The towel item isn’t as absorbent as it used to be and it should be re-buffed. For the mundane mini-games of drying hold items or the player’s hands, the amount of grinding is really unnecessary for such low Exp. gain. The towel item used to be much stronger, right? Anybody remember what patch broke the mini-game?
If you invest in the crafting skill, a hand knit cotton towel still has substantial buffs. The grind is pretty long, but not unpleasant, and you can usually grind another skill at the same time (watching lectures to up your INT, etc)