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.

If I have guests coming, I put clean hand towels on rads. Then I put personal towels on the rads in each persons bedroom out the way.

OH! I totally did NOT get that and thought it meant outside

Just move your personal towels when you have guests. Job done.

I look around for an actual towel rail or radiator, I probably wouldn't notice (or maybe wouldn't trust) a towel next to the sink, thinking it was for a face or something. You can also never be 100% sure that something is or isn't a towel, and I'd rather dry my hands on my jeans than someone's bathmat (again)

Just put a bath towel and a hand towel for each guest on their bed then they'll know to use those.

This is semi off-topic but my ex-boyfriend would shower after the toilet and one day used my face towel as his arse towel. I wasn't pleased but he said it was OK because it was just his cheeks, then I asked why he doesn't dry his arse crack and he looked at me like I was crazy. So there you go, now you know some people are wandering around with damp cracks and think that's normal. Do with that information what you will

This really is the best thread! I am smiling at the thought of a 'display towel'. Also people obsessing about poo on towels.

I do have guest towels, that are in the guest bedroom.

I live alone, so I have my own towels (apparently drenched in poo particles) hanging up next to the shower.

I also have a towel rail next to the sink with a variety of hand towels on it, so 'day visitors' (and me) can take their pick.

Of course, I'll now be burning these after visits, as they will be saturated in visitor arse bits.

I put a clean hand towel out daily,there's a rail on the side of the basin. Our bath towels are the other side of the room. There is definitely a MN mindset,that even after showers,you mustn't wipe your bum on a towel,God forbid!

On another note, if you don't keep your bath towels in the bathroom, where do you keep them? The bedroom? I'd have thought bathroom was the best place to hang them up to dry?

We change our hand towels 2x a week. Isn't that enough?

Stop with the unannounced guests! I couldn't live like that, I'd be on edge all the time waiting for someone to ring the bell. How do you relax? Is it family or friends who just randomly turn up?

You don't want guests to use the same hand towel as you? After washing their hands? Why? I am so baffled by this modern world.

Considering half of MN seems proud of the fact that they only wash 2 x a week I find it hard to believe the other half are washing their arse in a friend's basin

@benjoin

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

Presumably they are used after washing. So why would there still be poo to 'pick up'?

Or maybe some people just like rubbing towels over their entire body randomly not just after a shower ?

Why do you have a variety of hand towels on display?

Genitals then

What kind of guests do you have?

What do you dry your hands on op?

We use wash cloths/face cloths which we keep in a small basket. We go through many in a day and guests can use them as a single use towel. Easy to wash.

Some people are getting confused about a guest towel (slightly smaller than a hand towel -check Dunelm etc!) and guest towels as in towels provided for guests when they stay over. I think the OP is talking about day visitors using her facilities but not observing her towel etiquette of using the guest towel provided in the bathroom and not the family's personal towels.

I suppose as soon as they arrive the OP could nip into the bathroom and remove the other towels so they have no choice but to use the guest one!

The inhumanity of negotiating the minefield of acceptable towel usage!

How do you know which towels they use? Do you spy on them?

And yes, cracking thread.

This thread went quite weirdly.

Leave hand guest towels in the bathroom, when people are coming.
Squirrel away all other towels.

People are weird 🤣

This is a brilliant thread. I lived with someone who had a rule that the bathroom towels were only for display! Do not dare use them or even touch them as they would know….

Guest towels, washing bum outside, poo towels, genitals- please stop- I can't keep choking on my wine! 😂