how often do you wash your towels? ;)

[disneydave2003]

from a local news station:

You use them everyday...and you've probably never thought of your towels as being breeding grounds for germs.

You'll be surprised at what we discovered when we put towels to the test.

Washing your hands, a shower, after a bath...

You use your towel when you're clean so it must stay clean right?

Dr. Philip tierno
"the secret life of germs"
"Showering does not erradicate the germs that are on your skin and in your body."

And overtime that could pile up to no good.

Andrea fontaine Foods research labs.
"Viruses, bacteria anything that can remain on a towel and survive can be transfered."

We tested towels from 6 busy families.

The towels were used as many as 4 or more times; often by more than one person.

And as anyone with kids might expect , the families admit the towels probably spent a little time on the bathroom floor.

Melissa bishop/towel tested
"It's very hard to be perfectly clean."

If those towels could talk, these petri dishes show what they would say.

The towels are loaded with bacteria.

The most disturbing discovery, staph bacteria, that could cause skin infections or food poisoning if you dry your hands on an infected towel and then eat.

Andrea Fontaine Foods Research Labs.
"The towel could be used as a way to contaminate some one else if you share your towel and recontaminate yourself if you're re-using your towel."

Melissa Bishop/Family "Oh how gross. I didn't think a towel would be a germy thing."

Dr. Philip Tierno wrote the book on germs.

He says you can avoid risks by following a few simple steps.

For starters, lay out your towel so it dries completely after every use...simply hanging it on a hook may not cut it.

Dr. Philip Tierno
"The Secret Life of Germs"
"You can cut down on the number of staph that survive. But if you let it sort of grow in a nice damp environment you can increase the staph count on the towel."

Plus, make sure your towel never touches the floor and don't share it.

Experts say you should wash your towel after 2 uses and if you have any skin problems like acne wash it everytime you use it.

Andrea Fontaine Foods Research Labs.
"You could end up re-infecting yourself or prolonging the healing process."

To avoid cross contamination, wash your towels separately from your clothes and use a detergent with a santizing agent.

Plus, the permanent press cycle and using cold water saves energy but it won't necessarily get rid of all germs.

Also, experts say when you're sick it's a good idea to only use your towel once before washing it.






i wash them after every use, what about you?

 

[LindsayDunn228]

I wash them after every use.

 

[cinmell]

ewwwww

I wash them after every use.

 

[Marseeya]

I have a little rotating thing.

I use two towels -- one for my body and one for my hair. The one I use on my body goes right in my hamper and the hair towel gets rotated into the body towel for the next day.

Silly, but it works for me!

 

[stinkerbelle]

I use one towel for my hair all week
and one towel for my body all week (same with DH)
they get hung up after each use
hand towels hung in the bathrooms get washed once a week
kitchen towel - I go through numerous a week. (especially if I cook chicken - I'll toss it in the washer regardless)

I've been living this way since college...in 1995...over 10 years. I'm generally a very healthy person...never get sick or what not.

Guess I've built up a healthy immune system! hehehe.

 

[pooh4evr]

Dh and my towels every use DDs every 2nd use sometimes but usually every time!

 

[LeCras]

DH and I have separate towels (different colours) and never use each other's. I change the towels every Sunday, when I change the bed linen. The towels live on a heated towel rail so dry very quickly and certainly never touch the floor - if either of us drops a towel it goes in the hamper.

Neither my DH or myself are spermatophobics and feel that washing the towels once a week is quite enough.

Charlotte

 

[Aidensmom]

We wash the towels once a week.

We each have our own towel, never share, and they are never on the bathroom floor. And I am very picky on how they get hung up to dry so that they really do dry.

 

[golfgal]

People are WAY too germophobic!

 

[CheshireVal]

I'll use the same towel about 4 days before I toss it in the wash. I figure I'm just using it to dry off after a shower/bath, so I should be pretty clean!

 

[puffkin]

I only wash my towels once a week. They get hung up immediately after use. I only use my towels, DH only uses his. No cross contamination so to speak.....

I am one of those freakishly healthy people who RARELY gets sick. At most I get a cold every couple of years. I keep a clean house, but I am not a germanphobic, I do not sanitize everything and such. I just can't imagine washing your towels everyday. What a HUGE waste of resources.

 

[Fredd's Girl]

We wash our bathroom towels once a week, and it seems like we go through kitchen towels once a day (at least). So we're always switching the kitchen ones out.

 

[MamaLema]

I wash them only once a week and frankly could care less what any study says. We are a family of 5. Each of us use our own towels. Even my 2 year old knows which one is for him only

 

[Miss Jasmine]

We change our towels twice a week and wash once a week. DH and I have our own seperate towels and they never touch the floor.

 

[stinkerbelle]

DH and I have separate towels (different colours) and never use each other's.

ditto this.
cream - DH
green - Me
white - my hair
purple - the dogs (heheh..seriously - we have a purple towel that we use to dry her off after we bathe her)

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We wash our towels once a week. If someone in our household has a cold the hand towels might get washed more often and I keep paper towels in the powder room so they can be used if someone is sick (per daycare regulations--I have a home daycare license and am required to have the paper towels, but now I keep them out year round, even when I don't have daycare children).

We never share bath towels! If there are germs on them they are my germs, unless of course we are talking about someone elses towels, in which case they are their germs.

Kitchen towels normally get washed weekly. We're vegetarian so we don't have raw meat concerns. In the kitchen I have 2 towels, one for a hand towel and one to dry dishes. We have lots of dish cloths and we get a clean one out every evening. We don't use sponges in the kitchen.

 

[caitycaity]

i wash my towels after every use. (actually, i have enough towels for 1 week, so i do them once/week, but use a new one every day). dh and i also have separate colored towels.

i have to do this -- if i don't, my sensitive skin has problems.

 

[MAKmom]

BAth towels I wash after every use... they are used on your but. Now hand towles I only changed 1x a week I will now change them everday.

 

[tkd lisa]

For the most part, my towel gets used during the work week, and I wash the weekend one at the end of the weekend (I do laundry at the beginning and end of the weekend). But if I'm doing any laundry, I'll grab the towels and throw them in.

Now my kids often times leave theirs on the floor, so they just grab another one. I'd say they go through 3-4 towels a week. But I do reuse them after they're on the floor. I just have the kids pick them up and hang them (or I do it if they're not around).

And we each have our own bathroom now, but DD in particular really prefers my shower. So when she uses my shower, she uses my towel. As long as she hangs it up, I don't gripe.

I am NOT a germ-o-phobe. I figure I survived!

 

[malibuconlee]

When we lived in our first apartment we had to drag our stuff down the street to wash, and we didn't have a ton of towels. We used them once, hung them, and used them a second time. Had enough to do that for a week for the two of us.

Now, they get washed pretty much after every use. Sometimes DH will hang his and use it a second time, but not usually.

I change hand towels fairly often, and kitchen towels and wash cloths I cycle thru many different ones each week. Always a new dishcloth each day, or after I think it gets gross (like wiping up chicken juices).