Science How often should you wash your bath towels?

[thomas]

According to the BBC, we should throw in our towels more often. In the washing machine, that is:

Despite appearing clean, towels can harbour millions of microbes. Studies reveal that towels quickly become contaminated with skin bacteria and those from our digestive systems. Our bodies retain microbes even after washing, which inevitably transfer to the towel during drying. However, microbial contamination also originates from other sources. Airborne fungi and bacteria can settle on towels while they hang to dry. Additionally, the water used for laundering can introduce bacteria to the towels.


Specifically on Japan:

In Japan, some households even reuse leftover bathwater for laundering the next day. One study by researchers at the University of Tokushima in Japan found, while this saves water, many of the bacteria found in the used bath water were then transferred to towels and clothing after being laundered.

And toilets:

And for those of us who prefer to leave our towels to dry in the same room as your lavatory, there is some rather disgusting news – every time you flush, you are likely giving any towels nearby a light dusting with bacteria from your toilet, along with specks of your family's bodily waste.

Why you probably aren't washing your towels often enough

The towels we dry ourselves with get a lot of use and pick up a lot of microbes along the way. But how long should you wait before throwing them into the laundry?

www.bbc.com

So, what are the stats for Japan?

According to a survey conducted by Shukan News in 2013 with 139,460 valid responses, the Japanese wash their タオル:

• Every day: 47.0%
• Once or more every 3 days: 24.8%
• Once or more a week: 16.1%
• Once or more every 2 weeks: 3.5%
• Once or more a month: 1.7%
• Once or more every 3 months: 0.5%
• Once or more every 6 months: 0.2%
• Less than once every 6 months: 0.2%
• Don't wash the towel: 0.6%
• Don't know 5.4%

Almost half of respondents answered they washed their bath towel after every use, putting regular washers in the clear majority. Comments included, "Doesn't everyone? I would be surprised if anyone answered anything else." "Using the towel again without washing it is gross." "If the towel isn't properly taken care of immediately after use, it will quickly fill with bacteria, using such a towel to wipe dry after cleaning yourself in the shower makes no sense." Those answering "once or more every three days," the next most common response, said things like, "We only have one towel for each family member, so I can't wash them every day. Depending on the weather, I usually wash them twice a week or more." "We change bath towels every day, but I only wash them once every two to three days." With 16.1% of respondents answering "once or more a week," this group was the third largest. Many commented, "You are only using the towel to dry off your body which was cleaned in the shower, I don't think that much bacteria will grow in the towel between uses." "You are washing your body every day, so the towel doesn't matter that much."

Those washing their towels less frequently than the 87.9% who do so at least once a week commented:

• "After drying myself off, I soon hang the towel in a sunny and well-ventilated spot. There is no need for me to wash it so often!" (A respondent who answered that they washed their towel once every two weeks)
• "I take a long bath and am meticulous about cleaning my body; once a month is enough for washing my towel!" (Once-a-month respondent)
• "If it doesn't smell, I don't think it is dirty; besides, my whole family is healthy" (Once every three months)
• "A towel isn't supposed to be washed that often" (Once-every-half-year washer).

Survey asks: How often do you wash your bath towel?

According to practitioners of feng shui (Chinese geomancy that is supposed to help improve one’s life by bringing in positive energy), when you dry your body with a bath towel, you’re not just wiping away drops of water, but removing misfortune as well. So, if you use the same bath…

japantoday.com

I found a more recent survey by Wacoal (2024), according to which

• 57% of the Japanee wash their bath towels every day
• 28% wash them every 2-3 days
• 10% once a week.

About 60% of people answered that they wash their bath towels daily, which seems to be a high average frequency. However, if you live alone, the amount of laundry you put out each day is small so that many people will wash them all at once, about once every 2-3 days.

バスタオルは1週間に1回しか洗わないと話したら友人に引かれました。毎日洗濯した方がよいですか？光熱費が心配です…。（ファイナンシャルフィールド） - Yahoo!ニュース

お風呂上がりに使うバスタオルは、毎日洗濯した方がよいと分かっていても頻繁に洗濯できない方もいるでしょう。忙しかったり一人暮らしをしていたりする場合には、なかなか洗濯の時間が取れないという方も多いはず

news.yahoo.co.jp

And a furtive glance at the UK reveals the following:

"More than 1.5 million people wash their bath towels only once a year!" (Not that I believe the rest of Europe fares any better.)

