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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About bath towels

102 replies

Sleepthiefsmum18 · 16/02/2019 15:14

Just gone to shower and discovered my bath towel is missing. It’s in DH’s gym bag. He has no concept of a towel being someone’s and just uses any he finds that’s dry. I’ve just discovered he currently has 4(!!) towels on the go. It drives me bonkers. I like to have my own towel and when it’s dirty I put it in the wash and get a clean one. Surely this is normal?!? I hate the thought of someone else using “my” towel. I don’t want to dry my face on something that’s been on someone else’s arse (my own arse is fine). AIBU? DH doesn’t see the problem.

OP posts:
Aquamarine1029 · 16/02/2019 15:27

Can you not get a set of towels specifically for him to use for the gym? He wouldn't take issue with that, surely.

CheddarAndCrackers · 16/02/2019 15:30

We each have our own "shower/bath" towel which is changed every other day. Hand towels in the bathrooms are changed daily. I have another towel for my hair, DP just shakes his hair dry like a dog just out of a river! Grin

user1493413286 · 16/02/2019 15:30

Me and DP interchange towels as I figure that we’ve shared far more than towels. I wouldn’t like to share with anyone else though.

LadyAprilLucy · 16/02/2019 15:32

My DH is like this about all sorts of things. He has no concept of personal property. I have to hide things from him if I don't want to share.

Sorry, not helpful!

Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 16/02/2019 15:33

There's 2 adults and four kids in our hours and we just use any towel
but DH has his own swimming towel. When they're dirty they go in the wash, if they're clean but damp they go in the drier to freshen them up.

Chocolatecoffeeaddict · 16/02/2019 15:33
  • our house
katienana · 16/02/2019 15:35

I have my own towel which is an Autograph marks and Spencer one, for my use only! Dh once put it in the spare room for his dad to use. I was not pleased!

Thatsnotmyotter · 16/02/2019 15:38

Me and DH share towels but i’d Be pissed off if he was using a ‘nice’ towel for gym/swim. We have a huge number of crappy towels for sweaty turbo sessions, swimming etc.

Original poster
Sleepthiefsmum18 · 16/02/2019 15:38

Interesting that there’s such differences in towel management between households! I’d assumed everyone had their own towel, probably because that’s how my mum did it when we were young.

We’ve had discussions about it before and I asked him not to use mine, but he’s clearly “forgotten”. I’m not this fussy about other aspects of cleanliness...not sure why this bothers me so much!

OP posts:
Beebumble2 · 16/02/2019 15:39

Lovely turquoise ones for me, dark grey for DH. Seems to work.

ooonicorn · 16/02/2019 15:39

I'm the same as you and it infuriates me! He just doesn't care!

BigusBumus · 16/02/2019 15:47

DH and I have 3 teenage sons. Mostly we go into a bathroom, see that here are no towels there, hunt about in a boy's room for the many that litter their floor / beds. Smell it and if it still smells of Lenor and there are no marks it will be used again. We share them all.

I would love to have My Own Towel, but it would last about 3 minutes in my house. Angry

MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours · 16/02/2019 15:47

people have their own towels here....dd has purple, ds2's are blue, ds1 has grey
Mainly cos when they were smaller all the towels would vanish and it'd be a huge pile of festering dampness that no one ever took responsibility for....as soon as they got their own, there was a good deal more care in airing/drying/setting them out for the machine.

lots of black or white ones up for grabs in the bathroom and I have some lightweight bathrobes for visitors. DH and I use the bathroom ones, and really since the elder two are not really here full time, their towels now belong to their old rooms and are used by any guests.

dementedpixie · 16/02/2019 15:49

We each have our own towel. Dh has towels he only uses for the gym

user1493413286 · 16/02/2019 15:50

I like the idea of a specific colour for kids and them taking responsibility for it; one of my annoyances is picking up DSDs wet towel from her floor continually

Romanov · 16/02/2019 15:58

I have a body towel and a head/hair/face towel... no arse towel near my face!

NoSquirrels · 16/02/2019 16:01

We all have different coloured towels.

The downside is you don;t have a delightfully colour co-ordinated bathroom like in the lifestyle mags

The upside is you never have to suffer the towel you thought of as 'yours' being damp/having someone else's arse on it etc.

I made a HUGE fuss about this with my DH (he couldn't see the problem either) and this is the solution.

Recently one DC has tried to start using my bath sheet size towel instead of their smaller towel. They have also Been Told and I will buy them a larger towel in their colour

prettybird · 16/02/2019 16:01

Dh and I used to share towels/not be bothered about which one we use but TMI alert Blush since I "caught" jock crotch (athletes foot in my crotch area - very itchy Blush), which I am convinced I got from dh's chronic case of athlete's foot (his big toe nails are horrible from it Shock) which he refuses to treat, I won't go near his towel and he under pain of death knows not to use "my" bath towel.

StrawberrySquash · 16/02/2019 16:03

Own towel please! I don't want to dry myself with what someone else has already rubbed all over their body.

Comenext · 16/02/2019 16:03

We each have a separate colour of towels in our family (four of us)
It works well and we all know which towels to use.

NoSquirrels · 16/02/2019 16:03

I would love to have My Own Towel, but it would last about 3 minutes in my house.

Bigus you need to Take A Stand. I'd buy my own lovely fluffy towels and take them back to my room after using. Sharing with DH AND 3 TEENAGE BOYS? [shudder]

ALargeGinPlease · 16/02/2019 16:06

In the same op. I have MY towel and when DH used it, when he couldn't find his ( clean, in the airing cupboard) , he didn't understand why I was upset. I now make sure his towel is always available, otherwise I know he'll use mine as the next available towel.
It can get very complicated if we stay in hotels as all the towels are white. I've taken to hanging mine in unusual places as I know DH will just grab any old towel from the bathroom.

Eliza9917 · 16/02/2019 16:15

*since I "caught" jock crotch (athletes foot in my crotch area - very itchy ), which I am convinced I got from dh's chronic case of athlete's foot (his big toe nails are horrible from it ) which he refuses to treat,"

How can he refuse to treat it? Does he walk around your house barefoot? I assume if you caught it from his towel it can be spread through carpets/bedsheets etc? I wouldn't have that.

megletthesecond · 16/02/2019 16:18

Yanbu. We have our own towels in this house, no sharing.
The DC's towels even have their initials embroidered on them Blush.

Justanothernamechange2 · 16/02/2019 16:20

We use our own towel.. we have a over radiator airer thingy on the landing. Mine goes on the left, his on the right. Our own responsibility to put in the wash and get a clean one etc etc as long as we stick to our sides of the rail