Towels!

[PolkadotRosa]

What's the 'norm' re: towels?? What's your 'towel etiquette'?

Do you each have your own? Different colours?
Hand towels and bath towels?
How many are out 'on show' on a daily basis?
Hang them on radiator, hooks or towel rail?
How many?
'Guest' towels?
How often do you wash/replace them?
Are Egyptian Cotton towels generally 'nicer'?

I eagerly await your towelling tales:)

[NotGoodNotBad]

We don't each have our own. I'd love to, but can't figure out what to do with 8 damp towels (bath+hand). They don't dry unless they're on something heated, which means in summer the only place is the bathroom radiator which is big enough for 2. I covet a bathroom rad big enough for 8 towels!

[WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo]

I was only think

[WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo]

Damn phone! Sorry

I was only thinking yesterday that I would like a towel colour of my own. At the moment, it's a free-for-all of bath sheets (3 men in the house) either flung, damp, over the banisters (DSs) or put on line (DH).

Mine dries in the sun or on a rad in winter.

Just think - no-one elses damp towel, no picking up the last towel in the bathroom after a shower to find its wet and/or smelly.

Bliss! One can dream ...

[Alwayscheerful]

Basket of rolled up face cloths in the cloakroom downstairs. (Use once).

Ensuites and main bathroom. Colour coded, so we use our own towels. Hotel style towel rack in each bathroom, fixed at eye level, each storing a different colour. Huge bath sheets and hand towels. I hang the bath sheets on the balcony or in the garden to dry and use clean hand towels each day.

I find as long as I use white vinegar instead of fabric conditioner they stay fresh and clean. If i used fabric conditioner they need washing more often.

[ImNotBloody14]

I have towels in every colour. We just grab a clean one from the hotpress and use it then it gets aired on an over radiator clothes airer between uses. I usually use a towel 3/4 times before washing and try ti manage the same with dcs but they seem to get theirs covered in talc and kick it about the floor plus i end up using theirs to dry up the water theyve splashed all over the floor.

[Ragwort]

Don't colour code but we each have our own bathroom - family of three so keep our own towels in bathroom, towel rail above radiator.

[Twirlyhot]

DH and I use Massive white bath sheets. They stay in our bathroom and we only use the one on our hook. Mine is the right hook his is the. wrong other one. They are Egyptian cotton ones and they are washed twice a week, more if needed. I have 6 of them I rotate. We've had them for years (some over 10) but they're still lovely. I pick up new ones in the sales.

The main bathroom has blue towels. They're also Egyptian cotton, varied sizes and they get washed twice a week, same as the others.

The hand towels are various colours (but not white or blue) and range from Christies to Ikea. They get changed when the rest of the towels are changed and go in any bathroom or loo.

I will NEVER have hand towels the same colour as bath towels. My Dad would always use the nearest towel in the bathroom after his shower and if the only one was the hand towel, he'd use that. He was often still a bit sweaty from exercise even after the shower. I have emotional scarring from having to dry my hands on his sweaty bollock drying towel.

[rockybalboa]

Towels all the same but each have own hook on the back of a door in the bathroom for them. Tend to buy John Lewis Egyptian cotton in their clearance sales. Always bath sheets, don't like towels that are too small! Our towels must be white. Guest towels were supposed to be a pale green to match the curtains in the spare room (I know...) but were gift from MIL and she ordered wrong colour so are more turquoise but I can live with that.

I get slightly obsessive about washing the towels whereas DH will quite happily use the same one for weeks. Minger.

[Twirlyhot]

Old towels get relegated to dog towels.

[Twirlyhot]

I don't have guest towels. I just give them our white towels. Which I may have washed at a temperature that makes the earth cry

I need to buy guest towels.

[ImNotBloody14]

I dont have guests to stay over so no need for guest towels.

Hand towels are cream and say hand on them and get changed daily.

All my towels and bedlinen are washed at a temp that would make the earth cry.

