How often should you wash your towels?

Manywell Product Page

CNN

 &#; 

There is nothing like wrapping yourself up in a fluffy, warm towel after a hot shower or bath.

After drying yourself, however, the towel also gets wet. Now it&#;s the perfect home for germs. Hopefully you&#;re hanging it up to dry, but that doesn&#;t keep your towel clean.

That&#;s why CNN turned to an expert to learn how often towels should be washed to prevent them from getting us dirty, which is the exact opposite of its intended use.

Wash your towels at least once a week. That&#;s the rule of thumb that Manal Mohammed, senior lecturer of medical microbiology at the University of Westminster in the United Kingdom, recommended.

Can I reuse a towel after one use?

It's OK to reuse a towel a few times before you wash and dry -- and it's better for the environment, too.

Adobe Stock

Reusing towels a few times is better for the environment and likely won&#;t be a cause for alarm. But as soon as you notice any funky smells, it&#;s definitely time for a wash, since this is an indication of fungal and bacterial growth, Mohammed said.

&#;Towels are not clean as you think and can transmit germs,&#; Mohammed said.

And during the pandemic, anyone infected by Covid-19 in your home should use separate towels.

&#;It is not known how long coronavirus can survive on towels, but it is very important not to share towels with infected people or self-isolating people at the household,&#; Mohammed said.

How do germs end up on towels?

Every time you use or touch a towel, you transfer any germs on your body to that towel. That&#;s why it&#;s recommended &#; even before the pandemic &#; to wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.

&#;If you do not wash your hands properly &#; for at least 20 seconds &#; especially after using the toilet, as it is full of germs, these can easily be transferred to your towel,&#; Mohammed said.

And our towels can even get dirtier in the wash if not done properly.

Washing towels with high-risk items such as underwear, which is more likely to hold traces of feces or bacteria from genital infections, can increase the chances that our towels aren&#;t as clean as we&#;d like them. For this same reason, towels should never be washed with items heavily soiled with bodily fluids such as vomit.

Just like proper washing is important for a clean towel, so is proper drying after use. Not allowing towels to fully dry can create an excellent environment for bacterial growth.

&#;Damp, used towels in moist bathrooms encourage microbial growth,&#; she said. &#;Although most of these germs are often harmless, some of them (including Staphylococcus bacteria) can cause infection and health problems, especially in people with skin wounds and immunocompromised people.&#;

How dirty do our towels really get?

Keep your towels hung and aired out -- they can spread all sorts of nasty things if they stay damp between uses.

Adobe Stock

Fungi, including the pathogen that causes tinea cruris (jock itch), can spread through shared towels, according to Mohammed. Dermatophytic fungi, such as those that cause athlete&#;s foot, can cause infections in cuts or sensitive skin.

&#;Do not get excited when athletes throw their towels at you!&#; said Mohammed.

If you want to learn more, please visit our website tear away cleaning towel.

Some infections can be even more serious, such as Staphylococcus bacteria. While it normally lives on our skin, if bacteria enters through a wound, the infection that results is resistant to antibiotics.

Towels can also spread bacteria that cause acne. Mohammed advises avoiding this by not sharing towels with others. Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, can also spread since the fabric comes into contact with the face and eyes.

Since towels are kept right next to one of the germiest places in your home, the toilet, it shouldn&#;t be the biggest surprise that sometimes what we flush ends up on our towels. Coliforms, such as E. coli, can transfer to towels because of this.

These bacteria normally live in our gastrointestinal tract and are associated with fecal matter and can cause food poisoning and urinary tract infections.

Washing kitchen towels separate from bathroom towels also reduces the risk of bacteria spreading.

A study of kitchen hand towels found that 89% were home to coliform bacteria and 25% had E. coli. The towels were collected from households in five major cities in the United States and Canada.

Keeping towels clean

To start, don&#;t share towels whenever possible. Those towels that are shared, such as hand towels, should be replaced with a clean towel daily.

