How Often Your Bath Towels Should Be Washed

Folded White Bath Towels

"Why do we wash bath towels, Aren't we clean when we use them?"- Steve Wright

Today's post is about bath towels and the thought of the sight of some bath towels make me have goose pimples all over, also when I hear people share bath towels I am so amazed though not very surprised cos I have experienced it at some point while growing up, when I and my two younger siblings had to share a bath towel and wash it after God knows when,lol you picture that?. Nowadays, i know a good number of people who wash their bath towels after 4 weeks of use or even more. This brings me to the question of how long you use your bath towels before you wash them, and how do you wash them?

  Experts recommend that bath towels should be washed after three to five uses, not three to five days or more. This is bacause when used to clean the skin, it removes millions of dead skin flakes, cells and dirt which sticks to the towel fibres. Also, experts say that when towels become wet after drying your body (especially urinary and anal sections), it locks in a lot of moisture, harbours odours faster, this makes them smell musty making it likely to breed moulds and fungus.

Air Drying A Bath Towel

   On the contrary, if you hang wet towels to dry and have some fresh air, these germs and micro organisms can not survive.But towels become wet again, when used the next time, the micro organisms can come alive again, so the best thing to do is to wash them before drying. It is not advisable to share bath towels with family members because if a person has a skin condition or fungal infection such as athlete's foot, it can be transmitted to another person or if it has shown signs of healing, reuse of the same towel can introduce the infection back to the skin.

Washing Bath Towels

   There are different takes on how often bath towels should be washed and how. According to Mama's Laundry Talk, they should be washed between 3-5 uses not days. To some clinical experts, bathroom towels need to be washed more often- every couple of days, every day or after every single use as with the case of face towels to prevent dirt and bacteria from being reintroduced to your pores.

Washed Bath Towels

     It is advised to wash bath towels in hot water that's safe for the fabric to help remove any bad smell, though some experts argue that soaking and washing with hot water just sanitize but does not sterilize them. Add in one or two cups of white vinegar when soaking them in hot water, then wash them again with regular detergent. If towel was used by someone sick or an over night guest who has a skin infection, disinfect them with diluted chlorine bleach if they are white or with other disinfectants such as dettol if coloured. According to one laundry expert, for those who use fabric softener to do their laundry, it should be replaced with white vinegar because fabric softener affects the ability of towels to absorb water, its residue traps odours while vinegar makes bath towels smell fresh.
   To you my dear readers I throw this very question: How often do you wash your bath towels and how do you go about it? I would like to hear your opinions, please don't forget to leave a comment after reading, more posts are coming soon...☺