[Jan49]

We don't each have our own towels, but we stick to using certain colours, so mine are various shades of red and orange and my ds's are blue or green, to avoid mixing up who is using any particular towel. The same with flannels. We each keep our towels (1 hand towel and 1 bath towel) on rails over radiators in our bedrooms as there's nothing suitable in the bathroom.

We use 2 hand towels (1 in use, 1 in wash) as bath mats for when getting out of the shower/bath. We also keep 1 hand towel in the bathroom and 1 in the kitchen for drying hands. The ones in the bathroom are hung over the bath side and the kitchen hand towel is on the oven handle with a tea towel and oven mitts.

We probably have around 8 different colour towels and at a guess they are around 5-25 years old. I rarely buy any and I'd only get rid of one if it was badly stained or torn although I tend to end up buying tea towels every few years as they get stained. We have enough towels for 1 set in use and 1 set in the wash and also some spares and a set for guests only. When buying I just look at colour and price, probably in BHS or a linens shop.

[purplemurple1]

Cricky I'm a slob it would seem, we have our own bath towel (no special towel/colour just whichever one we picked to use last), these get hung where ever (charis/bannister), to dry between showers and normally a couple of hand towels out. All get washed every couple of weeks ish.

Guests just get given whatever bath towel is top of the pile, no special hand towels.

[sparkle12mar08]

We have separate bath towels of the same colour which we hang on our own hooks. The kids have spearate towels from us, and have different colours (green, and paler green). Hand towels in our ensuite match our bath towels (red), and the hand towels in the main bathroom, the downstairs loo, and the kitchen are all the same colour (blue). All towels are washed every week and once washed we just pick a clean one.

[ilovepowerhoop]

Do you each have your own? Different colours? - we all have a bath towel each - the kids have character ones and me and dh have dark orange ones

Hand towels and bath towels? = hand towel in the bathroom and downstairs toilet

How many are out 'on show' on a daily basis? - all towels in use are out on show

Hang them on radiator, hooks or towel rail? - towel rail in en-suite for mine/dh's towel. Over radiator hanger thing for kids towels in bathroom

How many? - have a spare set of all towels

'Guest' towels? - guests would use whatever towels are in the airing cupboard

How often do you wash/replace them? - wash when required/wont dry anymore - maybe once a week. Rarely get replaced with new ones

Are Egyptian Cotton towels generally 'nicer'? - probably!

[delasi]

We have a jumble of towels accumulated over several years, ranging from nice to bargain basement. No one has a set towel - however when in use I try to keep them organised, ie hand towel goes on the towel radiator, my towel goes on one hook and DH's on the other. DS is only a baby but he has his own towels now that I think about it, as we have those hooded/cuddle robe towels.

All of the clean towels live stacked in the bathroom, but because that's the only appropriate storage space. Guests help themselves to a clean towel/s from the stack and keep them until they leave, then I wash them. I like to wash all other towels about once a week (on 60C, is that earth-cry-inducing?) unless they seem like they need washing sooner.

When I can afford it, I will be replacing all of them with super thick and fluffy lovely towels in a dark colour like charcoal or navy. I know someone with towels like these and they are lovely I think they bought them in Habitat. I have a thing about all household linen, I like it to be dark and not white. Feels more comfy to me! No idea why.

[justanuthermanicmumsday]

have guest towels but guest are rare.

everyone has their own towel. kids have two each then endless suppy f hand towles. Me and hubby have 3 towels each. Although lazy husband ends up using mine when its within easy reach.

in between washes they're dried on washing line or tumble dryer.

Washed every other day. Replace when they start looking rough around the edges.

tried cheaper types but Egyptian cotton does seem to be the gentlest and best quality. I get bales in department stores sales, they can be expensive otherwise. But cheaper materials come out just as soft in a tumble dryer as tested by moi, cheap asda bale set. Originally flat stiff, after wash and tumble dry plump volume and so soft.

i don't keep towels in bathroom not even to dry. Just the thought of someone using my towel to dry their hand after using the toilet makes me cringe. Paper towls for drying hands, or use your own towel. Same reason i don't leave kids towels there. I don't let anyone leave their face or body cloths on rails either just looks cringeworthy to me. I do have OCD but I'm sure to most folks this is irrational,i can help it.

i know my kids towels by their colours, one colour assigned to each of the four kids. when I've had a bad day they may get mixed up, who cares as long as i get them dried, oiled and sent to bed so i can do important things like posting on mumsnet right?

