How often should you wash your towels? An expert reveals the truth

It's more often than you think.

Tahlia Pritchard
·Senior Entertainment & Lifestyle Reporter
Updated ·2-min read

If you ever want to get in a spirited debate with your friends, co-workers, or strangers online, asking how often someone washes their towels, bed sheets, or whether they wash their legs in the shower will always give you a variety of mixed opinions.

Some may veer on the washing towels every couple of days stage, some every couple of weeks. But now an expert has dished on how often you should be washing your towel or at the very least, be swapping for a clean one.

How often you should wash your towel, revealed

bath towels
An expert has revealed how often you should be washing your bath towels. Photo: Pixabay

According to Brooklinen designer Ruthie Osswald, a bath towel should be washed after "every three uses" or "at the very least once a week".

"Regardless of the towel fabrication, you should always follow the care label instructions to best preserve [a towel's] lifespan and performance," Ruthie told In The Know by Yahoo.

But wait, there's more

Bath towels aside, what about other towels? When it comes to washcloths and facecloths, you should be swapping those out or washing them even more often. Depending on factors like makeup buildup, twice a week or more should get you by.

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lady washing face with towel
Towels should be washed "every three uses". Photo: Getty

Also, keep in mind where you let your towel dry

Are you a towel-on-hook person? A towel rack person? A towel slung on the door? Or god forbid, a towel on the floor?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the longer your towel stays damp after you dry off, the more time bacteria, yeast, viruses, and mould can build up and stay active on the surface. Gross, we know.

So to avoid such things, it's recommended that hanging your towel spread out on a bar or towel rack is the best way to dry it between uses.

SHOP:

"We recommend using a towel rack or bar instead of a hook to ensure that your towels dry quickly and to reduce any bad odours from developing,” Ruthie said.

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