This is one of those money saving tips I didn’t learn until about 3 years ago. But you don’t NEED to wash your towels every time you use one. You are just drying water off your own body. If you hang them up to dry, they are good for about 2-3 uses before they need to be washed.
Now if you don’t want to do this, that’s cool. It was just one of those money saving tips that never occurred to me until I read it somewhere.
Be sure to catch up on all the previous Let’s Save Some Money posts.
HEATHER says
I have always reused mine for 2 days. For me it isn’t as much about saving money but so I have less laundry to do. Washing them too often destroys the towels too fast too.
Melanie says
I don’t wash mine after every use either. Dirt & skin cells come off with soap and a shower puff – which is why we get that stuff free with coupons, right? And I agree with the purpose of towel bars & hooks – to hang up the towels so they can dry. America is *very* wasteful. I have an aunt who washes towels after every use and sheets every 3 days – and she spends a fortune replacing them because they fall apart fast from so much washing. I’ve also never heard of anyone getting sick from reusing a towel.
MM says
It is a shame how wasteful we are as a nation (though I know we’re not the only ones)…
Elizabeth says
I always have a towel for my head and a towel for my body. I reuse them for about a week. That solves the whole issue of putting a towel on your head that has touch other parts!
Caitlin says
Wow, I feel weird posting this now, but we reuse our towels generally for at least a week, unless it’s very hot and humid and thus prone to growing mildew. I can’t even imagine washing after every use, and I am really startled to see how many people do. I had no idea. What a waste of water over a little paranoia! You would have to do some seriously nasty things to your towel before it would be capable of spreading any disease. Our towels never touch the floor. They go straight from our backs to the rack again.
Alyssa says
Wondering if the people that wash their towels after every use also wash their sheets after every use? Ahhh….America the home of the free (and wasteful).
MM says
Oprah does!
Angela says
That’s why there are hooks in most bathrooms…or so I assumed. We live in very humid Florida, but my towel is dry the next day. My hubby and I use different colors and different hooks. I figure that I am clean when I exit the shower so there shouldn’t be too much on the towel except excess water (a few dead skin cells…so what…do you know whats in your mattress? baceria…it builds up my immunity :). And I figure I’ve made it to the ripe age of 44 without dying from the practice, so this too shall continue. Anyway, to each his own, but with summer swimming, I have enough towels to wash already.
Anna D says
Angela, I love your reasoning. It made me smile :)
fairydust says
I wash my own bath towels after each use – the thought of not doing that makes me think Ick. On the other hand, DH doesn’t see the need. So fine, he hangs his back up and I don’t touch them until he decides they need to be washed. That way we’re both happy :)
Ida says
I usually use my towel three times and the last time I use it to stand on when I get out of the shower. We have a family of 7 so I want everyone to reuse their towels but it seems when the towel closet is full they just keep grabbing a new one so…….. with my washer being in the basement and the shower on the second floor (thats two flights of stairs) I just don’t refill the closet that often if they want a new towel they have to go down to get it. It is kind of a win win, I don’t have to do unnecessary laundry, I don’t have to lug it up two flights of stairs and the kids get exercise if they really need a new one :)
shannon says
i do this in my house too, the only problem i have is that my young children run around with their towel after they get out of the bath, and i always find them on the floor. i dont know why, but once i find something on the floor, i have to wash it. >.< i try to keep up with them so it doesnt happen, but when 3 are in the tub at once, i have a hard time lol.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
Once my towels hit the floor my dog comes and wallows all over it. Bye Bye towel for me too. ;)
Brandy @ Brandys Big Bargains says
We have been reusing our towels for the last several years. Because I have 12 year old girls, they have hooks on the backs of their bedroom doors, and since they each use two towels at a time one for their body and one for their hair, body towels, are used twice and hair towels are used 3 to 4 times before being washed. I agree, we only use them to dry our clean bodies off, and to stick them in the wash each time, makes no sense. Since doing this, we save ourselves at least three loads of laundry washing each week.
Angela says
It’s not just water, but dead skin cells and bacteria that you wipe off with a towel after a shower… not to mention that a moist towel is a breeding ground for bacteria once it’s left there standing! AND if you’ve ever heard about the spray of germs from a toilet flushing (which can cause them to travel up to 15ft– http://ask.doctoroz.com/question/how-keep-bathroom-clean)… you have to imagine that your damp hanging towel must be a magnet for the airborn little buggers! DISGUSTING!
Candace says
I with Angela on this one. There is no way that I would reuse my towel again. My husband thinks he uses his all week, but little does he know I take his off the hook and put up a new one a lot more often.
