Yes, but not as a habit. Towels shed lint and need more rinsing than most clothing, which is why frequent mixed loads leave lint on dark or delicate items.
Laundry day often comes down to whatever's dirty getting thrown in together, and towels usually seem like a natural fit with a regular clothes load. The problem shows up less in the wash itself and more in what comes out: fuzzy dark leggings, linty fleece, unevenly rinsed items.
Towels are also just heavier and bulkier than most clothing, which changes how well a machine can balance and rinse everything in the same load.
Terry cloth towels shed lint constantly, especially in the first several washes when loose fibers are still working their way out, and that lint clings to synthetic fabrics, fleece, and dark colors through static and friction. Towels also need more water movement to fully rinse out detergent than lighter garments do, so a mixed load can leave towels smelling faintly of detergent or leave clothes visibly fuzzy by the time the cycle ends.
Keep towels away from dark or black clothing, corduroy, fleece, and anything delicate like activewear with spandex. These fabrics grab lint the most and show it the most under normal light. Zippers and buttons on jeans or jackets can also snag towel loops and thin them out over repeated washes, shortening the towel's usable life.
Wash towels with other towels, sheets, or sturdy cottons when possible, using warm water if the care label allows it, since warm water lifts body oils and residue better than cold water does. Avoid overloading the drum; towels are bulky and need room to tumble and rinse fully, or detergent residue can get trapped in the loops.
A single hand towel or bath mat tossed in with a regular clothes load usually causes no real problem. It's full loads of bath towels mixed with clothes, especially dark or delicate ones, where lint and rinsing issues actually show up in any noticeable way.
Because towels hold more water weight than clothing, mixing a large stack of towels with a small clothes load can also throw off the machine's balance during the spin cycle, leading to longer cycles or a machine that shakes more than usual. If you notice this happening, it's simpler to split the load into a towel-heavy batch and a clothes-heavy batch than to keep rebalancing mid-cycle. Front-loading machines tend to handle mixed weight better than older top-loaders with a center agitator, but the lint issue applies to both types equally. Running an empty rinse cycle afterward, or wiping down the drum, can also cut down on lint carrying over into the next load you run.
Towels and clothes can share a machine without anything going wrong, but the lint and rinsing mismatch adds up over time. Save your dark and delicate items from a towel load when you can.
Terry cloth towels shed fibers, especially early in their life, and that lint clings to synthetics, fleece, and dark fabrics through static and friction during the wash and dry cycles.
Yes, towels and sheets pair well since both are sturdy, absorbent cottons that need similar water temperature and rinsing. This combination causes far less lint transfer than mixing towels with clothing.
Yes, over time. Fabric softener coats fibers with a waxy residue that reduces how well towels absorb water, so it's best used sparingly or skipped for towel loads entirely.
Warm to hot water, if the care label allows it, lifts body oils and bacteria from towels better than cold water, which is why towels are often washed separately at higher temperatures.