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Housekeeping

tell me it's not normal to have only bath towels in main bathroom?

48 replies

stuckindamiddle · 11/03/2014 16:10

At ILs they only have (their own) bath towels out in the main upstairs bathroom. No hand towel to be found! I find the lack of a hand towel weird! Never know where to dry my hands after using loo, esp if we're only visiting for the day and not overnight when I'd have my own bath towel (but that lives in the guest room so I either take it to loo with me or run straight back there after washing hands!) There are no hand
towels at all in the upstairs bathroom airing cupboard either - in desperation I looked!!

They've a tiny loo downstairs which has one of those teeny guest towels in it but at big family gatherings or if you want to do a poo(!) it's not always the most convenient loo due to it opening directly onto hallway and right next to the doors to kitchen and lounge.

I refuse to dry my hands on a towel ILs have used to dry their bodies with. Tell me I'm not alone??!!

OP posts:
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thereisnoeleventeen · 11/03/2014 16:17

I like a hand towel in a bathroom myself. I'm not even keen on drying my hands on my own bath towel let alone one belonging to my PIL's.. Perhaps they just assume that everyone will use the downstairs loo?

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RachelHRD · 11/03/2014 17:06

That is odd. I'd either take one with you when you go and stay or give them a lovely new set of towels including several hand towels for their next present!!

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pancakedayiscoming · 11/03/2014 17:07

My IL's have many towels in the bathroom, at least three look hand towel size and I never know which one to use!

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Mintyy · 11/03/2014 17:08

Not normal, no.

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BillyBanter · 11/03/2014 17:11

I don't like it when people only have bath towels in the bathroom but I just use whatever ones are there. It's not really such a disaster.

I suppose in your ILs house guests are meant to use the guest toilet, not the main bathroom.

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Damnautocorrect · 11/03/2014 17:12

I have only bath towels out but they are for hand drying, bum drying towels elsewhere

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TheDetective · 11/03/2014 17:21

I didn't ever consider things like hand towels until I read stuff like this on Mumsnet. We never had visitors.

So it wasn't a problem, we used the bath towels. And I don't care about sharing towels with DP/DC's either.

I was planning a home birth in 2012. That's when I purchased stole off my mother hand towels.

I didn't see the need before then. When I got my first house I was 16 and pregnant. There were other priorities than buying hand towels!

I'm not so poor now. So we have more of the niceties in life! I might buy my own hand towels and give my mum hers back Grin.

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TheArticFunky · 11/03/2014 18:02

We use bath towels instead of hand towels, don't know why its just what we do. Bath towels used for drying bodies are immediately placed in the wash after use. Visitors probably think we are a bit rank. When I go to other people's houses I don't really give it any thought.

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Kentonian · 12/03/2014 20:06

We use hand towels which are placed on a hook next to the sink.

Our bath towels stay in our bedroom. They are hung over our bed head to dry then placed on hook behind the door.

I have visited homes and on using the loo found there was no hand towel. I end up using tissue to wipe my hands.

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GinnelsandWhippets · 12/03/2014 20:11

Oh gosh this wouldn't even occur to me. I'd just dry my hands on the cleanest looking towel available and wouldn't give it a second thought. Must make a mental not to check there are hand towels in our bathroom...

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nooka · 12/03/2014 20:18

Why is it a problem to use a bath towel? I really don't get this. Towels are used to dry clean but wet faces/hands/bodies. What's the problem?

My parents had ancient linen hand towels. Give me a proper towelling job any day!

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phantomnamechanger · 12/03/2014 20:28

nooka, I am the least house proud person ever, but the issue is this: I just don't want to dry my nice clean hands that I am going to use to eat food, on a towel that someone else has been using for wiping their bumcrack or in between their toes.

MIL goes to the other extreme - when the 3 DC go for a sleepover, she puts them a hand towel each out!

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Choccybaby · 12/03/2014 20:28

For me it would only be an issue if the bath towel has already been used eg due to risk of catching worms etc. the difficulty is working out if they're clean or not.

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Quinteszilla · 12/03/2014 20:32

We have one hand towel in the bathroom, it is changed every day.

There is also ONE bath towel hanging next to the shower, ready for the next person having a shower - saves me a dash up stairs when somebody is yelling "mum/wifeperson, there is no BATHTOWEL, Help" as I dont want wet footprints around the carpets.

We are minimalist Grin and I love washing towels.

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Meglet · 12/03/2014 20:37

eeeew, I wouldn't use another persons hand towel.

I even have a separate hand towel to the dc's. Mine is slung over the shower curtain rail so they can't get their germy little fingers on it. they had worms once and I've never really got over the trauma.

I'm fairly slatternly but I always put out nice fresh hand towels if I'm having visitors and I hide the bath towels in my room.

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Quinteszilla · 12/03/2014 20:39

Why not Meglet? Hands are washed with soap, then dried. New towel every morning.

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dementedma · 12/03/2014 20:43

I love mn for threads like these.all the things out there that hadn't even occurred to me!

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Mintyy · 12/03/2014 20:54

I am ok with drying my hands on a towel that a friend/family might have dried their hands on. I don't demand brand new fresh clean every time.

But I do go a bit funny about drying my hands on a bath towel that someone might have been fluffing their nethers on an hour or so earlier.

In our bathroom we have one frequently changed hand towel which lives on the heated towel rail. We keep all our bath towels in our bedrooms, on over-radiator airers.

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PantsInWash · 12/03/2014 20:59

I'm with you Mintyy - definitely feel a bit queasy about drying my hands on a towel that may have been on my IL's unmentionables recently (shivers). So yes to having separate hand towels in the bathroom, and preferably separate hand towels for guests. Our ILs provide hand and bath towels for us when we visit, but the DCs only get scabby old bath towels from the 1950s Hmm

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TheDetective · 12/03/2014 21:11

Do people actually dry in between bum cheeks and toes?!

I find that I wrap myself in a towel and by the time I've done my face and got clean clothes out, everywhere is dry. No work involved!

Confused

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Doshusallie · 12/03/2014 21:14

Our downstairs loo has a hand towel. Our ensuite has a hand towel. Out main family bathroom does not have hand towels only bath towels.

I would expect visitors to only use the downstairs loo.

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Ubik1 · 12/03/2014 21:18

We have one toilet.

We have a pile of clean bath towels in bathroom. And one hand towel....

...sorry but isn't thus what everyone does? At friends houses there is always a towel by the sink. Just one.

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JuniperTisane · 12/03/2014 21:19






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JuniperTisane · 12/03/2014 21:19

Does anyone else think the word towel looks all funny now?

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PigletJohn · 12/03/2014 21:29
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