OT - Do you recycle your towels?

[MichelleVW]

Growing up we always reused towels, and we do the same in our house now. I usually wash them all every 3-4 days.

In a hotel I want fresh clean towels though!!!

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

At home my parents and I grew up getting a new towel everytime we took a shower. For me it was 2 towels and a washcloth.

DBF's family reused theirs and I never heard of anyone doing this until we started dating in high school.

Now that my parents and I moved into a new apartment and we have an electric dryer my Mom is trying to cut down on our washing so I started reusing my towel. I use the same for about 3 or 4 days. I have the turbie towel things for my hair and I use the same 4 for about a week and a half. I use a clean washcloth everyday though.

My Mom thinks it gross though. But she complains about there being too much laundry. Who knows.

 

[puffkin]

We reuse towels, they get washed once a week. I think it is extremely wasteful and environmentally unfriendly to do otherwise.

 

[ajk912]

No way do we reuse towels. I am with the OP that I do not want something that touched certain (albeit clean) areas then touching my face. It takes about 10 minutes total to wash, dry, and fold a load of towels. No need to be stingy on towels except for the environmental factor..for that I do feel bad, but not bad enough to start reusing towels!

BTW, there are 5 of us, 3 girls, 2 boys. All the girls have long hair (mid back!) I would get annoyed by some of the stories where girls use two towels, one for body, one for hair. That isn't necessary for us..our towels are plusher so they can absorb that water no problem!

I take it so far I don't even reuse washcloths. I make up for it by not buying paper towels, but I use kitchen rags like paper towels- use it for a few minutes and then toss it in the laundry so mildew/mold/bacteria can't grow. I go through probably 15 washcloths a day. I figure for as much as I am cleaning, doing an extra load of laundry/towels a day is still better than going through a roll of paper towels a day and helping to kill a tree. I do FULL loads of laundry, not half loads like some people- <cough> MIL- so I think that helps.

 

[irene_dsc]

Well, dh and I re-use our towels, but the kids don't have a good place to hang them, so they don't. Otoh, they don't bathe as often as we shower, so it usually doesn't waste that many towels.

We also save clean pants or cardigans until they are visibly dirty - it saves a lot of wear and tear on the clothes, besides the amount of laundry. I do change shirts every day, tho - for some reason, I just can't re-wear a shirt, even if it is visibly clean. (Unless I only wore it for like an hour or something)

 

[bellebud]

She thinks I'm ridiculous and acting "rich & fancy".*

this just struck me as so funny!

anyway - we've always used our towels for about a week - the face towel in the bathroom I'll replace every other day or so, same w/ the dish towel in the kitchen and dish rag.

 

[disneybound2010]

I'm a recycler! Growing up, both my family and DH's family always reused towels and washclothes so it has never been an issue to us. The only ting DH and I differ on is washclothes. I only use a cloth for my face and a loofah for the rest. The cloth goes in the hamper immediately. DH will use a cloth a few times before it goes in the hamper.

 

[brockash]

We re-use our towels at home for a few days, and then wash them ect. I don't usually re-use them at hotels though, mainly becuase they're not that great to begin with.

 

[Ephany]

We reuse also. That's how I grew up, DH's mom did laundry every day but I won't, so he slowly came over to my way of thinking. I think it was mainly because he was taking at least 2 showers a day and going through 3 changes of clothes a day and he got tired of doing all of that laundry. My hair towel generally gets more uses than my body towel, but otherwise I swap them out once or twice a week.

 

[Julylady]

We had four kids in our family and never reused towels. I don't even remember having a towel bar in our bathroom growing up! My Mom did a load of towels every couple of days. Both of my brothers married wives who reused towels and that is the norm in their family today. However, neither my sister's family nor mine are re-users. We were talking with my 21 year old nephew a few weeks back about a girl he is dating. My sister asked him if she was a towel reuser. He said he didn't know. , but he was never going to reuse a towel in his house. He thought it was gross.

She told him he better find out right away because it could be a deal-breaker in the future.

PS. He goes to College in the town my Mom still lives in and she does all his laundry for him. She would never expect him to reuse a towel!

Donna

 

[jellybeans0607]

My daughter and I both use new towels everyday. i can't imagine using a dirty towel.
My sons bathe together and will use the same towel, the get baths every other day now that its winter.
My husband will use whatever is on the top of the hamper. He comes from a family that reused.

I only do 4-5 loads of laundry a week for the 5 people living in this house. Granted I have very large machines, but really I don't think they cause that much excess laundry.

