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Original poster

How old is your eldest towel?

233 replies

fairyfluf · 09/09/2023 20:44

Mine is 20 years! Is that really bad? I'm wondering if it's actually really unhygienic but I wash towels regularly.

OP posts:
AlltheFs · 09/09/2023 21:53

I have an ivory BHS set purchased in 2001 which is still perfect.

MissAmbrosia · 09/09/2023 21:55

Oh blimey! I have some Next ones which were a wedding present I think - for my first wedding - so 31 years old! Still going strong. I am most shocked that it was that long ago though.

Flidina · 09/09/2023 21:55

My oldest towels are 40 years old, They were a wedding gift when I got married, think they were BHS, I also have a beach towel I bought in 2006, when my youngest son was a baby, so 17 years old, still in use.

Loafbeginsat60 · 09/09/2023 21:56

Mine are all new but I have one I use for swimming and that's probably 10 plus years old.

TammyJones · 09/09/2023 22:01

33 yrs - only used for buffing the bathrooms.

Justcashnosweets · 09/09/2023 22:02

27 years old 😬 I can't part with it, my Mum gave it to me when I went away to uni.

BackToOklahoma · 09/09/2023 22:03

We but new towels regularly so probably only a year or so old. The old ones get used for our dogs, dogs we foster and other animals.

SuperGinger · 09/09/2023 22:06

I'm pretty sure some of ours are from the 1950s as they came from when my MIL was at boarding school. Still absorbant cotton. They get washed on 90 regularly so I'd say they are hygienic, we also some very old white bed linen.

saraclara · 09/09/2023 22:06

Well over 30 years. And even my youngest towels are over 20 years old.

RaininSummer · 09/09/2023 22:07

Over 35 ish years as they used to be my mum's. Only use them when I dye my hair though.

Lelophants · 09/09/2023 22:08

Surely if they’re washed properly then they’re fine? It’s only if they’re falling apart. Some of mine maaaay be nearly there. I mean some are from my gran.

Womblegreen · 09/09/2023 22:13

The oldest I can date is 39 years old and name taped!

Womblegreen · 09/09/2023 22:13

The oldest I can date is 39 years old and name taped!

OliveHenry · 09/09/2023 22:14

I have a brown and orange dolphin patterned one that my nan bought me when she took me to Italy in 1980. It's now used for hair dying and mopping up spills, but is still going strong.

I also still use a Babycham tea towel which my grandad got when he was a pub landlord. He retired in 1976....

In contrast some Ikea handtowels I got a couple of years ago started looking faded and a bit tatty within months!

MonumentalLentil · 09/09/2023 22:15

I have one that my mother bought in the 1950's. It is very thin and soft now. I had towels of varying ages as she never threw any away but that is the oldest. I have one that is in perfect condition that is almost as old, bath towels seemed to be a lot smaller in those days.

echt · 09/09/2023 22:15

I have some that belonged to my lovely late MIL. By their apricot stripes I'd say they're 80s. Still in good shape but not attractive. They're for hair dye/fake tan/drying off dogs now.

I have all her linen tea towels as well - faded but still used. Some of them are calendars, so I know one is 1987.

DavidBattenburgh · 09/09/2023 22:16

It's really nice to know we all have a stash of old towels to grab just in case Ford Prefect turns up🤣 42!

Bbq1 · 09/09/2023 22:16

My towels are aged between 30 plus and 7 with most around the 25 year mark.

Whawillthefuturebring · 09/09/2023 22:17

22 years but they’re thread bare now and I don’t think they will last much longer.

spiderlight · 09/09/2023 22:18

I have dog towels that are probably over 50 years old. I remember them being in use as bath towels when I was a young child, then for my childhood dog, and when DH and I got our first dog, my mum produced them and they're still going. Holey, but functional! I also have some towels I use for my hair that were originally my baby towels, so they're 51!

ferrousfumarate · 09/09/2023 22:20

20+ years old, falling apart a bit but still regularly used (and washed!) Surely they're not unhygienic as long as they get washed??

LessYappingMoreDoing · 09/09/2023 22:21

retired a small one to the rag bag last year that was 28 years old so the oldest I have now is 25 years. They were a wedding gift. Christy Towels.

echt · 09/09/2023 22:21

Anyone notice that older towels have the loops running in sections, not covering the whole towel? As if they were economising. Smaller too.

soundsys · 09/09/2023 22:21

Ooh there are some that DH brought with him when we first moved in together that would be 13 years old. Definitely quite a few that predate my children and the eldest is 9!

TulipTuesday · 09/09/2023 22:24

One I got just before DS1 was born so 22 years. The edges have frayed now so it’s a hair dyeing towel.