Your Complete Guide To Proper Bathroom Towel Care

Life is all about enjoying the details, and one of the often-underrated joys is enveloping yourself in a freshly washed, fluffy towel when getting out of the shower. If you stop to think about it, you realize just how important a clean towel really is — you use it every day and rely on it to do its job.

Yet all too often, people continuously use old, dingy towels that are not only no longer fluffy, but could also be harboring bacteria. Here is everything you need to know about why cleaning towels is so important, how often you should be washing towels, and the signs it is time to replace those towels.

Why Is Cleaning Towels Important?

You use bathroom towels when your body is at its cleanest, so the last thing you want is to put bacteria right back on your skin. You wouldn’t think about rubbing the toilet brush on your freshly cleaned skin, but many towels harbor just as many germs if they are not washed regularly. This is due to the fact that they retain moisture, causing a breeding ground for bacteria every time you get dry. Not only is this unpleasant to think about, but the bacteria can lead to acne, fungal infections and rashes. If someone in the household is ill, shared, unclean towels can also spread illnesses from one person to the next. The only way to prevent this is to follow proper towel care.

How Often Should I Be Washing Towels?

Clearly, towels should be washed frequently so you can minimize bacteria growth and keep yourself and your family healthy. Here is what you need to know about how to effectively clean towels:

• Wash your bath towels every three or four uses. Note that you can only go this long if you are fully spreading the towel on a towel bar after use. If it is left bunched up, the moisture will not be able to fully dry and bacteria will start breeding much sooner.
• When washing towels, use hot water and run them through two cycles — one with just vinegar and water and another one with standard detergent.

How Frequently Should I Be Replacing Towels?

Bath towels don’t usually make the priority list when it comes to spending. Regardless, if you’ve had your towels for several years, they should be. When towels are too old, they are no longer effective. They don’t dry you thoroughly and are likely home to unseen germs and bacteria. How do you know when you should be replacing towels? In general, experts advise you should get new ones every two years. If you are still unsure, look for these signs:

• You have to run the towel over your body several times just to remove the water. Towel fibers inherently break down with use. If they aren’t absorbing the water as well as they once were, it’s time to say goodbye.
• The towel starts to smell after just one or two uses after it is washed. This is a sign there is bacteria within the fibers that is not getting cleaned properly.
• There are holes, tears or frayed edges on the towel. If you had a towel long enough for it to show these signs of wear, then it is undoubtedly time to replace it.

Now that you know how often you should be washing towels and signs it’s time to replace them, you can be sure that you and your family are only drying with towels that will help you instead of harm you.

The last thing you want to hear is that you are not cleaning the items in your home enough, but according to several professionals, most of us aren't refreshing or replacing our most utilized household textiles at the proper rate. Dish towels, bath mats, and body towels are often used far after their expiration date. Fortunately, most of these linens have a long shelf life, says Rochelle Wilkinson, the owner Dirt Detectives Cleaning. "In fact, most bath and kitchen towels get more absorbent the longer you have them, so you will want to keep them around if you clean them properly," she says. As for the one item to wash (and toss, for that matter) most frequently? "That would be a kitchen cloth," Wilkinson notes. "These get wet and hold germs basically the minute you start washing dishes with them." But what about the rest of your linens, including towels, mats, and sheets? Ahead, more cleaning experts elaborate on these items' timelines.

Getty / Ruthsarintre Pattarapongpatch / EyeEm

Towels

How often you need to replace your towels will depend on your lifestyle, says Brandi Winch, owner Homemaid Cleaning Service, LLC. If you're a bachelor who rarely uses the guest hand towels in your bathroom, you may get a bit more mileage out of them than, say, a mother of three, who reaches for them more frequently. "The more use they get, the more often you will want to replace them," she says, adding that she's an advocate of practicality. If your towels are used on freshly-cleaned bodies instead of for heavy-duty cleaning tasks, you can get much more life out of them. Ultimately, though, when a towel's threads begin to pull—or you notice a lingering odor, despite a careful wash—it's time to toss it; you can expect body and hand towels to last between two to five years depending on their quality. Wash cloths, on the other hand, should be replaced every one or two years, notes Winch.

Bath and Kitchen Mats

Bath mats should be washed every one to two weeks in addition to being hung up after each use to dry. "They need to be able to handle 25-plus washes a year," notes Winch. "The problem is there are very few options out there that are non-slip, absorbent, hangs easily to dry, and can handle the washing they should ideally get." To extend the life of your mat she suggests keeping shoes out of the kitchen and bathroom, and making sure your bathroom has excellent ventilation and humidity control. Even then, Winch says you should rotate in new bath and kitchen mats annually.

Sheets and Pillowcases

"I recommend washing sheets and pillowcases weekly," advises Trisha Lake, TLC Cleaning Experts, noting that your skin health is often an indication of a subpar cleaning cycle (leave sheets on too long, and it's likely that you'll experience more acne). As for when to replace these bed linens entirely? Fortunately, quality sheets only get better over time; Wilkinson notes that higher-end sheets should have a decade-long lifecycle.