Sharing towels

[sleeplessinderbyshire]

Lighthearted one here and suspect may be told this is very much a first world problem....

Towels.

When I was growing up we always had our own towels. Not just "own" in terms of not sharing a wet/used towel but I had pink towels, dsis had yellow, mum had green and dad blue. You NEVER used someone else's - helped yourself to a clean one from airing cupboard but always your own colour.

Fast forward to now. My kids have their "own" (distinctive striped/coloured/embroidered but not with a colony rule). DH thinks it's reasonable for him/me just to take any clean towel from the place we store clean towels and use it. This means he's currently got my lovely yellow white company super duper bath sheet. He says that as I've got another towel he can't see the issue. Apparent when he was growing up they just took any clean towel from the airing cupboard.

He thinks I'm weird for wanting "my" towels to be mine. I think he's weird for not wanting his own (we have loads of nice towels - don't get me into him using parts of the matching sets of guest towels.....)

So AIBU or is he?

We all have our own towels, like you op we have our own colours so no confusion. It doesn't cause any problems or any extra washing. We have spare ones for general use too. I dont wash after every use though, now that is too much work.

We have towels for the bathroom - which we all share

We have towels for swimming - each person has their own

We have beach towels - again, we all have our own.

The only reason we have our own beach and swimming towels is to ensure that they are packed into the right kit bags. This ensures Dp or DD don't go off to do lifeguarding or swimming without a towel. Just makes life easier.

Bathroom towels are washed every few days anyway. We have four sets which are on rotation.

I try to keep my own towel, but not overly worried if DCs use it too as long as they've used soap so clean first!

I think rather than just being prissy is an informed choice. I have mine and gave my reasons for it. Didn't judge anyone else on it

If you would like to imply that I called you disgusting and slovenly then that is your decision. I am not a germophobe or all the othe defensive terms I am accused of being when I choose my non towel sharing and washing on a high temp I just prefer it!

No dirty towel sharing here. NHS stats show that up to 80% of UK schoolchildren will have a threadworm infestation at some point, many being infected for years, often with no symptoms. I have had to treat the whole family several times over the years. Sharing dirty towels is an easy transmission route.

DH and I rarely use the same towel in the same washing cycle but both have even access to all towels.

He prefers the fluffy ones, I prefer the older, harder ones.

In my family growing up we had our own towel colour, I think that was largely due to the possibility of accidentally using the same towel as someone (on the same cycle - so not washed between) and catching a herpes related disease or impetigo, or similar (both of which one or another of us caught at some time).

I like old rough towels too! Like Baloo the bear I love a rough rub down!

Me too user - I like a good old scratchy, scritchy, scrub. And they tend to be lighter and more absorbent than their thick and velvety cousins!

Think it's nice to have your own towel/s. Can't imagine sharing. A hand towel for general hand drying is different.

thinkhinkpink- exactly

I lived in Thailand for a while.Custom there is for thin absorbent towels.
I hate fluffy towels, just move the moisture around.

We don't have a rule, but I tend to rotate between two large bath sheets, and hubby uses the normal sized towels. Baby uses wee hooded towels just now. Dog has her own towels

I'm with you op, we all have our own shades - however swimming towels are shared, they're smaller and all black or grey. I don't have enough towels so if they're not washed and dry the same day one of the kids will have to use a swimming towel, but generally they are dry enough to use.

Dog has her own towels!!
Lol

I want my own dry towel after a shower thank you very much. We've always done one towel per person here, but my husband had oh so much trouble remembering to get a clean towel for himself BEFORE going into the bathroom and would always use someone else's and pretend he'd forgotten. So a few years ago we divided them up by colour, one colour per person, and now it works perfectly. Perfectly! For some reason knowing that his towels are the green ones and no other towels works. a. charm.

"We all share towels. I don't want my bathroom looking untidy with loads of different coloured towels hanging up!"

Agree - surely most people share towels as they buy a colour that suits their bathroom/taste?

No matching towels here, all random colours and sizes bought over the years. Use first one off pile. Put back on radiator to dry, unless period accident etc (lots of females in this house). Wash all towels that have been on radiator every other day.

I had a shower today and conclude my bum was on the towel for a good 20 mins before I got dressed. Too hot for a dressing gown, was doing make up so sat down in the towel. Research on bottom/towel contact

YANBU. I don't share my towels and only use my own at home.

But happy to use hotel towels

I would love my own towel! Most of mine are rotting on the the teenagers floor!

We have our own hand towels here now that we have DS. Before that we used to share but frankly, a six year old is not great at hand washing so Lord knows what germs he puts onto the towel after a wee/poo/extensive nose pick.

I have bad skin needing topical antibiotics so I could do without rubbing germs into my skin.

Plus I work for the NHS and guidelines suggest worms and impetigo are spread through towel sharing (also athletes foot which DH has) so we now have colour coded towels. We don't share bath towels either - dry our own and reuse.

The towels colour match my bathroom perfectly being grey, hot pink and turquoise. So no worries about making it look untidy...

We use the same towels, and they are typically used for a week before being rewashed (apart from flannels which are single use). Same growing up for me.

We have a colour coded system for everything but towels. Toothbrush, facecloth, etc.
As a system it doesnt work. DS once decided to change from purple to blue withoout telling anyone, and we only notinced when the wrong toothbrush was wet.
I have also caught the DC using the dog towels on more than one occasion and they dont even live in the hot cupboard.

I think having different coloured towels is pretty naff to be honest. I choose whatever colour looks best in the bathroom and then all towels are the same colour. I prefer white towels in theory, but it's hard to keep them looking good in practice.

We tend to keep our own used towels in one place and not use each other's, but it's not totally strict at all. So long as the towel I'm using is dry and hasn't been hanging around the bathroom too long I'm really not bothered. It's only been used to dry clean bodies after all. But then I realised a long time ago that I'm pretty relaxed about this stuff compared to other mumsnetters.