook for a quick wipe round after washing your hands or brushing your teeth. The S also fits the iZi-Click mop, which is handy for tall doors, high cupboards and glazing you cannot reach.
More on limescale, mould and the right order of work in the bathroom is on the bathroom drying towel page.
Why we count in millilitres and not in grams
You often see a figure quoted in gsm. That tells you something about the weight of the fabric, not about what you actually notice.
Gsm is grams per square metre: how heavy the weave is. Heavier usually means thicker, but not automatically that more water goes in. That depends just as much on how the fibre has been split.
So we quote the figure you notice at the wall: how much water actually goes in. For the iZi-Dry Towel M that is up to 800 ml, for the S up to 400 ml. That is the difference between doing a shower screen in one pass and standing there wringing it out halfway.
What else sets a good microfibre cloth apart from a thin one off the shelf is in what is the best microfibre cloth.
Why this works out cheaper than it looks
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✓
One towel instead of bottles
No limescale spray, no rinse aid, no cream cleaner to keep on top of it. You use the towel dry, and nothing else is needed.
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✓
It lasts a long time if you wash it properly
You simply wash it with the rest at 40 degrees. Depending on how often you use it and how you wash it, a cloth lasts anywhere from six months to several years.
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✓
You prevent the expensive damage
Limescale etched into glass and chrome sometimes never comes off again. Here, prevention is literally cheaper than cure.
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✓
Straight from the manufacturer
We make the cloths ourselves and deliver without middlemen. That keeps the quality where we want it and the price low.
How do you wash a drying towel so it lasts?
At 40 degrees, sorted by colour, with iZi-Wash Sheets, or with washing powder and a dash of vinegar instead of fabric softener.
Soak a new towel once for 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water. Never again after that, not even after a wash.
Wash at 40 degrees and sort by colour, so nothing runs.
No fabric softener. A splash of white vinegar works better for the fibre.
No liquid detergent, capsules or scent beads. They leave a film behind that stops the towel absorbing properly.
Not in the tumble dryer, do not iron and do not dry on a warm radiator.
No bleach or ammonia. They attack the fibre.
When is a drying towel worn out?
Almost always it is not worn out at all, just saturated or coated with a film from the wash.
If your towel suddenly absorbs less, in most cases that is not wear. Fabric softener, liquid detergent, capsules and scent beads leave a film on the fibre that makes it repel water instead of soaking it up. Wash it a few times with washing powder and no softener, and it usually picks up again.
You only really replace it when the edge has frayed, because then it can scratch glass, or when it still feels wet without picking anything up despite a proper wash.
And that drying towel off the shelf at the shop round the corner?
That is where the spread is widest. A thin cloth with an open weave pushes the water along instead of soaking it up: you wipe the wall down, you walk away, and as it dries the streaks are back. That is not your technique going wrong, that is the weave.
So look at the absorbency, at the edge finish and at what is left of it after ten washes. We do not sell through shops and we do not sell through Action: we make the cloths ourselves and deliver direct. Why that is, is in is iZi-Clean sold at Action.
Does the same towel work outside the bathroom?
Anywhere water leaves streaks, it does the same job.
Windows and big panes of glass are the second place you notice it straight away. Clean damp, dry off, and you never have to go over anything twice.
The car is the third. That is exactly the same job as the shower screen: soak the water up before it can dry, because on paintwork and glass too it is the limescale in your tap water that makes the marks. How that works out is in how to dry a car without streaks.
In the kitchen you use it for the worktop and for bigger loads of washing-up, so glasses and cutlery dry streak-free. What else comes into it there is in what do you use a Wonder Cloth for in the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best drying towel for the bathroom?
One with a high absorbency that dries streak-free and does not leave lint. The iZi-Dry Towel M holds up to 800 ml and is 60 x 40 cm, which leaves an average shower screen free of streaks and limescale in one go.
What is the difference between a Wonder Cloth and a drying towel?
You use them in much the same places. The difference is in how you use them: the Wonder Cloth slightly damp to polish, the drying towel dry for maximum water pick-up. The wetter the surface, the sooner you reach for the drying towel.
Do you use the drying towel wet or dry?
Dry. Bone dry is exactly when it soaks up the most water. The iZi-Dry Towel M holds up to 800 ml.
Is a drying towel better than a squeegee?
In the bathroom it is, because almost nothing there is flat. A squeegee pushes the water downwards and cannot get at the frame, the seals and the corners, and it leaves a streak on the final pass. A drying towel soaks the water up and reaches everywhere.
Why not just use an ordinary towel?
It does not absorb enough, leaves lint behind and ends up soaked through. After that it hangs there wet in a room you were trying to get the damp out of.
Does a drying towel help with limescale?
It prevents limescale, it does not lift off the build-up that is already there. By drying your bathroom straight after a shower you give limescale no chance: no water means no limescale. If there is already a layer, take that off once with a mild acid first.
How much water does the drying towel hold?
The iZi-Dry Towel M has an absorbency of up to 800 ml, the iZi-Dry Towel S up to 400 ml. With the M you leave an average shower screen free of streaks and limescale in one go.
What size is the drying towel?
The iZi-Dry Towel M is 60 x 40 cm. The iZi-Dry Towel S is 30 x 40 cm.
How long does it take each time?
About half a minute for the glass door, the tap and the tiles. Take in the whole bathroom, including the washbasin and the mirror, and you are looking at roughly two minutes.
Should I wash the drying towel before I first use it?
Soak it once for 15 minutes in lukewarm or warm water and wring it out well. That opens up the fibres and rinses out any residue left over from manufacturing, so it absorbs at full strength from the very first go. Never soak it again after that.
How do I wash the drying towel?
Sort by colour and wash at 40 degrees with iZi-Wash Sheets, or with washing powder and a splash of white vinegar instead of fabric softener. Use no fabric softener, no liquid detergent, no capsules or scent beads and nothing harsh. Not in the tumble dryer, do not iron it and do not leave it on a hot radiator.
My towel absorbs less than it used to. Is it worn out?
Usually not. There is a film on the fibre left by fabric softener, liquid detergent or capsules. Wash it a few times with washing powder and no softener, and it often picks up again. You only replace it once the edge starts to fray.
Straight to the drying towels
Choose the size that suits your bathroom.
- iZi-Dry Towel M, 60 x 40 cm · up to 800 ml, for the shower screen and tiled walls
- iZi-Dry Towel S, 30 x 40 cm · up to 400 ml, for taps, washbasin and mirror
- See all drying towels
Keep your bathroom limescale-free
Thirty seconds after your shower and you are done with it. More than 300,000 households got there before you.
See the drying towels4.8 out of 5 and 15,000+ reviews. Questions? We are easy to reach.
iZi-Clean is a registered trade mark.