Member POLL - Towels

[revvinkevin]

During a past conversation with a friend from AW.org the subject of towels came up. He said uses a towel only once and then it goes in the laundry. For me personally this is just not practical (seems wasteful, IMHO) and I just can't do it! My towels get changed out or washed once a week.

Everyone has their preference about towels, their use and how often they get laundered.

POLL QUESTION: What are your habits/preferences for the use of / laundering of your towels and why?

 

[aquarius1984]

Used once im afarid then washed at 60/95 degrees C depending on the colour.

Used twice only occasionally if they dont feel dirty.

Mostly washed with powdered detergent and NO Fabric Softener, I hate soft towels although I will occasionally add a drop of softener if I feel sympathetic to my partner LOL.

 

[foraloysius]

Used twice. After all they have two sides... LOL

 

[rayjay]

The family only uses a towel once. The towels in our house take a beating from being washed so much. When I take a shower at night, at times I may use the towel again in the morning, but most of the times, it gets tossed into the laundry. Towels always get washed in hot, (unless they are a very dark color), a just a cap full of bleach in the bleach dispenser. NO FABRIC SOFTENER. Occasionally, a dry sheet in the dryer.

 

[turquoisedude]

Once a week

The towels in the apartment in town get changed weekly but the ones down at the house in Ogden can go three or more weeks 'cause we are down there on weekends.
Added bonus - down in Ogden if it isn't raining (that's been the exception not the rule so far this summer!) I pop them out on the line to 'air out'.

 

[butch-innj]

Compared to others.........

I must be really dirty !

I take a shower twice a day, once in the morning and once before bed.

I use the same towel all week. After all, its only drying off my already clean body. It air dries on the towel rod when between showers.

Kitchen towels get changed as needed since they are more apt to be used for more than just drying a dish or glass.

I only use all white towels and wash them in hot water with either Clorox or Oxy-Clean and most of the time I hang them
outside to dry. I absolutely hate soft towels and never ever
use fabric softener.

 

[jwilson00]

We use bath sheets twice then straight into the laundry bin, hand towels in the kitchen and bathroom are changed daily.

All towels are white including all our dogs towels, have a usual wash at 60 degrees, but I try to give them all monthly 90 degree wash.

One of the best parts of my day is wrapping myself in a sweet smelling fluffy towel , usually love the lenor fabric softners.

 

[yogitunes]

to me its a matter of how dirty and soaked they get, during the summer I take a lot of showers during the day...so I may alternate between 2 towels per day...it all depends...other times one towel a day....kitchen towels are always changed continuously...then theres the guest towels...changed out once a week...their only there for looks anyway...

 

[paulc]

Clean towel every shower/bath. Clean hand towels in kitchen and bathroom every day and I only use a tea towel once as well. I change the dishcloth daily too, or when ever it's dirty.

Washed at 60 deg, powdered detergent, very small ammount of softener.

 

[pulsator]

I only use a towel once! When I run out of towels, they get washed in warm or very warm water, depending on which machine I use (40C or 50C.) They get a lot of powdered detergent and 1.5 capfuls of Downy! I LOVE soft towels, everyone in my family can tell when I wash the towels and they love it when I do! lol

 

[countryguy]

We each use one towel a week. They get washed using the sanitary cycle. When I just use the normal cycle I was finding that after a couple of uses the towels would have a sour smell to them but washing in the sanitary cycle has solved that problem.

Gary

 

[jwilson00]

Loving the the neat organized pile

 

[electron800]

I use one bath towel a week, handtowels and dishcloths etc get changed when they start to look grubby or don't smell so fresh.

My towels all get washed on cottons 60 with a regular bio powder regerdless of colour, I normally use softner to prevent them feeling like sandpaper.

I always line dry them or air them indoors, but I always shake them out and fluff them up by hand to get them as soft and fluffy as possible.

Matt

 

[andrewinorlando]

After the second day, the towels just don't smell fresh, so in the laundry they go. So basically, use it twice, then wash it. I have mostly colored towels so no bleach for them.

 

[jeffg]

We use our towels 2 or 3 times between washes, and we never use fabric softener on them. Softener isn't needed if a washer rinses properly, and there's nothing more disgusting IMO than drying a clean body off with smelly waxes and chemicals. We'd rather drip dry.

 

[dj-gabriele]

I wash bath towels when they lose the fresh smell (mind, not the fabric softener smell!) so that usually is every 4/5 days for hand and bath towels, every other day for the bidet towel.
Kitchen towels get changed every day and seldom every 2 days if I don't cook much.
My towels get a big dose of softener and all get washed at 60°C, even dark ones, better clean than smelly!

 

[westingman123]

Wash daily. Hang to dry in sun (in fit weather). Breathe in fresh scent after shower. Sigh contentedly.

 

[maytagbear]

Weekly-

or more often, as needed, but usually weekly.