バスタオルを年に1度しか洗わない人は150万人以上　イギリス暮らしで日本人女性が驚愕した洗濯事情

日本でときどき論争になる、バスタオルの洗い替え頻度。毎日派の人もいれば、2日に1度は洗っている人も多いかもしれません。それでは、海外ではどれくらいの頻度でバスタオルを洗濯しているのでしょうか。ひょんなことからイギリスに移住、就職し、海外在住歴7年を超えたMoyoさんが、外国暮らしのリアルを綴るこの連載。第43回は、イギリスやフランスで実際に暮らして気づいた家事情や、家事にまつわる話を紹介します。

hint-pot.jp

 

[johnnyG]

And a furtive glance at the UK reveals the following:

"More than 1.5 million people wash their bath towels only once a year!" (Not that I believe the rest of Europe fares any better.)

Barbarians.

We've always been a one-use family--use a bath towel once and it goes in the laundry basket. But the hand towel next to the sink goes for a day or so, so several uses over that time.

 

[mdchachi]

Barbarians.

We've always been a one-use family--use a bath towel once and it goes in the laundry basket. But the hand towel next to the sink goes for a day or so, so several uses over that time.

Those policies are usually up to the person who washes the laundry.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Brings back memories of Navy boot camp. The "bath" towel was just a bit bigger than a hand towel and we all complained it couldn't get us dry. The old Navy Chief explained you first use your hands to squeegee your whole body off , then use the towel and it will be enough. It's a habit I can't seem to break and do it every time I shower. I still shave with the old double edge razor they issued me in 1969. I only wear black shoes and hate any wrinkles in my clothes. I guess the boot camp brain washing really worked.

 

[Lothor]

I remember a biology teacher who was really into this area, and we spent a whole term studying them. I learned that they were everywhere, with most surfaces harbouring multitudes of them. Yet we spend most of our lives well and not suffering from microbial and bacterial infections. I'm not denying the harmful and even lethal nature of some bacteria (and they do make towels smell!), but a lot of people's attitudes to them seem to be driven by marketing rather than science. That's certainly the case for Mrs Lothor, a veteran of thousands of TV ad campaigns for cleaning products that have scared her into a horror of baikin, who washes towels daily. I wash them when they start to smell.

 

[johnnyG]

Wife and I generally do our own laundry, but we sometimes add some of the other's in to fill up a load. Also, after most any bike ride I shower and wash my gear. And add whatever else can go in to make a small load.

And not bath towels, but I'm the whites guy--kitchen towels and fukin. I do these separately, the vigorous cycle, with bleach.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

All this talk has inspired me to wash our bath towels now!

Generally we wash our bath towels anywhere from once every two weeks to once every month. The summer months see more washing than the winter months, as the air is drier in the winter. I'm actually less worried about bacteria than mould.

 

[johnnyG]

once every two weeks to once every month

So, you're British...?

 

[Grandpa Frank]

This made me think we make our laundry system way too complicated. All dirty/used/worn once laundry goes into a big hamper basket upstairs. When it's full (takes about 3 days and weighs a ton) , it goes down cellar to where the "BIG" washer & dryer are. Then it gets sorted into about 5 different baskets. Her clothes , my clothes , towels , bedding and miscellaneous. Then , once one of those baskets gets filled , it gets washed. Then the clean wash goes into a big basket that weighs a ton and it gets lugged upstairs to be put away. Between washing , we have about 100 clean towels in the closet to use and enough clothes to take care of Napolean's army. Not sure why we need 3 closets of our clothes upstairs and 3 six foot long racks of clothes down cellar. I think we are classed as the hoarder type of old people you see on TV getting help , LOL.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I read that article, and nowhere in the article itself does it talk about people only washing towels once a year. It's concerned with the author's experience living abroad where they washed their bath towels once a week. Click bait title????

 

[johnnyG]

When it's full (takes about 3 days and weighs a ton) , it goes down cellar

It wouldn't help getting it back upstairs, but have you considered a laundry chute?

 

[Grandpa Frank]

I have visions of the cat or me half asleep falling in , LOL. Actually I think of it as cheaper than a gym membership , LOL.