Member POLL - Towels

[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.

 

[frigilux]

Bath towels & wash cloths get used once. Hand towels get used several times during the day, but a fresh one is pulled out every morning. I only wash one load of towels every six days, so I don't feel too guilty about it.

 

[appnut]

Richie, I had no idea you were the person Kevin was referring to having a conversation. Buit I was wondering if/when ou were going to chime in on this because I remember your comment(s) to me about Gary & his towel habbits lol. As for me, it absolutely no more than use a towel and wash cloth twice after a shower. During this past winter, I tried just using once and it got to be a little too much at times. Kitchen towels get changed after or during a major meal preparation if not each time I unload the dishwasher so I have a clean towel to wipe off water droplets. Since it's just me, my large hand towels in my bath get changed once a week, occassionally slightly more often. Towels are washed in 120-130 degree water (hot) alwayws, regardless of how dark or light the color is. I use Snuggle fabric softener because it doesn't seem to make towels as non-absorbant as Downey does.

 

[appnut]

And since I prefer men who are far more follically blessed on their bodies than me (can we say a forrest?), I'd wanna change their towel after every shower or bath, but that's very rare experience around my house :-( sniffle sniffle.

 

[mistereric]

Weekly or...

... more often if my nose says so. I don't worry about the butt vs face thing, as they are both washed at the same time and are connected by 3 or so feet of me.

Hand towels, washcloths, kitchen towels all average a week and go into the weekend wash.

 

[douglasdc6]

I use my towels for 3 to 4 days then they become floor towels for stepping out of the shower for 3 to 4 days then they are ready for the hamper .

This is my opinion only - I just don`t like to place un necessary wear & tear on my machines - Laundry goes into my machines when it needs cleaning.

 

[scott55405]

I used to do every time, but when I went back to coin op laundry I now do twice a week, although wash cloths are never reused. I only buy white or buff towels as I will not wash them or sheets in anything but hot water, and I buy the cheap wash cloths at Target except for some with guest sets and throw them when they get worn.

 

[whitekingd]

I use two bath towels per week, and two hand towels per week. When line drying, if it is a hot day, I will fold the towels before hanging on the line, and take them down when "damp dry" and put them on the towel rack. They don't get "scratchy" that way. My K-Mart Martha Stewart towels hold up excellent!

 

[alr2903]

We use bath towels a couple of times, Kitchen towels changed after every cooking project. Kitchen towels IMHO are much more "bacteria prone". I am thinking of going towel shopping and going all white. I just like a splash of LCB/ SA8, no softner.

 

[dblrinz]

Depends

Bath Towels -

Winter - once per week due to drying quickly from a lot of dry heat.

Summer - every 2 to 3 days due to increased use 2 - 3 times per day rather than once and never completely drying between.

Hand towels - 1 - 2 days of use.

Kitchen towels - get changed frequently - I won't dry dishes with anything but a clean towel from the cupboard. I am regularly harashed by the amount of kitchen towels I own and the amount of I go through when cooking. Usually 2 to 3 full loads a week.

Washing bath and hand towels = Very hot water with Tide, Oxy, Calgon, Borax. Then first rinse(very warm) in bleach and Calgon followed by a second warm rinse with vinegar, then a fresh water rinse or two, finally softener rinse.

Kitchen towels get much the same kind of wash, but never finished with softner...