Tank hot (about 130F), detergent, sometimes oxygen booster. Downy April Fresh every other load. Dryer on High heat, Intellidry setting.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[golittlesport]

Were you referring to me, Kev? Haha

I normally use a towel once and then let it dry thoroughly before it goes into the laundry basket. I read once that although you are relatively clean after a bath or shower, that a brisk drying off with a towel will take off a lot of dead skin cells. So, I'd rather wash the towel in hot water rather than reusing it.

Who said what you can't see can't hurt you?!

My other half, on the other hand, will reuse a bath towel forever. If I didn't change his towel every few days, I think he would still be using the same one he was using when I met him. Ha!

 

[iheartmaytag]

Once

I only use my towels once then washed. Got this habit from my Dad who "Didn't want dry his face with the same towel he dried his butt with yesterday."
Same with washcloths. When I shower I have one cloth, then I get a clean one when I get out and go to the sink to shave.

Dish cloths and towels are changed daily. If very active, the dish towels are changed several times a day.

Most of my towels are white, washed in warm with bleach then if weather permits dried on the line.

 

[electron800]

Softner isn't needed if a washer rinses properly

It is when line drying, towels go stiff or scratchy with line drying no matter how well rinsed they are from experience, as I don't have a dryer and don't wish to use a dryer, softner is the only option to get them comfortably soft

Matt

 

[j2400]

I change often. Bath type towels get used once. Hand towels get changed often, but not after just one use. Typically, once a day. (I've been told bacteria can and do build up.)

It does generate more wash than if I used a towel all week long. Then, changing my underwear daily also generates more wash than if I changed only weekly, but I don't question changing underwear daily.

Right now, to balance change often, and minimize wash, I use the same type of towel (heavy hand style) for both purposes, which saves washer space. I currently use a hand towel, then, when changing it, it gets saved for my next shower. Then, it goes into the wash.

 

[polkanut]

Here bath towels and washcloths are used once, left to air dry, then go in the hamper. Hand towels are changed weekly, and kitchen linens as needed.

 

[ronhic]

Weekly here.

60c quick wash (1:08) or if there is full drum, they get the full 1:57 cycle.

BioZet, Surfmatic, Omomatic or Drivematic....with a touch of washing soda....

no fabric conditioner...but I do tumble dry...

 

[spankomatic]

I like a nice clean towel when I get out of the shower. No left overs when it comes to towels.

 

[mrboilwash]

Bath towels get changed after each use, but I usually get along with a small hand towel for the body after taking a shower.
Hand towels get changed about every other day.
All towels get the full 2 hour cycle at 95°C no matter what color. Since I swiched to liquid detergents I noticed considerably less wear and less limescale buildup.

 

[qsd-dan]

White bath towel gets changed once a week and is washed in 140F with the other whites along with an 8 hour soak in oxygen bleach. Full Circle (Eco-friendly) softener is added during the rinse cycle. Wow, I can't believe most members here only use their towel once. Seems incredibly wasteful IMO. My towel smells just as fresh on the 1st day as the 7th.

 

[brisnat81]

When we stay at Michaels Mum's she is a once per use user.

When we stay 3 nights up there that can be 32 towels in the three days. That seems like a lot of washing and waste, but she has close to 100 Towels.

At home we change weekly when the weather is dry, or whenever the towel hasnt dried before the next use.

 

[sudsmaster]

Once a day

I change out the bath sheet once a day. Usually I just shower in the morning, but if I take a second shower in the afternoon (after a hard day at work or in the garden or home shop) I'll generally use the same towel I used in the morning. But then the next morning the bath sheet goes in the hamper and a clean one put in its place on the towel bar. I have seven such bath sheets so it works out OK if I launder them once a week. But usually I'll do a load when I accumulate five or six bath sheets, cause the Neptune doesn't like to do a full seven.

In the kitchen, I keep the dish towel and hand towel on opposite towel bars on either side of the sink. I change those out as needed, generally every 2-2 days, more if they get dirtier faster.

All the towels get washed in hot water: the bath sheets at 130F in the Neptune, and the kitchen towels at 160F in the Miele 1918A (along with white socks, white t-shirts, white y-fronts, etc). I've measure the temp in that washer and 160 F turns out to be more like 155F, but that is still plenty hot to "sanitize" everything. I've tried the 170 setting but it seems to be a bit too hard on the elastic in the socks and briefs.

Prior to my induction into the world of laundry aficionados, I probably used the same bath towel several days in a row. But I like having a clean, fresh smelling towel in the morning, and the Neptune is relatively energy and water efficient, so why not?

 

[joelippard]

I use mine 3-4 times

just depends on whether it looses that fresh smell about it. I pile them up until I get enough for a full load and then wash them in HOT water with Tide and a small amount of Borax so as to remove all the dead skin and oils.