The Gross Truth About How Long You’re Using Your Bath Towel

How often should you wash your bath towel? It is one of those household questions you may not think about until your towel fails the sniff test — or you suddenly realize you cannot remember its last trip through the washing machine. Fortunately, you do not need a freshly laundered towel after every shower. But you should not hang on to the same one for a month, or even longer, either.

So, how Often Is Ideal for Older Adults?

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If you are generally healthy and use your own bath towel, you can usually use it more than once. The American Cleaning Institute, a trade association representing the cleaning-products industry, recommends washing bath towels after three to five normal uses.

But this is more a helpful rule of thumb rather than a firm scientific deadline. Your bathroom, your health and how quickly your towel dries all matter more than an exact number.

Do Not Rely on the Sniff Test Alone

If your towel smells sour or musty, it is definitely ready for the wash. Unfortunately, the reverse is not always true: A towel can look and smell fine while still holding microorganisms, skin cells and residue that you cannot see.

Wash your towel sooner if it:

• Remains damp between uses
• Develops an odor
• Is shared with another person
• Touches broken, irritated or infected skin
• Becomes soiled with sweat, makeup, urine, feces, blood or other bodily fluids

If you are uncertain, choosing a fresh towel is an easy solution.

Other Things to Consider

“More humid bathrooms = more towel changes needed,” Dr. Matt Hershcovitch, an ENT specialist and founder of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers, told Nifty50+.

If your towel is still damp when you reach for it again, it is telling you that it needs more drying time or an earlier trip to the laundry.

Health status is also an important consideration. You may want to change yours more often, however, if you are ill, have fragile or broken skin, live with incontinence, or receive treatment that requires special care around bodily fluids.

Extra caution may be helpful if you have diabetes, poor circulation, reduced immunity or a wound that is slow to heal. Your healthcare provider can help you decide whether your health calls for a more careful laundry routine.

The Numbers

If you reuse your towel longer than recommended, you are not alone.

In a 2019 YouGov survey of 2,927 U.S. adults, 32% washed their towels within three uses, while nearly one in four waited six uses or longer. A smaller U.S. poll found that nearly half washed their towels weekly, while 17% did so only a few times per month.

Older adults may wash more frequently: In one U.K. poll, 40% of adults over 65 said they washed their towels daily or every few days.

Because these surveys were conducted differently, it’s best to treat these results as broad snapshots.

“More humid bathrooms = more towel changes needed.”

Dr. Matt Hershcovitch, an ENT specialist and founder of SoCal Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers

What Collects On Your Towel

When you dry yourself, your towel absorbs more than water. It also picks up skin cells, body oils and some of the microorganisms that naturally live on your skin.

Before this begins to sound too alarming, remember that most of these microbes are harmless. Bacteria are a normal part of your skin, and simply finding them on a towel does not mean the towel will make you sick.

The concern grows when a towel stays damp, is shared with someone else, touches broken skin or becomes soiled with bodily fluids. These conditions give microorganisms more opportunities to survive, multiply or move from the towel back to your skin.

A small 2022 Nigerian study tested 72 bath towels used by students living in five university hostels. Researchers recovered potentially harmful bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli, which can cause urinary tract and other infections.

Give bacteria the right combination of warmth, moisture and nutrients, and some can multiply remarkably quickly. In one laboratory study, E. coli grown in an ideal environment doubled in number about every 20 minutes. A damp bathroom towel is not quite such a perfect environment, however, so bacterial growth on the fabric is typically much slower.

Still, dampness matters. The longer your towel stays wet, the more welcoming it may become to organisms that are comfortable in moist fabric.

Practical Tips and Care Guidance

What you do between washes can be just as important as how often you wash.

“Towels should be spread out as wide as possible to dry,” Hershcovitch advised. “Increasing the surface area exposed to air increases the pace at which the towel dries and decreases the chance of bacteria and fungal build up.”

Use a wide towel bar or drying rack instead of a small hook that leaves the fabric folded and bunched together. Run your bathroom exhaust fan during and after your shower, and never leave a damp towel on the floor or in a heap.

Drying them out in the sun and breeze is also a good idea, after all, sunlight may provide an additional antimicrobial effect. But the main goal is to get the towel completely dry.

The type of towel matters, too. “Wash cloths come into contact with contaminated areas of the skin that aren’t yet clean,” dermatologist Dr. Jennifer Maender told Houston Methodist. Washcloths pick up makeup, body oils, dead skin and germs from all parts of the body, so it is best to wash them after every use.

Thick, plush towels may feel luxurious, but they hold more water and take longer to dry. They can also become heavy and difficult to handle if you have arthritis, limited shoulder movement or reduced strength.

“Lighter towels are certainly easier to handle and dry faster. However, they may not feel as good or get you as dry,” Hershcovitch explained.

If your bathroom is humid or you prefer thick towels, try alternating between two. This gives each towel more time to dry.

The best choice is a towel you can use comfortably, wash properly and dry completely. Whichever type you prefer, these habits will help keep it fresh:

• Hang your damp towel immediately and spread it across a bar or rack.
• Give each person a separate towel, especially when someone is ill or has a skin infection.
• Store clean towels only after they are completely dry.
• Keep used towels separate from your clean supply.
• Do not store clean towels beneath leaking plumbing or beside cleaning chemicals. 
• Follow the care label, use an effective detergent and choose the warmest suitable water setting.
• Dry every towel completely before folding or storing it.
• Choose a lighter or quicker-drying towel if heavy ones are difficult to lift, hang or dry fully.

You do not need a germ-free towel. You simply want one that is washed regularly, dries completely and feels fresh when you reach for it.