Wash your towels without any other items if possible &#; or at least not with high-risk items such as underwear.

Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter

Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team.

Use hot water to wash towels to ensure removing germs.

Mohammed suggests washing them on the &#;hot&#; setting of your washing machine. Ideally, this is 140°F (60°C) but she says &#;the hotter the wash the better&#; &#; if they are particularly dirty, you can even wash them at 194°F (90°C.) If you use a bleach-based laundry product, you can wash them at 104°F (40°C.)

After your towels come out of the wash and between each use, ensure they are thoroughly dry.

You just received your new order of premium towels from Towel Supercenter. Now, you need to make a decision: Do you use them immediately or toss them into the washing machine?

Although many people pull their towels out of the package and pop them right into their linen closets, others prefer to launder them before the first use. In general, we encourage you to give them a quick wash and dry cycle. Below, we explain why you should wash new towels and how to do it the best way possible.

Why Launder Brand New Towels?

When you purchase towels, they have never been used before. However, they often have a bit of residual finish on the surface of the towels. The finish gives them a lovely sheen and softness, but it can impact absorbency. Therefore, popping them into the washing machine removes the finish and renders the cotton fibers thirstier.

What Are the Benefits of Washing New Towels?

After purchasing fingertip, hand, bath or body towels, you&#;ll definitely want to put them into your laundry cycle. But will you really see the difference out of them in terms of performance and aesthetics? Absolutely. In fact, you&#;re going to get many benefits from washing your new towels. Some of the advantages include:

• Freshness: Having an ultra-fresh towel makes you feel like you&#;re being pampered, even on a busy Monday morning when you&#;re scrambling to shower and get to work on time. New towels that have just been washed smell and look their best.
• Less shedding: Many people notice a few stray shreds or cotton fibers on their new bath towels. This shedding is completely normal, but the stray threads may come off on your body if you don&#;t wash your towels before initially using them. The first wash-dry cycle tends to remove all loose threads, leaving the towels primed and ready for use.
• Maximum absorbency: Cotton towels, as well as towels made from a combination of high levels of cotton mixed with other fibers, will be naturally absorbent. However, you can improve the absorbency right out of the gate by giving the towels an initial wash. The first wash helps the fibers take in and release liquid, getting them set to do the same thing over and over again.
• Thicker pile: What&#;s more indulgent than having a towel with a super-fluffy pile and feel? As you run your fingers across new towels right from the package, you might notice that they seem to be a little flatter than most towels. That&#;s because the fibers have been in a compact position. By laundering your towels, you&#;ll plump up the fibers and increase the plushness of the material.
• Locked-in colors: As you probably already know, you should always wash any new colorful garments or towels alone the first time. Even color-fast dyes can bleed a little into the wash on the first use. After the initial laundering is finished, you can feel safer washing your new towels with like colors without as much worry about overflow bleeding between the dyes.

Remember to use our special guide below to find out the best way to approach your first wash.

How to Wash New Towels

Approach washing your new towels the same way you would any new garments. First, be sure that you either launder them alone or with like-colored and similar weight fabrics. This takes away worries related to colors bleeding during the first wash cycle.

Next, choose your favorite detergent. Pick one that you trust and have used before. Do not add liquid fabric softener, though. Fabric softeners leave a layer of invisible residue on towels. The residue may make the towels seem fluffier. Unfortunately, it lessens the fabric&#;s ability to soak up moisture. This is why towels that seem very comfy sometimes perform poorly.

Finally, be sure to dry your new towels completely. Adding a dryer sheet is an acceptable practice if you want to lower static electricity. As soon as the dry cycle finishes, pull them out to fold. Remember to fold all your towels the same way. This allows you to stack them neatly in your linen closet or a bathroom display shelf. Of course, you could also use one right away to douse off after an invigorating shower or soothing soak!

Refresh your linen closet and buy new towels from Towel Supercenter today.

For more information, please visit cleaning cloth roll.