Lets talk about towels

[Radbot42]

How often do you switch out or wash your towels? Should I have a lot of them or a few that I wash often. I find that I can use a towel once a day for two days before I notice that gross stink from water. I feel silly buying a lot of towels but I can't do my laundry that often.

[LONDONER]

Towels are just for drying yourself off after bathing, in other words, you should just be drying off clean water. If the towels stink after two days then either your water is badly contaminated or your personal hygiene leaves something to be desired.

[Darius]

I only use a towel once and then it gets laundered. That was how I was raised. I don't think it is wrong if you use a towel multiple times, however, before washing.
Radbot, is it possible your towels smell after two days because they are not drying well between uses?

I have a lot of towels because, for one thing, you might have company.

[MHJG]

I wash my towels every day. I do that when I take shower.
I switch the towels for drying hair and do laundry every day.

[LJay]

Be certain that towels and washcloths dry thoroughly after use. Plenty of towel bar space in the bathroom is a necessity. Good ventilation in the bathroom is also important, Radbot. If you clean the room carefully and keep it dry, you will not be having odor problems.

[Matt608]

I only use a towel once and then it gets laundered. That was how I was raised. I don't think it is wrong if you use a towel multiple times, however, before washing.
Radbot, is it possible your towels smell after two days because they are not drying well between uses?

I have a lot of towels because, for one thing, you might have company.

Same for me, I was also raised that way. And he's right, I had a roommate who used to leave towels sort of bunched up so that they didn't dry well, and they always smelled musty the next day.

[cormeum]

Once a week. Don't see the need of doing it more often.

[InbetweenDreams]

Varies... I used to use one towel per day but realizing how many towels you end up having in the laundry and the costs associated, I started reusing them. Might be weird but I smell them if needed I change them out. The key is that they get dried out, the better they can get dried out the long they can go. We're on well water too so who knows what's really in the water...I haven't died yet so must not be anything too bad.

[Cuddly]

I switch when I feel like it or if they start to smell musty. I believe this happens if the water remains in the fabric for long enough to support significant microbial growth, which causes the odour.

I think switching every day or even multiple times per week is wasteful. Both for soap and water, but also for rapid degradation of the towels.

[TwisttheLeaf]

Once a week. I use them as "filler" in my white load. (Why waste the energy to wash a handful of socks and a couple t-shirts by themselves when I can make it a full load?)

If you're noticing a "dirty feet" stink on your towels, you need to take care to spread them out more evenly (over the towel rod, over the top of the shower, etc) so that the towel fully dries between uses.