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 feel feel a bit guilty about using some lovely linen napkins (a present) to wipe my hands in the kitchen.

But I can't bear proper fluffy hand towels in the kitchen for some reason.

And there are 12 of them, so they are washed each day.

As for the rest 60 degrees for sheets and towels every few days etc etc.

There's only 3 of us and we probably get through 2-3 bath towels each per week plus hand towels and tea-towels changed pretty much daily.

Me & DH are bathaholics though!

I think yes, you should try and wash your bath towels a bit more often and get some more tea towels. Maybe the thing is you need a few more spare towels and tea towels so you can put fresh ones out even if you are not immediately washing the used ones. They don't have to be expensive and can be put in a basket or something when used and waiting for a wash, separate if you want from your clothes. I wash my towels/tea towels etc at 60 usually.

I don't have a set routine ,I just chuck a load in whenever

good grief.....I wash about 24 towels every week. Bath towels, hand towels, swim towels, plus add face cloths & bath mats and T towels. We are a family of 5. Sporty bunch. Its about 3 -4 wash loads in my (big) machine.

I am probably somewhat over the top, as I hate towels that have even a trace of smell on them. Plus the swim towels start to perish if left all chlorine-soaked.

But URGH! to washing towels monthly. Ick Ick Ick!

Hmm, I have fairly low standards wrt washing. I can tolerate wearing a t-shirt twice, for instance, and the dc wear their pyjamas for 5-7 days, and I don't change my kitchen tea towel every day BUT op, I must say, that washing a bath towel once a month is really pretty skanky.

We all have our own bath towels and hang them on the heated towel rail or radiator airers in the bedrooms to dry, so no mustiness here, but even I, slattern that I am, will wash them once a week or 10 days. Hand towels in the bathroom get changed every couple of days.

OP, no matter what other washing you've got waiting, can you please go and collect all your towels from upstairs and put them on a hot wash right now?

EWWW!

Yes, you are grim and disgusting.

towels about once a week. BUT...

sheets every 8 weeks or less (used to be twice a YEAR as a student). if a cushion has lots of dribble on it, i'll change that before 8 weeks (which usually is the case ...

8 weeks

I'm short but have found that Getorf's technique works well if you flip the quilt over the bannisters and down the stairwell.

Mind you, before I put on a few stones pounds at times I risked being heaved over the top by a 13tog kingside.

No suggestions for the stairless tho'.

We only wash ours about once a month too. And we don't smell and nor do the towels. If they do start smelling damp I put them in the washing machine and wash them. They hang on a heated towel rail and get dry fairly quickly after use so that probably helps.

I think all this unnecessary washing is actually a bit wasteful, tbh.

The only things I put on a really hot wash are tea towels otherwise they look grubby. I think people worry too much about germs, personally.

And if I had to change the bed sheets once a week, I think I'd just run screaming down the street. I loathe changing the sheets.

In theory, bedsheets, etc every fortnight though often a bit longer. How dirty are you in bed ? Sorry, just realised what that sounds like (but left it in as it made me chuckle).

Towels; the key thing is drying them. If they're hung up to dry properly after you've used them, they keep going for a while. You don't need to be wasting energy with a 60 degree wash every few days. Towels get smelly because they've stayed damp, not because they've been used.

But towels DO smell after a week - I'm sorry but they do. Even mine, and I don't sweat, and I shower every day. Properly.
I can definitely smell a week old towel (which is when it gets changed).

I think you should do what you want to do, it's not unhealthy or you'd be ill.

Don't let the cleaning industry pressure make you become a slave to your washing machine.

Fight the power!

Once a week or maybe slightly less. The towels get damp and it is nice to have a fresh towel.

Erm, are you 3+ loads of washing per day folks SAHMs? Not sure how I coukd physically fit that number of washes in...

When I have guests I always put out fresh hand towels and remove the other towels so guests don't get muddled up.

Bath towels every couple of days.
Hand towels most days.
Tea towels most days.
Bed sheets every other week. I shower every evening though and wear clean pj's.

Am on second laundry load of the day, there'll be one more shortly. 3 a day is normal.

In a nutshell, repulsive.

I have very thick fluffy white bath sheets, I can't imagine what state they would be in after not being washed for 2-3 months and daily use.

Jesus Christ,that is manky. I wash sheets once a week,towels twice a week & fresh tea towels & washcloths everyday.

Wow! Our towels get out in the wash after about 2 days! I'd it gets to about 4 days I feel like a munger and wash them! But we don't have 1 each at a time.

I wash my towel about once every 2 weeks, but am careful to have it the same way up every time I use it, which makes it ok .

I thought I was a minger until I read some of these posts!!

Bedding once a week, sometimes once a fortnight if the weather is crap and I cant get it dried.

Towels get used two or three times then washed..

Clean clothes and clean pj's every day.

I think I may be the filthiest person on MN! Am genuinely shocked to hear that so much washing is going on that I didn't realise I was supposed to be doing. I consider myself v efficient if towels/bedding get changed once in a fortnight. And hand towels/tea towels? They get washed so rarely I can't even put a number on it. I don't seem to be particularly ill or stinky though. At least, I hope I'm not stinky.

I have a stack of teatowels in the kitchen, and after they have been used to mop up spills, wipe down units, etc, they go into the washing machine, which is also in the kitchen, and just get washed in the next washload. Teatowels are probably one of the biggest carriers of germs.

Wow...well, I went away (to put the washing on) and when I came back there were 172 posts..! people clearly feel strongly about this.

OK - a few points in my defence:

By kitchen hand towel I mean the towel you dry your hands on. Not the tea towel (which in my mind = dishcloth, i.e. thing you dry dishes with, which I keep separate from hand towel.) I probably wash them )tea towels) once or EVEN twice a week (smug emoticon)

I noticed a few people were surprised that my towel was not covered in gore and milk since I've just had a baby...well...all I can say is - what do you DO with your towels, people? I don't scrub away at every crevice with mine so no, it doesn't have blood and chunks of placenta all over it. Not even I am that grim I am quite impatient..I basically dry my legs and back and then walk around wrapped up in it while finding clothes, by which time the rest of me seems to be basically dry.

And finally - washing them every day? People! Think of the environment! I would respectfully submit that it is better to be skanky but energy efficient.

The few lone voices of fellow skank - lauriefairycakes, stranded - I salute you.