 

[Tink-aholic]

This whole thread struck me as funny. DS13 and I each reuse our towels once (so two showers per towel). DH needs a fresh towel each shower. My 15 year old brother, however, is a contradiction in terms. He showers twice a day for 30 minutes at a time (don't get me started!) and will wear clothes for fifteen minutes and put them in the wash...but will reuse a towel for weeks. Even after it has been clumped on the floor all day. Even if someone else had just used it. Yuck.

I am also constantly bugging him to change his sheets. Last year, he changed them twice, and that was after I forced him.

 

[nosy parker]

Now in our home we use a new towel every time. And really I wouldn't mind reusing but now that my dh heard that some people dont he wants a new towel every time. LOL

That's very funny, he knows a good thing when he hears it!

We each use a clean towel everyday. I just think that once they've been wet they are not as nice to dry yourself with again. Also once i've dried myself i tend to wipe up any water thats spilt onto bathroom floor with it so it really needs washing. We are a family of 5 and i do at least 2 loads of washing every day, more when i change the beds.

For sure not as nice! I'd say icky!! And I hear ya on the laundry!

No way do we reuse towels. I am with the OP that I do not want something that touched certain (albeit clean) areas then touching my face. It takes about 10 minutes total to wash, dry, and fold a load of towels. No need to be stingy on towels except for the environmental factor..for that I do feel bad, but not bad enough to start reusing towels!


BTW, there are 5 of us, 3 girls, 2 boys. All the girls have long hair (mid back!) I would get annoyed by some of the stories where girls use two towels, one for body, one for hair. That isn't necessary for us..our towels are plusher so they can absorb that water no problem!

I take it so far I don't even reuse washcloths. I make up for it by not buying paper towels, but I use kitchen rags like paper towels- use it for a few minutes and then toss it in the laundry so mildew/mold/bacteria can't grow. I go through probably 15 washcloths a day. I figure for as much as I am cleaning, doing an extra load of laundry/towels a day is still better than going through a roll of paper towels a day and helping to kill a tree. I do FULL loads of laundry, not half loads like some people- <cough> MIL- so I think that helps.

I have to admit that it was weird writing out my exact reasoning concerning the "cross-contamination" possibilities when reusing a towel. But I can't help but think about it. Wonder how others don't? I'm glad I'm not alone. And I agree about towels being the easiest type of laundry. Easy to sort, easy to fold. Though, like you, I do feel a bit bad about the environmental impact, so I use Phosphate-free detergent. Helps easy the guilt!

And I'm also a dish-rag nut! Can't stand the thought of not getting a new one each day. Have you ever seen a report on what can be growing on there after just one day? Eeeewww!

We had four kids in our family and never reused towels. I don't even remember having a towel bar in our bathroom growing up! My Mom did a load of towels every couple of days. Both of my brothers married wives who reused towels and that is the norm in their family today. However, neither my sister's family nor mine are re-users. We were talking with my 21 year old nephew a few weeks back about a girl he is dating. My sister asked him if she was a towel reuser. He said he didn't know. , but he was never going to reuse a towel in his house. He thought it was gross.

She told him he better find out right away because it could be a deal-breaker in the future.

PS. He goes to College in the town my Mom still lives in and she does all his laundry for him. She would never expect him to reuse a towel!

Donna

Yep, I think my dh would have considered it a deal breaker too! In the 15 years we have been together he has never, and I mean never, gone one single day without a shower. He absolutely cannot step out of the house without showering. I bug him about it all the time. It really is freaky. I mean I'm all for cleanliness and all, but if you skip a day here or there for some particular reason, it's not the end of the world. But it is to him.

I wonder how my 22 year old ds feels about it? He moved out in June and I bought him a whole pile of towels because they're darn expensive and I just "knew" he'd never spend the money on good ones. So he would have been stuck doing laundry every day (as if), and I couldn't fathom the thought he would reuse towels. Never occurred to me he would, so I bought him enough to get him through at least a week before he'd have to wash. I'm pretty sure he'd agree with your nephew and think that's gross. But who knows, maybe he's crossed over to the other side now that he does his own laundry. Hmmm? I'll have to inquire.





OP here. This thread is very amusing! I didn't think I'd get so many responses, let alone so many towel recyclers! Wow! It really is common practice. I was starting to feel like a freak until the posters above responded. At least I'm not alone! I just love my clean, crisp, fresh towel after my shower. And a fresh one for my hair too! Just feel icky otherwise. And it really does create mountains of laundry! I have a linen cupboard full of towels and even then we manage to go through them all and usually start using beach/pool towels! That's when I know I better get another load into the washer! And I must have at least 40 facecloths. I can't imagine reusing one of those - ever! I don't care if my sis thinks I'm being "rich and fancy", or that I'm not a good guest - not ever gonna reuse a facecloth. Ick!

