Why and how do towels absorb liquids?
In: Chemistry
Water likes to stick to things – that’s why when you take a shower, you get wet instead of all the water rolling off your skin and leaving you dry. Theres a few reasons for it chemistry-wise, but just know that water molecules like to attach themselves to certain materials.
Some things are more enticing to water molecules than others, especially if it’s very dry, has a lot of small “pockets” to hide in, and doesn’t have oil or something in it. Towels are usually made of a material that has little strings that stick out like fingers, and the strings has plenty of room in-between each strand, where water can stick itself and stay there comfortably. So if you spill water on a tile floor, which is made to have no holes that water can hide in, and you use a towel to mop it up, the water will much prefer the dry environment with lots of tiny spaces.
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