Bathroom towels: how often should they be washed?

We use towels every day, to dry ourselves, our hair and our bodies. Then, we hang them up again on a hook in the bathroom (unless they have gotten dirty and are put into the wash). Towels are essential accessories in the home and for our personal well-being. And for this reason, we need to take good care of them.  

Washing them (properly) at regular intervals, and also storing them in the right way, will ensure our towels remain in optimal condition. Read on to find out more:

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How often do you need to wash towels?

Answers to this question differ: opinions range from those who use towels for weeks in the bathroom, to those who change them after each use . The basic idea, in the first case, is that if we use them to dry our now-clean bodies, they cannot get too dirty too quickly. Unfortunately this is wrong. Every time we wet a towel with the water left on the skin or hair, this soaks into the fibers creating the conditions that favor the proliferation of bacteria and molds. Furthermore, by rubbing or dabbing the towel on our skin, we also leave dead skin cells, sebum, hair, sweat, etc. on the fibers. This means we cannot leave our towels to go for weeks without washing them.

The middle ground to aim between the two extremes mentioned above: therefore, it is best to wash the towels we use after every three or four uses. Only if there is someone in the house who is sick, has a skin problem, or when the towel is visibly dirty is it best not to wait. Wash these towels immediately.

For the towels we use for our hands, it is best to put them into the laundry every two days.

The risks: when you dry your body with a towel that is full of dirt and invisible bacteria, you risk acne (and other infections) breaking out on your skin.

In short, if you cannot remember the last time you put a towel in the washing machine (or whenever you notice that it smells), it's time to put it in the wash.

Don't use too much detergent or softener: overuse of these will clog the fibers and make things worse. And when it comes to storing towels in the bathroom, avoid keeping them near the shower bath or, especially, the toilet. Where this is not possible, it is best to only keep hand towels in the bathroom itself. Put the other towels in another, well-aerated room. Try to ensure your towels dry out properly between uses.