Do you re-use your bath towels?

[NHdisneylover]

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]

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]

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]

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]

[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]

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]

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]

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.

 

[mebbradley]

I use my towels for about a week, sometimes less. Do those of you who wash your towels everyday, also wash your pajamas/change pajamas daily? I wear my nightgowns several times(3-4) before they go in the laundry. What about sheets? Sleep on them once and change them? I'm pretty environmentally centered and I just can not do all this laundry-use water, soap into the water table, electric and gas use, my time...and on and on. Matter of fact, how does one have time to do this much laundry and get anything else done?

I wash my pajamas daily and I use towels once.

 

[JamesMom]

Household of 4: DH, Me, DS10, DS7

Towels: Generally used 1-2x before wash. I have mid back length hair and still only use 1 towel. We do the used towel as floor mat, too

Hand towels: Don't have them. Use paper towels in kitchen and use bath towel in bathroom (clean or last nights)

Washcloths - don't have them. Use poofs instead.

PJs: Men - sleep in underwear. Me - fresh nightly t-shirt and panties. Kids would run around in blankets and underwear all day if I didn't make them dress.

Sheets: washed weekly. Would love to do more often, but too much time...

Blankets: little better than quarterly

Jeans: Wear 2-3x and then wash. With kids, I also get something on them. I wear sweats at home most of the time, change into jeans with company or out of the house.

Shirts: Change daily. We mostly wear t-shirts, polos. No sweaters or sweatshirts. If cold, wear a zipper hoodie (wearing one as I type - hypothyroid) and wash when needed.

Underwear and socks: change daily. Bras: wear 2-3 days. (I am a SAHM in my 40s - I go without most of the time alone at home)

Loads of laundry per week:
1-2 - Hubby does his own. Wears mostly darks and washes cold/ dry warm
3 - linen loads (Master sheets = 1, Kids sheets & blanket x 2 - they don't use a top sheet) wash hot/dry high
2 - Towels wash warm/high dry
2-3 Mine and Kids clothes. Non sorted wash warm/high dry. Have a hamper and when full, start the load

Never leave with a load in washer or dryer. Paronoid of flood or fire.

Thank should cover it

 

[Trek Girl]

That's the best you got?

Dude, (or dudette) I'm not trying to get into a verbal match with you, seriously. I just think it's ridiculous to try to guilt someone into doing things they way you want them to do it. If water parks aren't considered a waste of water, laundry habits certainly shouldn't be put under a microscope

Remember you are leaving the Earth to your children and their children, etc.

I don't have kids, so...

People need to get a clue about our natural resources.

I agree.

 

[LSmith]

Dude, (or dudette) I'm not trying to get into a verbal match with you, seriously. I just think it's ridiculous to try to guilt someone into doing things they way you want them to do it. If water parks aren't considered a waste of water, laundry habits certainly shouldn't be put under a microscope

I don't have kids, so...

I agree.

It's a cop out to defend one's actions by pointing out something that you deem a worse infraction than your own.

 

[Trek Girl]

It's a cop out to defend one's actions by pointing out something that you deem a worse infraction than your own.

Well, actually, I'm not using that as a defense for my actions. I was just putting it out there as something to consider. Anyway my defense (which really is no defense, I guess), is that I'm spoiled and selfish in this regard, plain and simple.

 

[jahber]

Nothing sits all week here. Laundry is done every single day. I do multiple loads a day. Usually 3-5 loads. I swear I must have worked laundry in a women's prison in a past life.

You sound like an expert! Maybe I could hire you to teach the people in my house. It's not rocket science, but you'd think it was based on my DH's facial expressions when I explain whites vs colors vs sheets, etc.

 

[declansdad]

Dude, (or dudette) I'm not trying to get into a verbal match with you, seriously. I just think it's ridiculous to try to guilt someone into doing things they way you want them to do it. If water parks aren't considered a waste of water, laundry habits certainly shouldn't be put under a microscope

Walt Disney World Resort’s approach to water conservation begins with using less water where possible, and maximizing use of reclaimed water. Approximately 30 percent of the resort’s overall needs and 80 percent of its irrigation needs are met with reclaimed water.

 

[LSmith]

Well, actually, I'm not using that as a defense for my actions. I was just putting it out there as something to consider. Anyway my defense (which really is no defense, I guess), is that I'm spoiled and selfish in this regard, plain and simple.

Well, if this thread is any indication, you are in good company.

 

[Trek Girl]

Walt Disney World Resort’s approach to water conservation begins with using less water where possible, and maximizing use of reclaimed water. Approximately 30 percent of the resort’s overall needs and 80 percent of its irrigation needs are met with reclaimed water.

Awesome!

 

[ashley0139]

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

Living in NYC, having to walk two blocks to the laundromat, and having to pay about $7 each time I do laundry, it would never occur to me to not use it more than once. That would be insanity here.