[PolkadotRosa]

Hey all! Thanks for your responses - very helpful, amusing (twirlyhot your Dad's sweaty bollocks story, priceless) & interesting to read (well as interesting as towels can be!!)
Still formulating my 'towel plan' for us & what I need to buy/consider, so please keep it coming!

Another query - towel for head/turban after washing hair... Hand towel I presume (unless you're that guy on beetlejuice with the shrunken head, bet he uses a face-cloth) separate to actual handtowel for hands?? Or just leave drying in bathroom to re-use?

Bet you'll all sleep better now you know about MN towels haha

[shinytoe]

I get a bit obsessive about towels, again it stems from having to use stinky and hair-infested towels that my Dad had just used as a child

So now I have a great collection that is ALL MINE

I have:

Four huge bath sheets (two purple, two white)
Two smaller towels just for my hair (turban-style)
Four smaller towels still for hand-drying
Two tiny face towels
Two towels for my feet for using in front of the mirror after I've stepped out of shower/bath (yes, I'm completely OCD about this, but I don't like the thought of stepping onto DP's bathroom floor pubes with wet feet and them clinging to me all day - ergh)

DP uses his own towels and WOE BETIDE anyone who touches mine! I only usually have the huge bath towel/hair towel out to dry over a banister or radiator at any given time.

[ilovepowerhoop]

I have 2 towels (mid sized bath towels) for my hair and have an over radiator hanger thing in the bedroom that it gets hung over after use. Only 1 is on the hanger and the other is in the airing cupboard to use when the other is in the wash.

[miffybun73]

One hand towel in our only bathroom - changed every couple of days.

DH's towel on radiator in bathroom. DD, DS and me, on radiators in our bedrooms.

Changed every couple of days.

[GibberTheMonkey]

We have our own in different colours. Each person has two (plus the boys have another two each for school) We have a load of white ones too for guests or if we need another for some reason.
We rarely have guests so we really do have too many towels

[Grignard]

*Do you each have your own? No
Different colours? Yes, I have plain white for ensuite and main bath; peach in downstairs loo; Navy for when I dye my hair and wine red in campervan
Hand towels and bath towels? Hand towels and bath sheets mainly
How many are out 'on show' on a daily basis? Downstairs loo - 1 in towel ring and 4 in towel holder immediate above it. Ensuite - 1 handtowel + 1-2 bath sheets. Main bathroom - just a hand towel.
Hang them on radiator, hooks or towel rail? Downstairs loo - as above; ensuite - towel ring + 4 towel rail (hate it - want to replace to hooks on back on door). Main bathroom - towel rail
How many? 5 peach handtowels (all on display), 3 wine red hand towels + 2 bathsheets (for campervan), 4 white bath sheets, 2 coloured beach towels, 4 coloured swimming towels (DS swims a lot), 2 dark navy hair dye towels, 3 white hand towels, loads of microfiber white flannels
'Guest' towels? No, if I have guest I just give them clean white ones from the cupboard. Guest size towels - don't use
How often do you wash/replace them? Wash - very frequently - as soon as there is the slightest hint of them not being clean
Are Egyptian Cotton towels generally 'nicer'? Don't know

[rockybalboa]

Not having your own set towel makes me heave. The thought of potentially drying my face on a section of towel DH has dried his ass on is grim. IL's have been known to help themselves to any old towel in the bathroom if we forget to leave guest towels on the bed for them and I find that utterly rancid.

[Jan49]

Rockbalboa, if everyone uses hand towels for hands and face and uses bath towels for their body, then that shouldn't happen. We keep a hand towel in the bathroom for when anyone washes their hands after using the toilet, but no one is going to dry their ass on it because it's a hand towel.