Do you re-use your bath towels?

[PeterPanic]

Originally Posted by aprilgail2

I never thought about doing it before bed- I usually throw a load in before I go to work. Sometimes I can get home for a little while at lunch and will throw that one in the dryer and another in the washer before going back to work but if not I do that when I get home from work. I could do the load of towels before bed then the other clothes in the morning, thats an idea!

You guys are putting a lot of trust in your mechanical products.

Washers spring leaks, hoses break, motors burn up. Dryers are pumping in 220 volts into a large metal box with massive heat elements that rely completely on a revolving drum that is usually driven by a tiny little elastic band that can and does break on occasion. The clothes stay in one spot and can catch fire, if stationary. Leaving the house while either of those are operating, can create one heck of a surprise when you return home or (hopefully) wake up in the morning. Just saying!

They do have safety shut offs and they are pretty reliable, but, it is also a man made device that I do not trust completely. Course this is easy for me to say because I am single, and do one load of wash per week, everything included...never sort and have never had a problem.

[snapppyd]

Originally Posted by PeterPanic

You guys are putting a lot of trust in your mechanical products.

Washers spring leaks, hoses break, motors burn up. Dryers are pumping in 220 volts into a large metal box with massive heat elements that rely completely on a revolving drum that is usually driven by a tiny little elastic band that can and does break on occasion. The clothes stay in one spot and can catch fire, if stationary. Leaving the house while either of those are operating, can create one heck of a surprise when you return home or (hopefully) wake up in the morning. Just saying!

They do have safety shut offs and they are pretty reliable, but, it is also a man made device that I do not trust completely. Course this is easy for me to say because I am single, and do one load of wash per week, everything included...never sort and have never had a problem.

You have a valid point, and we never leave home while the machines are operating.

Here's why:

Two years ago I put a load of clothes in the washing machine and then went to sit on my front porch. About an hour later when I went back to check on the clothes my downstairs was flooded. I had just had new hard wood floors installed the month before. The water just kept running, I guess the thing that tells the machine it is full had broken.

Even worse, my basement had about 3 inches of water in it, the water ran right through the floor.

I hate to think what would have happened if I had been gone all day!

[Trek Girl]

Originally Posted by PeterPanic

You guys are putting a lot of trust in your mechanical products.

Washers spring leaks, hoses break, motors burn up. Dryers are pumping in 220 volts into a large metal box with massive heat elements that rely completely on a revolving drum that is usually driven by a tiny little elastic band that can and does break on occasion. The clothes stay in one spot and can easily catch fire, if stationary. Leaving the house while either of those are operating, can create one heck of a surprise when you return home or (hopefully) wake up in the morning. Just saying!

This is what keeps me from running the washer or dryer when I'm away. My mother's washer flooded one morning while she was doing a load. She and my sister were there at the time, and while there was a mess to clean up, I can only imagine what it would have looked like if she'd left for work early that day and left the washer running even longer.

And as for the dryer, I don't even like falling asleep with it on, much less leaving it on while I'm not there. My hair stylist says she opened her dryer one day when she was checking her laundry, and her clothes were in flames.

[4luv2cdisney]

Originally Posted by Sorsha

How? See my last two posts.

Because, in my house, at least, EVERYTHING gets thrown into one load unless it absolutely MUST be washed separately. I understand that a red or a very bright garment may bleed the first time or two, but after that, I have never had an issue with color leeching out - all the excess dye is gone.We haven't been so lucky. I've noticed a few clothing brands in particular have dyes that will transfer if not careful. I am a laundry sorter. That's the way DH and I were both taught and have always done.

Darks, lights, undies, towels, etc - it gets thrown in, I use warm water and a quality detergent, always rinse on cold. I have a large capacity, water-saving front loader, and NEVER wash on "Hot" or "Sanitary" unless someone has done something very nasty to their clothes or I am running something that absolutely MUST go separately (DH has gotten into something gunky at work, etc).I know my situation is different because DH's clothes have to be washed separate, but how do you dry all that stuff the same way? 90% of our clothes are dried on low only and my big thick towels have to be dried on high or they would take FOREVER to dry!

I have been doing laundry this way for 20+ years and I have never had anyone complain that their clothes looked "less clean" because of it, I don't find that our clothes "don't last as long" (DD9 has hand-me-downs that originally belonged to DD18, and they are still in quite good shape.
I always wash whites/undies on hot/sanitary and separate. Growing up, both our families bleached whites / undies. My skin (and my kids) could never tolerate that. We can also only use dye free, fragrance free detergent and do not use fabric softener or dryer sheets. My eyes were opened as to how clean our laundry was (wasn't!) when we made that switch. It had always looked clean, but suddenly didn't smell clean! It's amazing what a little fragrance and some fabric softener will cover up! I specifically recall Dh's sweaty socks, baby spit up, and our kitchen towels retaining the most odor. I found smaller loads of like items and adjusting temperatures and amounts of detergent for each loads "needs" resolved those issues. DH's work clothes still stink after washing - no matter what! I really should buy some regular (fragranced) detergent for him to use, but I know he "cheats" sometimes and throws regular laundry in with his stuff.

It allows me to do about half the loads of laundry that I would have to do if everything were separated out, and I can use less water and less electricity., Just my experiences, and how *I* do fewer loads. YMMV.I think that's great if it works for you

Some replies in green above.

I am always interested in seeing how others make their households work (I never feel like I am doing a good enough job) and am genuinely just curious! Not being argumentative at all. Different strokes for different folks!