Kristin from Couponing to Disney says
HAHAHA! I love it when we can trick our husbands. :)
MM says
Isn’t the soap supposed to take care of the bacteria? I know not all of it comes off, but we have bacteria on our skin every day all day long, it helps to fight off bad bacteria. Also, it’s everywhere else in our house anyway, as well as dead skin cells…especially on couches and other furniture. It’s like reusing hand towels (in regards to a moist towel being a breeding ground)…I’m not sure how many people actually put a new hand towel on the rack every time someone washes their hands after going to the bathroom. I also make sure that everyone knows to put the toilet lid down to prevent spray from the toilet when it flushes. Also, ours is in a little nook in our bathroom which is separate from everything else so I don’t worry about that as much as others might.
Just some thoughts on what you said…your points are definitely valid!
Heidi says
I live in a very humid area and we’ve always done this. They do dry out eventually!
Jen says
I’m glad I read all these comments. I was beginning to think I was weird for not ever having considering washing a towel after each use. Thank goodness I’m not alone!
Meghan says
It would never had occurred to me to not reuse my towel. Everyone has their own towel and they are responsible for it–even the 2 yr old.
Becci says
I reuse my towel for my hair, but that’s it. I know what parts of my body I dry with my towel, and I don’t want that towel touching my face the next day. Yes, my body is clean… but that grosses me out. Lol.
valerie says
We definitely reuse towels. It NEVER would have occured to me not to!
Living Richly says
Usually my towels hit the floor, re-using them after that doesn’t appeal to me.
Renae says
It never occurred to me not to reuse my towels? I guess I can understand if you live in a humid area where they don’t dry but I can use mine in the morning and again at night and it’s already dry by then. My fiance and I each use our own towels and I wash them about once a week or more if I’m filling up a load of laundry.
Sandy Brown says
my husband would not reuse a towel if he had to!! he thinks that is gross!
Robin says
This is something we are still working on in our house. I recently let each of the 4 kids pick their own color towel, assigned Hubby and me a towel too…made a special hook arrangement and they are responsible for their towel. They reuse it all week. I eliminated at least 1 load of laundry by doing thi, I got rid of all other towels except a handful for guests. :) YEAH.
kelli says
I wash our towels about every 2 weeks. I can’t imagine washing them after every time we use them. When I was growing up, we lived in an apartment and had to go to a laundromat to do laundry, maybe that’s why? I don’t know. It just seems completely wasteful to me. I also ware my clothes more than once if they don’t get dirty the first time too, so maybe I’m just weird.
MM says
I’m with you, though I wash the towels about once every 3-4 days…on the farm things can get a little dirtier with my husband, so I don’t like to let them go too long..but I will rewear clothes if they aren’t dirty or didn’t pick up any odd smells (like smoke from a campfire as an example).
Angela says
I suppose if you re-use your own towel once. . .but after that, I have ALWAYS noticed that stale water smell the next time using it.
And let’s be honest, I know where YOU used your towel last and where I use it first. .. . . no thanks. LOL!!
This is a great way to save money though! Thanks for pointing it out. :)
Laurie says
Yeah, I suppose it might also depend on the weather where you live. I live in Southern CA, so it’s dry here-hardly ever humid. Also, it’s really a good idea NOT to share towels. Many things can be spread that way. Still, we always use ours a few times before washing. Then the dirty ones do duty on the floor when the kids are taking their bath (they splash like crazy!). After that it’s wash time-and I’m sort of a weirdo and wash them on sanitary. :)
Tabitha says
I was raised this way so never thought anything of it! My husband hates the idea though. So I usually try to reuse his! And like Chastidy, I have let them dry completely and refolded them and put them back on the shelf. hehehe :))))
Chastidy says
If I can catch them before they have laid in the floor wet for a few hours I re-use them. I just hang them over the shower rod to dry and use them one more time. My hubby doesn’t like to if he knows about it LOL Sometimes I let them dry and refold them and he never knows it. But HE uses wash cloths and I CAN’T STAND the thoughts of using a wash cloth on my face that someone has used “elsewhere” blah! So I just lather up really well with my hands and my kids do that too!. Less laundry that way too!
Laurie says
That’s so funny…I once heard a comedian comment about that same thing only his reference was the bar of soap in the shower, not the wash cloth. I still think about that to this day! However, I use our towels a few times before I wash them. The first time I heard of someone using them only once I thought that person was just crazy. ;)
Jess says
There is actually a towel (sorry not a wash cloth) that says “BUTT” on one end and “HEAD” on the other so if you reuse the towel you can avoid that problelm. I always thought that was funny!
Kim S says
We always reuse our towels. We have lots of different colors of towels, so each person uses a different color.
Jenn says
Ditto Ashley
Denise says
I always reuse my towels but my husband doesn’t like to reuse his. It definately helps reduce the amount of times I have to do laundry and it also cuts down on the cost of doing laundry – it’s a win – win!
Ashley says
Wow we’ve always done that. People wash their towels every time they use them??