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.

Yes, OP needs to clarify whether she's referring to guest towels or guest towels.

The issue with leaving hand towels a few days is that they can grow bacteria from getting wet and drying several times. I tend to change them daily or every other day depending on usage.

I don't want to wipe my hands on my host's bathtowel

Im a bit OCD about germs and hate using towels in a guest toilet, unless they are crisp and fresh. (Not saying yours aren't, but could that be a reason?)

People really are weird. Separate hand towels for different people (or different classes of people) is uneccssary. As is washing them daily.
I change my hand towel (located in the downstairs loo, so used by both family and visitors) once a week. Sometimes I forget, and it gets done once a fortnight.
Nobody in my house has ever caught a germ from the hand towel.

I am very far from a germ freak. But changing a bathroom hand towel that the entire family and guests have used for a week or more, is just very disgusting. 😂😩

Oh, just to clarify, they aren't 'on display', I have a selection out, so there is always a dry one to use.

All my towels are working towels!

Thank God! Not just me.

It must be slimy after two weeks 🤮

Why would it be? It dries out between uses.

We have bath towels on the towel radiator and hand towels on the rail by the sink. If you've just wShed your hands they should be clean so I've never felt day guests needed a special towel. If you're staying overnight you get a towel or 2 otherwise you just use ours

I was having chemotherapy during Covid and had young grandchildren so we had a basket of flannels in the cloakroom that were used once to dry hands then popped into washbin.
We have kept the system going.

I have a family member who puts out the nicest looking towels for parties and I don’t dare touch them. You can tell no one else wants to mess them up either.

my suggestion is to dry your hands on the towel to get things started. Just that tiny bit of almost imperceptible imperfection may be enough to signal that it is ok to actually use the towels.

I find the hand towels are wet after a day's use so then they're hung up to dry and dumped in the wash bin.

It’s a good system. We have loads and it’s not like they take up much space in the washing machine.

I hope you are better now.

How many people are using this loo? Do you just have one in your house and a dozen people in all day?

Are party towels fancier than guest towels? 🤔

I’d just give up one of your towels and put that for guest use ? Then they’re all the same

For crying out loud! Guest towels not 'guest towels' or guest's towels or towels for guests.....😀

I'm on the side of washing them after every use.
Therefore the only towel in my bathroom is the hand towel.

I know its anathema to MN to use towels once, but meh. We both do dirty jobs and so wash after every use.

One toilet, usually 2 of us. I wash my hands a lot, after going to the toilet obviously. Gardening, shopping.

At Christmas they sure are. The machine embroidery on these things is really over the top.

I wouldn't use one that looked decorative, I'd use the one that looks that it's used regularly. Maybe take yours out then, and only have the 'guest'one there?

I suggest OP that as soon as you hear guests approaching you run into the bathroom and splosh leftover curry sauce or oxtail soup in random patches on the towels you don't wish them to use, and then drape the official guest towel over the whole of the basin of your sink including the taps so they can't miss it.
That'll teach the dirty bastards.

PS thanks for this thread, it's made me cry with laughter.