[aprilgail2]

Originally Posted by Sorsha

How?

Because, in my house, at least, EVERYTHING gets thrown into one load unless it absolutely MUST be washed separately. I understand that a red or a very bright garment may bleed the first time or two, but after that, I have never had an issue with color leeching out - all the excess dye is gone.

Darks, lights, undies, towels, etc - it gets thrown in, I use warm water and a quality detergent, always rinse on cold. I have a large capacity, water-saving front loader, and NEVER wash on "Hot" or "Sanitary" unless someone has done something very nasty to their clothes or I am running something that absolutely MUST go separately (DH has gotten into something gunky at work, etc).

I have been doing laundry this way for 20+ years and I have never had anyone complain that their clothes looked "less clean" because of it, I don't find that our clothes "don't last as long" (DD9 has hand-me-downs that originally belonged to DD18, and they are still in quite good shape.

It allows me to do about half the loads of laundry that I would have to do if everything were separated out, and I can use less water and less electricity., Just my experiences, and how *I* do fewer loads. YMMV.

I do the same thing-i see no point in separating everything-all gets tossed in together. We dont wear many white clothes but if occasionally there is something white that is looking a bit dingy i will toss it in the washer with some bleach but that is rare.

[NHdisneylover]

Originally Posted by PeterPanic

You guys are putting a lot of trust in your mechanical products.

Washers spring leaks, hoses break, motors burn up. Dryers are pumping in 220 volts into a large metal box with massive heat elements that rely completely on a revolving drum that is usually driven by a tiny little elastic band that can and does break on occasion. The clothes stay in one spot and can catch fire, if stationary. Leaving the house while either of those are operating, can create one heck of a surprise when you return home or (hopefully) wake up in the morning. Just saying!

They do have safety shut offs and they are pretty reliable, but, it is also a man made device that I do not trust completely. Course this is easy for me to say because I am single, and do one load of wash per week, everything included...never sort and have never had a problem.

I suppose, but the odds of an issue with a well maintained and properly ventilated appliance are very low--so I will take the risk.

I have dealt with three water damage situations n homes that i have lived n (one was water in the upstairs that came through to my basement apartment, others were my homes):

2 times the little hose running to a toilet broke and water just keep going out of that (this is what had 5 inches of standing water in my basement apartment in addition to the damage in the apartment it was in and about three inches of standing water in a basement of a house we owned in Detroit).
Once the; line to the icemaker in the fridge burst.

None of those are really thing you can turn off when you leave the house--unless you just shut off the water main when you leave.

[ashley0139]

I literally had no idea that there are people who use a new towel for every single shower.

[atp]

Originally Posted by Mouse House Mama

I am not drying my face with a towel that dried my butt no matter how clean it is after a shower.

I guess I understand why that would make someone want to use their towels only once, that grosses me out as well.

That never made me decide to use towels only once though, it made me decide to dry the parts that will never be 100% clean with toilet paper and use the towel on the rest of my body only.

But, electricity is very expensive where I live and dryers are not common at all, so if I were to wash towels daily, it would be a lot of work since the towel is barely damp after using it and dries fast, but after washing, it's extremely wet and takes forever to air dry.

I could dry it in my washing machine, but since it's a washer/dryer all in one, it takes FOREVER to dry things and it would become really expensive.

Not to mention I'd feel bad wasting so much water and energy, even though water is practically free here.

[Princess Dolly]

Originally Posted by Trek Girl

It isn't like I think this way about everything, but water is a service I'm paying for, and unless there's a mandate by some governing entity to use less of it, or it gets crazy expensive, I'm going to use the amount that I want.

Fresh water is a more scarce resource than oil. But hey it's a service you are paying for...

It's sad that some people don't realize the impending crisis with regard to fresh water.

[diznee25]

I was doing some research, and came across articles that had recommend washes for the following items: towels, sheets, and jeans.

Towels: Recommended that you wash after 3 - 5 uses.

Sheets: Recommended that you wash every 2 weeks, but said once per week is ideal.

Jeans: The director who works for Levis said she only washes her jeans once every 6 months. This one surprised me the most.....guess my 'once per week' jean wash isn't so bad!

diznee25

[aprilgail2]

Originally Posted by ashley0139

I literally had no idea that there are people who use a new towel for every single shower.

And i had no idea that some people would reuse a bath towel.

[Trek Girl]

Originally Posted by diznee25

[snip]

Jeans: The director who works for Levis said she only washes her jeans once every 6 months. [snip]
diznee25

I usually don't like to judge, but eww. How often does she wear them during those six months? Not often, I hope, for the sake of those around her. I hope she at least uses febreeze or something.

[Trek Girl]

Originally Posted by aprilgail2

And i had no idea that some people would reuse a bath towel.

Same here. I didn't encounter it until I had my first roommate in college.

[Trek Girl]

Originally Posted by Princess Dolly

Fresh water is a more scarce resource than oil. But hey it's a service you are paying for...

It's sad that some people don't realize the impending crisis with regard to fresh water.

Yeah, it really is, isn't it? We should try to educate Disney about it. I'm sure they'll come to see how wasteful it is to devote two whole parks to splashing about it water.

[LSmith]

Originally Posted by Trek Girl

Yeah, it really is, isn't it? We should try to educate Disney about it. I'm sure they'll come to see how wasteful it is to devote two whole parks to splashing about it water.

That's the best you got? Remember you are leaving the Earth to your children and their children, etc.

People need to get a clue about our natural resources.