Wet strength

Wet strength

Wet strength is the property that separates a towel that works in a bath from one that only works on a dry counter. Water softens the fibre and lubricates the contact points between them, so a web that feels strong dry can lose most of that strength when soaked.

It is governed mainly by the fibre blend — cellulose alone is weak when wet, while a synthetic component adds resilience — and it is the reason a sample must be tested wet, not judged by hand.