Nahaufnahme der flach gewebten Baumwolle eines Hamamtuchs – leicht im Urlaub zu waschen

Washing a hammam towel on holiday: sand, salt water, hand wash and drying in the hotel

June 25, 2026

By the team behind Meri Saunaupdated November 6, 20268 min read

Washing a hammam towel on holiday is easier than many people think. After a few days of beach, sunscreen and salt water, any towel gets a little stiff and no longer smells fresh. But hotels and holiday homes don’t always have a washing machine – and using the hotel laundry service for a single towel is rarely worth it. The good news: flat-woven cotton is easy to wash by hand and dries quickly. In this guide you will learn how to get rid of sand and salt, how hand-washing in the basin works and how your towel dries overnight in your hotel room.

Contents11

Why a hammam towel is easier to care for on holiday
Step 1: Get rid of the sand
Step 2: Rinse out the salt water
Step 3: Washing a hammam towel on holiday – hand wash in the basin
Step 4: Drying in a hotel or holiday home
What you should avoid
Sunscreen stains on holiday
What to pack
At home: one proper wash
Conclusion
Frequently asked questions

Why a hammam towel is easier to care for on holiday

Hand-washing a thick terry bath towel is a chore: it soaks up water, becomes heavy, is hard to wring out and takes forever to dry. A hammam towel is thinly woven and much lighter. Our 180 × 100 cm models weigh approx. 270 to 470 g depending on the model. In our experience at the Meri Sauna, a hammam towel dries in about 30 minutes in the sun and in about 60 minutes indoors – after a hand wash, when it holds a bit more water, it takes correspondingly a little longer.

Step 1: Get rid of the sand

Sand is the first problem after a day at the beach. If you put a wet, sandy towel straight into the basin, you end up with sand in the drain. This works better:

Let it dry: Dry sand falls off much more easily than wet sand. Spread the towel out in the sun first.
Shake it out vigorously: Ideally still on the beach or on the balcony – not over the neighbours’ balcony.
Knock out the fringes: Sand likes to collect in the fringes. Briefly run your hand through them.

More tricks to keep sand from sticking to the towel in the first place can be found in our beach towel guide (link below).

Step 2: Rinse out the salt water

Salt attracts moisture and makes cotton stiff over time. A towel that has been in seawater every day and only dried in the sun feels rough after a few days. So you need to wash a hammam towel on holiday less often than you think – fresh water is enough day to day:

Rinse with fresh water after the sea: Briefly rinse it under the hotel shower or the beach shower. That alone makes a big difference.
Don’t “wash” it in the sea: Salt water rinses out sand but leaves salt behind.
On a pool holiday: A quick rinse with clean water also helps after chlorinated water.

Step 3: Washing a hammam towel on holiday – hand wash in the basin

When the towel needs a proper wash after a few days, a basin, shower or bathtub is all you need:

Run lukewarm water: Our hammam towels are washed at 30 °C – so hot water isn’t necessary.
Little detergent: A small squirt of travel-size liquid detergent is enough. If you don’t have any, a mild squirt of shower gel will do in an emergency.
Soak: Submerge the towel, knead it gently and leave it for about ten minutes.
Knead instead of rubbing: Knead a little more where there is sunscreen.
Rinse thoroughly: Rinse with clean water until no more foam appears. Detergent residue makes the towel stiff.
Squeeze gently: Don’t wring it hard – that distorts the weave. Better to roll the towel up and press it with your hands.

A trick for less residual water: roll the wet towel in a dry hotel towel and briefly step on it or press firmly. The dry towel absorbs part of the moisture.

Step 4: Drying in a hotel or holiday home

Spread out indoors, a hammam towel dries in about 60 minutes in our experience, a little longer after a hand wash. By the next morning at the latest it is ready for the beach again. Good places to dry it:

Place	Advantage	Watch out
Balcony, back of a chair	sun and wind, fastest	some hotels don’t allow laundry on the railing; secure it well
Shower rail, towel rail	always available, drips into the shower	bathroom is often humid, leave the door open
Clothes hanger in the room	towel hangs smooth and wide	put something underneath to catch drips
Washing line at a holiday home	ideal, towel fully spread out	don’t leave it in blazing sun for hours

An air-conditioned room helps with drying because the air conditioning removes moisture from the air. Lamps, fan heaters or hair dryers are not suitable – too hot for the cotton and an unnecessary risk.

What you should avoid

So that you can wash your hammam towel on holiday without damaging it, leave out these things:

Hot water: 30 °C is enough; pure cotton is more likely to shrink at higher temperatures.
Bleach and chlorine stain sprays: They attack cotton and colours.
Hours in blazing sun: Strong colours can fade. A short time is enough for drying.
Wet into the suitcase: A damp towel in a closed suitcase smells musty after the journey home. Better to wash it on the last evening and let it dry overnight.
Fabric softener: You don’t need it on the road – nor at home, because it reduces absorbency.

Sunscreen stains on holiday

Sunscreen is the most common stain on beach towels. It is best to treat it before it soaks in for days: put a drop of washing-up liquid or shower gel on the spot, work it in with your fingers, leave it briefly and then hand-wash as usual. A tip for the future: let sunscreen soak in first and only then lie on the towel. More detailed tips on stubborn stains can be found in our stain removal guide.

What to pack

a small bottle of liquid detergent – the usual rules for liquids apply in hand luggage
a few clothes pegs for the balcony or line
a thin bag for wet things
two hammam towels, so one can dry while you use the other

Two light towels used alternately are the easiest way to wash your hammam towel on holiday without spending a beach day without a towel. For face and hands, a Mini hammam towel Diamant weighing approx. 120 g also fits into any bag.

At home: one proper wash

After the holiday, the towel goes into the machine once as usual: 30 °C, no fabric softener, air-dried. This also removes any salt and sunscreen residue left after hand-washing. Everything about machine washing, the first wash and the fringes is in our guide to washing hammam towels. You will find new towels in our hammam towels collection.

Conclusion

Washing a hammam towel on holiday works without a washing machine: shake out sand when dry, rinse out salt water with fresh water, knead it in lukewarm water with a little detergent in the basin, rinse thoroughly and squeeze gently. Spread out on the balcony or the shower rail, it is usually dry again overnight. With two towels used alternately you can wash one on holiday and still always have one for the beach – and at home it gets one regular wash at 30 °C.

Frequently asked questions

Washing a hammam towel on holiday – does shower gel work too?

In an emergency, yes – a small squirt is enough. Rinse thoroughly so no residue stays in the fabric. Then wash it normally with detergent once at home.

How long does the towel take to dry after hand-washing?

A little longer than the approx. 60 minutes a hammam towel needs indoors in our experience, because there is more water in the fabric after hand-washing. It usually dries overnight.

How often do I need to wash my hammam towel on holiday?

Rinsing it with fresh water after every day at the sea is enough for a few days. That removes salt and sand. After about a week, or if there are sunscreen stains, a hand wash with a little detergent is worthwhile.