They never use my guest towels!

[MargeretIntheWood]

I have various guests popping in and visiting my home, often unannounced. For this purpose I purchased a collection of "guest towels" from M&S.

I keep a clean towel hanging on a dedicated hook next to the bathroom sink so it's ready when visitors just pop in.

BUT... no-one ever uses it! I discover my guests have used my personal towels to dry their hands (which they have to walk across the room to do); my bath mat, my flannel or they come back into the room wiping their hands on their clothing.

How do I get people to use my guest towels? I was considering purchasing a paper towel holder like they have in public loos but that seems excessive.

My mum has really fancy, whiter than white towels and then other towels. I’ve left marks on the white ones before and it creased a little which she wouldn’t care about but I was like ‘ah no, that towel was so white!’ hence I now always use anything else! Could it be that they’re afraid of ruining fancy towels?

I need a diagram.

Surely OP means overnight guests, as who'd care about guests using same hand towel? For overnight guests, I put bath towels on their beds so they know that those are their towels. Kind of assumed everyone would do something similar.

How the fuck are they supposed to know which towel is the ‘guest’ towel just because it’s hanging on a hook? And why does it even matter? They’re using it to dry their freshly washed hands, not scrubbing their arse.

What as in, in the garden???

@Precipice - "sometimes" wet loo roll...!? The logistics and mentality involved in fully washing your arse (in the basin?!) in the day at someone's house and then what, drying it on any towel to hand is just...🤯😆 Pre mn I would have doubted it was even a possibility. Hopefully for the op's sake she is just dealing with ambiguous towel placement here.

Maybe when you're back from the bathroom say oh, did you not use the guest towel..oh dear. And look embarrassed and then if they probe say that's your arse towel

Yeah - our 'guest towels' (bath sheet + hand towel) are kept clean and in the guest bedroom ready for the guests to use if they have a shower. That's the point of guest towels surely? For when they come and stay.

The towels in the bathroom are all hand towels (we don't keep our bath towels in there) are for everyone who goes in there to dry their hands after the loo.

They probably think it’s a ‘display’ towel. Maybe remove your personal towel if people are coming over?

Precipice · Today 16:11

Some people wash after bowel movements. Although sometimes that's with wet toilet paper outside the house.

..... beg pardon?

If they’re staying overnight (which seems unlikely in the OP’s case, as she says they’re people who drop by unexpectedly) then the normal thing to do would be either to put a couple of towels on the bed for them, or to say “There are clean towels in the cupboard so help yourself.” It isn’t hanging a single towel on a hook by the washbasin and assuming everyone will know this is reserved for guests.

Maybe you could have "guest towel" embroidered on in a bright colour, or you could use some sort of fluorescent masking tape, to highlight the area in which said towels are hung.

You mean, like in the garden?

It is normal in some cultures to wash with water after a poo, yes, but the people who do that absolutely do not dry their bum on anyone’s hand towel.

Or a sign by your towels saying ARSE TOWEL though that carries the risk of guests using it on their bum

It's what* *we come here for isn't it.

One minute you're plodding through a tame little thread (sorry OP) about hand towels and then something like Precipice's post gets dropped in and it's transformed

😂😂😂

@Laiste Best thread in ages.

Or a diagram

My parents have one of these to hose their dog down with. Maybe if it came to it op you could be a good host and ensure it's topped up with warm water and available in the garden, and in the event issue instructions that it's an air dry only arrangement?

A towel is a towel is a towel.

They get used, get grubby and get washed.

Sorry, I don't see the issue.

You'd need to provide a towel really

Some of them get used all over someone's body so pick up poo

Hmm, yes ok @benjoin , ugh it's a minefield this.

Or could set up a sort of Dyson airblade/leaf blower arrangement for drying?

I am guessing 'outside the house' in this context means 'when not in their own home'