How Often Can You Use a Towel Before It Needs to Be Washed?

• Consumer and environmental health agencies recommend that towels be washed after 3 or 4 uses, in order to reduce the risk of bacteria, mold, and viruses.
• Towels used more often can actually breed bacteria and mold.
• Hang towels and washcloths properly after each use by spreading them out on your towel rack, so they dry thoroughly.
• Before taking a shower, open the bathroom door as much as possible for ventilation, unless it must stay closed for privacy.
• If you have a bathroom fan, turn it on while bathing or showering, so the air is less humid.

Why should you wash towels frequently?

• Every time you use a towel to dry yourself, dead skin cells are scraped off which can accumulate in the fibers of your towel. If you use the same towel for 10 days, 10 days’ worth of exfoliated cells will collect on that towel.
• Also, your towel got wet when it dried off your body. Whenever fibers get wet, the opportunity to harbor bacteria and other germs is greatly increased.
• Air drying makes a towel an unfriendly environment for bacteria, but only for so long.
• If you use the same towel in the morning and night, the number of bacteria will increase exponentially each day! While we are relatively clean when we use a towel after showering, the combination of dead skin cells and moisture (i.e., a food source and water source) create the right conditions for bacteria and mold to grow.

How often should you wash your bathroom rug:

• If your bathroom rug has a non-skid rubber backing, it will not tolerate being washed frequently: It is best to wash a bathroom rug on warm/hot. However, the rubber backing will deteriorate quickly, if it is washed on hot too many times. To maintain a bathroom rug with rubber backing, wash it only once every 3-4 weeks.
• If your bathroom is used frequently, rugs should be washed weekly: If several showers are taken in the same bathroom on a daily basis, the rug gets damp multiple times. Since the rug is against a floor that doesn’t breathe well, if at all, it takes a long time to dry. Because of this poor drying between uses, mold and mildew grow easily.
• In a bathroom where water is routinely splashed on the floor, the rug needs to be washed weekly as well: Again, the rug doesn’t have time to dry out well between uses and can harbor all kinds of fungi and mold. In a damp, warm bathroom, the fungi and mold will multiply.

Guide for washing bathroom rugs:

• All bathroom rugs should be washed on at least a warm water setting. Hot water is best though, since it cleans items better than warm water.
• If your rug has a non-skid rubber backing, it is best to let it hang dry over your shower or towel rod, a portable clothesline, or real clothesline if you have one. The rubber backing will stay intact much longer if not exposed to dryer heat.
• If a bathroom rug does not have rubber backing, place it in the dryer.

Bedding:

• Since bed sheets are typically in a dry environment, wash them each week or at least every other week.
• If you sweat at night, wash your bed sheets weekly.
• Pillows and comforters can be washed 2-3 times a year. An easy reminder: Wash them when the seasons change.
• After someone has been sick, throw all their bed linens in the washer.

Kitchen towels:

• Since these tend to be used more often than bath towels, try to change them every day, especially if they become damp.
• Due to the presence of moisture, the handling of various foods, and bacteria in the average kitchen, the risk of cross-contamination is high.

Clothing:

• Not everything you wear gets dirty after being worn once. Jackets, dresses, and jeans can be worn several times before they need a cleaning.
• When denim jeans begin to lose their stretch, it’s time to wash them.
• Toss your pajamas in the wash after sleeping in them for a few nights.

Reference:

Peterson, Dr. Keri. “How Many Times Can You Use a Bath Towel Before It Needs to be Washed?” Women’s Health. 05/31/15. (Keri Petersen, M.D., internal medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City).