to only wash bath towels once a month?

[starkadder]

or less

DH is in charge of washing his own towel and I am sure he never puts it in the wash more often than once every 2 or 3 months...

DS's goes in about once every 2 months (but it barely touches him as he likes to run around naked pretending to be a train driver straight after his bath, which dries him quite effectively).

I usually wash mine about every month but have realised that I haven't washed it since coming home from hospital with DD, who is now 5 weeks...in my defence, there is one HECK of a lot of other washing to do and it just won't ever fit in the machine....

We do wash out clothes (!) and sheets once a week. And I do the kitchen hand towel every week or two - it gets quite grubby and also fits in the machine with another wash easily.

But are we grim and disgusting when it comes to bath towels? How often do normal people wash bath towels?

I make an effort, but I tumble dry towels and sheets.

If the entire UK went carbon neutral it'd make fuck all difference compared to the shite that China/USA are producing.

That's what I'm saying though! Since when has the fact that someone else does something bad been an excuse to do it as well? One of the reasons China has had a buoyant economy is because they have a one party state - should we have a one party state too? Other countries used slaves in the early eighteenth century - Wilberforce didn't say "Oh let's keep slavery, everyone else does it!"

If we can make a bit of difference, then we should.

I'm late to this thread.... so sorry if this has come up already... but what about if your system is powered by solar? We get negative leccy bills 3/4 months cos of our solar panels... Am I allowed to feel no guilt then about never line drying? And if I get the mumsnet seal of approval on the guilt front (on this occasion) do I now need to find something else to feel guilty about? OK, brainwave, can someone rank order the things we should all be doing individually on an environmental level - some thoughts:

1. Be Vegetarian
2. Don't drive - if you drive, drive used and/or hybrid and/or electric car
3. Don't fly
4. Buy local
5. Reduce/reuse/recycle and compost

(Not saying I do all of these - saying it would be interesting to know what, at the individual level, makes the most difference, and what we're getting our knickers in a twist about)

I'd be careful about using the word guilt as it automatically gets many people's backs up! Why should I feel guilty blah blah blah.

For me it's just about aceepting certain responsibilities, and I'm trying to say that without sounding like a smug prig.

Aries I'm being slightly ironic.....

(And I agree with you, btw.... maybe we should come up with a serious-but-not-earnest emoticon.... )

I'm moving in with fellatio because...

A) she is the voice of reason on this thread
B) she has similar hygiene standards to me although I should change our beds more often
C) her house is poncetastic

hope that's ok fellatio.

God, I need to turn up my irony detector

Try living in the US, Aries (which I do, and mostly love, Cheerful Yank and others!) but I do quite often have to tell people that I'm Being Ironic (enter our new BFFs, a gay couple who live up the road, one of whom dressed up for Halloween as an escaped paedophile.... I think I corpsed myself....)

But now back to the studio....

Anyone going to rank order my list? Seriously - does anyone out there know what we should be doing more of and what we can just shelve? (Or at least only worry about when we're posting on internet forums....)

oh my god i don't know when my household fell so out of step with the rest of the country but I clearly have VERY different standards. I just don't get it. I wash my towels maybe once a month and I don't get why, if your towels don't smell and they don't make you ill, then (no matter how many germs you might find under a microscope,) what is the problem?? why on earth would you wash towels after every use?? what do you think would happen if you didn't? Logically - nothing at all - so it's just habit. And a weird, fear-infected, money-spending, body-dysmorphic, germ-o-phobic habit at that. and how on earth do you dry all that washing (without a tumble dryer)??

with you MudandRoses. People are so suggestible (spelling?). The big fmcg companies that make a lot of money from selling washing powder, cleaning products etc. etc. are just brilliant at scaring people into wasting their money and the world's resources on pointless stuff. I'll admit, it's really pleasant to wrap in a warm, fluffy, fresh towel but it's a luxury, not a necessity to have that daily or even several times a week - unless there's a bout of thrush, ringworm, herpes, norovirus etc. going around the house.

EEEWWW, repeat after me, towels any towels to be washed on min.60C, preferable 90C several times a week, buy some more towels, so you have them fresh to put out for use.
Same goes for cotton bed linen, tea towels, underwear, all needs frequent washing on high temperatures.
Sorry for shouting, but honestly

No! You're wrong!

Unless things make you ill or smelly, they're probably ok.

I don't think anyone is going to change their mind, wherever they stand in the argument , however it would be nice for the 90 degree single use towel washers would admit they are ridiculous.

Everyone take your corners, please..... Now, fight, fight, fight!

(gets popcorn..... puts a tenner on Aries....)

I collect large load before washing it on 90C, so I don't qualify

chocolateisa we should make it one of those fights where everyone flicks their towel, whip like, at their opponent!

Cherrrist but there are some dirty people on here. Seriously, kitchen hand towel "every week or two" ? Ugh. Nasty.

I'm amazed this thread has reached 592 posts!

I don't think anyone is going to change their mind, wherever they stand in the argument , however it would be nice for the 90 degree single use towel washers would admit they are ridiculous

Aries, thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass. I like my towel as they should come - 100% cotton, free from skins cells, fecal matter etc .

sorry I meat to make that bold not underline it!

meant.... even!

Your machine will only last half the time if you wash many extra, heavy loads of towels and bed linen though, the bearings wear out even on quality machines

Mine's still going strong after 10 years so no worries on that front.

It is a womens' guilt thing I think as I have yet to meet a man who is concerned about how many times he puts the machine/drier on.

Why can't people, you know, just make a bit of effort?

I will worry about my washing machine use when Tesco's stop shrink wrapping fruit.

fruit and veg

not read the whole thread i started but gave up.

once a month seems a bit umm lax?

i do a load of towels twice a week? and do bedding once a week, or at least try to, with 5 beds to change its prob slightly longer, for the boys beds anyway.

i wash towels and bedding on a hot wash, and the duvet if it needs it, oh how i love having a washing machine that can wash a duvet and i shall join the tumble dryer debate and yes i use mine, at least a couple of times a week, i line dry when i can/or can be arsed, or else have a dryer in a the house but the tumble dryer is a godsend like last night when i realised we needed clean uniforms for the boys, a 'time saver' wash in the machine and then an extra spin to get it dryer and then bunged them all in tumble dryer, voila uniforms ready for today, i actually turned the dryer on for a few mins this morning before getting the clothes out (having put them in and left them drying whilst i went to bed) so that they woudl be warm for the madboys to put on this morning!

tbh i doubt anyone will convince me what i'm doing is wrong, towels get washed when i feel like it (every 2/3 weeks) hand towels are changed about once every2 days in kids bathroom and once a week in ours (i know how to wash my hands ) all are dried in between uses.

I have no tumble dryer although used to and didn't feel guilty just have no room and can line dry most of the time if not airer in the living room it has to be (although i hate the sight of it).

Beds get changed every 2 weeks while kids are at their dads coz that's when i have time.

call me slovenly if you like I don't mind!

oldenglishspangles you are obsessed with faecal matter!

Now come over here and let me flick you with this 30 degree towel.