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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:
BogRollBOGOF · 09/09/2023 22:25

My "new" ones are 19 (there are newer ones). I got them as I wanted some new, consistent pastel ones as DH's were somewhat varied shades of white of varying sizes and provenence. They may be mid-90s when he set up house, but some could be 30+ from him heading off to uni.

The really new ones are 10 from DS being born.

DragonFly98 · 09/09/2023 22:27

24 ,my oldest daughters teletubbies towel.

Freedomfromguilt · 09/09/2023 22:40

I still have a towel that was used by my gran when my mum was born in 1944. My mum used it with my and my sister and I used it for my 2 children. It's rather threadbare but has been safely put away for the next generation, though it probably won't survive more than a ceremonial dab for sentimental reasons.

EmmaOvary · 09/09/2023 22:44

When my grandad died, my grandma’s wedding linens were passed down and I was given a beautiful baby blue towel with her initials on them. She got married in 1938.

GarlicGrace · 09/09/2023 22:48

43 years. They're a testament to John Lewis egyptian cotton!

rhino12345 · 09/09/2023 22:48

I was once abroad with my DH and his best friend and his best friend pointed out that the towel we were using on the beach was the exact same towel DH had at uni...15 years previously 😂 it's hanging in the bathroom now as I type, another 8 years on 🤣

megletthesecond · 09/09/2023 22:49

I have a few over 20 years old.
My bathrobe is 20 years old too. Was quite expensive but is still in good nick.

Theoldcuriosityshop · 09/09/2023 22:52

Mine was my grandmothers, she died in 1976. So it's 47 years old. Bit threadbare but I keep it for sentimental reasons.

Theoldcuriosityshop · 09/09/2023 22:54

Not sure how long she'd had it though.

M103 · 09/09/2023 22:57

Glad I'm not the only one who keeps towels forever! 10 years old is considered new by me like another poster said.

Spendonsend · 09/09/2023 22:57

32 years. Its from a holiday.

SlippinJanie · 09/09/2023 23:00

About 45. Just got it nice & scratchy.

Redroses27 · 09/09/2023 23:03

My then boyfriend won it in a CocaCola raffle at Uni in 1985…

Oldraver · 09/09/2023 23:04

44 years old. I bought it when I was 14 and started working on a stall selling M&S seconds

It's a bit raggedy round the edges and really thin now but very soft. I tend to use it as our swimming or beach towel as it folds small

CeriB82 · 09/09/2023 23:07

22, bought them in white from Mothercare for when my DD was born.

seriously off white now, more grey. But they dry well, a prefer a rough towel. Big fluffy ones do not dry. They’re decoration in people’s bathrooms!

PetiteNasturtium · 09/09/2023 23:07

Oldest nearly 30 but we have two that are 24 year old wedding presents as well.

Nicesalad · 09/09/2023 23:08

About 60 years or so

Ragwort · 09/09/2023 23:08

I haven't bought new towels for years ... we have loads so there's a constant 'circulation' .. most of mine will be well over 20 years old, if not more. In fact I was just thinking about this after my shower earlier as I used a very nice towel that I remember my DMIL giving us ... & she died over 20 years ago.

fetchacloth · 09/09/2023 23:09

Around 25 years old. It's used for the cat when he comes in from the rain.

YakChewCrumbs · 09/09/2023 23:10

38
wedding presents. 2 from Asda and four posh ones. Can't recall the name of the posh ones. The Asda ones were from my oldest friend and I still think of her every time I use them.

BestZebbie · 09/09/2023 23:11

Most of our towels are between 25 and 5 years old (as they were all bought between my leaving home and our DS' first swimming lesson).

However! I do have (and very occasionally use) a tea towel that was given to my Dad by my Great-Grandma on the occasion of his going to university, on the basis that it was getting a bit old and tired and then she could buy herself a new one.... it no longer really has a pattern but it is incredibly good at drying things.

pepino · 09/09/2023 23:12

Our oldest towel must be my mums swimming towel from school... probably from 1965? It hasn't been used for about twenty years though and is right at the back of the cupboard.
We do have some from the eighties that are still in great condition, but they are emergency backup towels.

OnAFrolicOfMyOwn · 09/09/2023 23:13

I have a bath towel in green, brown and grey stripes that belonged to a friend at university in 1992 - and it wasn't new then. I'd chuck it out but my husband decided some time ago it was his 'favourite towel'. It's surprisingly unfrayed but it's very rough and scratchy.

IntheSnowySnowyMountains · 09/09/2023 23:28

Mine is 38! Got it for university Blush

We bought our house with contents after renting it for several years, and got a lot of towels that way too, all of which are at least 20 years old. Some I have kept in regular use because they are a particular size - smaller than a usual hand towel - and fit in some spaces that were obviously designed for them. The rest have been relegated to guest towels or flood/cat sick mopping up towels, according to condition.

We have bought new bath sheets for ourselves a few times though.

Hmm... wondering if I need to categorise my towels like Monica from friends!

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 09/09/2023 23:28

I have my swimming towel from when I was at school in the 1980s. Still going strong. It's probably around 38 years old.