Very funny thread. Thanks everyone for sharing!

 

[nosy parker]

My daughter and I both use new towels everyday. i can't imagine using a dirty towel.
My sons bathe together and will use the same towel, the get baths every other day now that its winter.
My husband will use whatever is on the top of the hamper. He comes from a family that reused.

I only do 4-5 loads of laundry a week for the 5 people living in this house. Granted I have very large machines, but really I don't think they cause that much excess laundry.

Exactly!! My two youngest DSs are 6&7 and bathe together, every other day in the winter. So, in their case I would use one towel for the two of them. But I recently changed that to a towel each because they're no longer babies, so no more recycling for them either! I figure it's also time to go to solo bathing as well.

And your DH, oh no...not whatever's on the top of the hamper!??

 

[nosy parker]

...but will reuse a towel for weeks. Even after it has been clumped on the floor all day. Even if someone else had just used it. Yuck.

Icky, icky, icky!!!

I am also constantly bugging him to change his sheets. Last year, he changed them twice, and that was after I forced him.

Your post had me

 

[jellybeans0607]

Exactly!! My two youngest DSs are 6&7 and bathe together, every other day in the winter. So, in their case I would use one towel for the two of them. But I recently changed that to a towel each because they're no longer babies, so no more recycling for them either! I figure it's also time to go to solo bathing as well.

And your DH, oh no...not whatever's on the top of the hamper!??

lol, he grew up very poor with 9 brothers and sisters, so I guess he's just happy to have a towel sometimes.

I have a question though, at what age is it normal to stop bathing? My boys are 3 and 4( almost 5). I'm ready for my 4yo to shower. But whats normal? I do have an older daughter, shes 8 now. She started showering at 3, but that was due to constant yeast infections her dr suggested shower and she hasn't had one since.
I have to be honest I was surprised to see your boys of that age were still bathing. Is that what i'm in for, because i'm so ready to eb done with baths, lol.

 

[nosy parker]

lol, he grew up very poor with 9 brothers and sisters, so I guess he's just happy to have a towel sometimes.

God love him! He gets a pass then.

I have a question though, at what age is it normal to stop bathing? My boys are 3 and 4( almost 5). I'm ready for my 4yo to shower. But whats normal? I do have an older daughter, shes 8 now. She started showering at 3, but that was due to constant yeast infections her dr suggested shower and she hasn't had one since.
I have to be honest I was surprised to see your boys of that age were still bathing. Is that what i'm in for, because i'm so ready to eb done with baths, lol.

No, no you're right. They are plenty old enough to be showering. I have to get on that. I just don't trust them to wash properly (geez, I sound like an OCD clean freak!). I actually wash one at a time now because they think the bath is a swimming pool and also because the commentary and "horseplay" in there has gotten out of hand. It's time though. Glad you asked, I'll give it a whirl tonight.

 

[jellybeans0607]

God love him! He gets a pass then.



No, no you're right. They are plenty old enough to be showering. I have to get on that. I just don't trust them to wash properly (geez, I sound like an OCD clean freak!). I actually wash one at a time now because they think the bath is a swimming pool and also because the commentary and "horseplay" in there has gotten out of hand. It's time though. Glad you asked, I'll give it a whirl tonight.

Oh, don't think I was getting on you about it. I'm trying to find out the norm, thats all. Like I said my daughter was forced to, I would never expect a child of 3 to shower.
I'm just wondering what i'm in for with my boys.

 

[shelby101301]

WE reuse. I can't keep up with laundry now, let alone everyone getting fresh towels. Mostly reuse one or twice as long as it is fresh. Sometimes, like on humid days, it may not dry quickly enough and gets that mildew-y smell..yuck! In that case, no, I don't use.

Regarding "cross contamination..." yes, that kind of grosses me out too. my solution is that I keep a separate hand towel that I only use on my face, and no one else gets to use it. I don't even like the idea of someone drying their hands on it!

Even when I am a houseguest somewhere, like in-laws vacation home, I bring my own face towel to use just for me. It works although typing this out makes me feel a but neurotic!

 

[Nie0214]

I'm the opposite, my family always used a fresh towel, and when I got to college, I didn't see a need for it. During college and now (I live alone), I use the same towel for about 5 days on average.