Find out: How many times can you reuse a towel without washing it

reuse towel

You don’t have to wash your towel every time you use it

There are some questions that spark a debate in a lot of households. Some people think that it is unsanitary to reuse a towel, others think that they can use their towel over and over again. And it turns out, team ‘reuse’ is right. Find out why you don’t have to wash your towel every time you use it.

Clean

When you leave the shower, you come out clean. Or at least, that is what you’re trying to accomplish while taking a shower. And if you come out of the shower clean, your towel doesn’t really get dirty after scrubbing you. There might be some skin bacteria that stick to the towel, but those are negligible. That means that your towel doesn’t really get dirty when you use it. And that means that it is completely fine to use it again.

It is recommended to hang it up to dry right away. Because when you leave it in a ball on the bathroom floor, the bacteria from your skin will spread and make your towel into their home. And that will make your towel a lot dirtier.

When to replace?

So, we established that it is okay to reuse the towel. But is there a limit to how often you can use it? Well, the general rule is that you should use your towel no more than three times. After that it would be good to grab a new one. You don’t want to use the same towel for a week. Every time your towel gets wet, the bacteria on it will get a chance to expand and multiply. And after a while, that causes your towel to become pretty dirty.

Sharing

Another subject for an argument is the sharing of towels. Is it safe to use a family members towel? Usually, we think it is kind of dirty to use someone else’s towel. But it turns out that sharing a towel is also pretty safe. Especially when you live together. Chances are, you are already sharing the same skin bacteria. And that means sharing a towel won’t really make a difference. Unless your house mates have some sort of infection or disease, of course.

So, now you know. You don’t have to replace your towel every time you step into the shower. That will definitely save you a lot of time on washing.

Read more: Why you shouldn’t fold your towels and what to do instead

Source: Welingelichte Kringen | Image: Unsplash, Denny Müller