(My biweekly Cloth Diaper Care post is supposed to be up today. However, the pictures for the post involved my little one as the example. I forgot to take the pictures before I put her to bed. Oops! Have no fear – it will go up Thursday.)
I’m curious. How often do you wash towels?
I seem to wash 2 loads about every 10 days or so. I’d love to only wash one load a week. However, with our bath towels, kitchen towels and wash cloths it seems I’m washing more and more towels.
Maybe this is just the way it is with a family of six? Or maybe it is the nature of children getting older? Or maybe it is because I generate a lot of kitchen towels since I cook so often?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on towel washing. Feel free to leave a comment telling me all about how often you wash towels or what your best tips are.
And just for fun, here’s a little towel survey. I’ll post the results on Friday!
(If you are reading this post in a reader or in an email, you will probably have to click through to the actual site to take the survey.)
Mandy says
June 22, 2011 at 8:14 amSometimes I am washing towels even more than once a week, especially now that beach towels are in the mix.
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 1:42 pmOh yes – beach and pool towels! They definitely create more loads! ack!
Danielle B says
June 22, 2011 at 10:22 amI usually do about two loads per week. It just depends on how often I’m bathing the little ones. Our typical schedule is every other day, but if we’ve been outside and they’ve gotten especially dirty then I’ll bathe them every night.
I also do at least one smaller load of just kitchen towels during the middle of the week. But if we’ve had guests over or I’ve done a freezer cooking session then I might have to do two loads of kitchen towels.
I probably wash towels more often then most, but I’m a little weird about germs hiding out in them- especially the kitchen towels!
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 1:43 pmHa! I’m weird too, because I wash a LOT of kitchen towels. Actually I own a ridiculous amount of kitchen towels because I go through them so quickly.
I’m not about food-borne illness, so I change them out frequently. 😉
-Lauren
Laura says
June 22, 2011 at 11:29 amWe have 11 people in our family. 🙂
I generally wash towels of all types in with the jeans every day.
We cloth diaper, (I have gotten a lot of great info here, by the way) and most days we wash a load of diapers first, then on to a load of jeans and towels, then a load of either dark clothes or clothes to be bleached, depending on which there is more of. 🙂
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 1:45 pmI’m sure you’ve got your system down pat in your family of 11. 😉
Thanks for sharing your routine. I always love reading how other people do things in their own households!
Rachel E. says
June 22, 2011 at 12:31 pmI usually do about three loads per week. My dish towels are separate because I don’t like hair in my kitchen towels. I guess I am peculiar about that. Oh well.
Lisa S says
June 22, 2011 at 12:50 pmI mix them in with our loads of clothes rather than doing them separately…is that bad?? The kids don’t take a bath every day so their bath towels don’t need to be washed as often as ours and I throw kitchen towels in as soon as I’m done with them (our laundry area is off the kitchen)….BTW this is Lisa from the sov grace co-op 🙂
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 1:49 pmLisa! Hey Girlie! Thanks so much for stopping by. 🙂
It’s not bad as long as 1) you don’t wash the towels with any clothes that are polyester-ish. The towels will lint all over them if you do and it is a serious pain to de-lint something and 2) You don’t wash really soiled towels with just moderately dirty clothes. It’s best to wash heavily soiled items with heavily soiled items.
For example, I cleaned off our porch furniture with old rags and they got horribly dirty. Silly me, I just threw them in with the rest of the towel load. ALL of my towels came out with dirt stains on them and had to soak and soak to get them clean again. I will never do that again! Live and learn!
I say if it works for your routine, keep at it. 😉
-Lauren
Kendal says
June 22, 2011 at 1:37 pmIn our house we reuse our bath towels at least twice. We hang them up so they stay dry and clean. But I still do a load of towels (hand towels, wash cloths, dish towels) probably the same as you, 2 loads every 8-10 days.
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 2:12 pmThat’s exactly what we do too, not surprisingly! 🙂
Allison says
June 22, 2011 at 4:09 pmI am SO glad I stumbled across your blog! Looking forwarding to diggin in to your past posts and seeing what is to come as well 🙂
mamalaundry says
June 22, 2011 at 9:26 pmHey Allison! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
jimmie says
June 22, 2011 at 9:41 pmSome may think we are really gross, but I find that American in general are far too clean conscious. We use towels for probably four or five days before washing them. The stink test is the litmus. When they smell funny, they get washed. I figure that you’re using them to DRY off a clean body/hair, so they aren’t really “dirty.” We don’t use wash cloths or hand towels at all (except for guests).
I do use a lot of kitchen towels and aprons. (I don’t use many paper towels.) And because those deal with FOOD, I am very picky about their being clean.
Andrea says
July 30, 2011 at 5:12 pmOk, I am late to this party, but I just found your website, which I love by the way. This question is tricky for me. I would say if I did laundry when I was supposed to and didn’t let it pile up, I would be washing towels at least twice a week. Dish towels and rags maybe 3 times a week. The other question that goes along with this one is how many times do you use a towel before you count it dirty?
bath – 3 uses
hand – 1-2 days
dish – 1 day
rag – 1 day or until it gets grubby (whichever is first)
beach – 1 day if it goes to the Y, when it gets grubby if it is just at home
We have 5 people in our house so one trip to the Y or local swimming hole could produce an entire load. I also cook at home mainly so dish towels and rags get used heavily. I even had to make a bunch out of old hand towels. If I don’t plan to wash them I try to hang them up outside on the back porch to dry so they don’t stink or get moldy while they wait.
mamalaundry says
August 1, 2011 at 9:49 pmI wash two loads of towels each week too. And I consider them to be “dirty” in about the same amount of time as you also. There are the exceptions of course, but your list is pretty typical for me too.
I don’t like washing towels that often, but the ick factor motivates me to get them done! I hate using gross dish towels. 🙂
-Lauren
Aulbrey says
August 21, 2011 at 12:16 amHello ladies!! Just stumbled across this site looking for laundry tips and I love it!! It is so real and down to earth!! I had a few extra moments before bed and thought I would see if I could find some laundry tips for myself. I am 28 yrs old and we have a family of 4. I have been married for 8 years and from day 1 my laundry has been backed up:( I always blamed it on work and school, but now I have not worked since March and it all looks the same! LOL I guess i just hate to do it. I would rather scrub the floor on my hands and knees. Ill clean my whole house and then go for laundry if Im still up for anything. Any tips or encouraging words of wisdom for me? I need some routine or a system with these endless pile!!
mamalaundry says
September 10, 2011 at 9:22 amAulbrey, here is a good place to start:
How to Start a Laundry Routine
Deena R says
June 18, 2018 at 4:00 pmI can’t find where anyone asks exactly how to wash towels. Our towels are just not soft and fluffy. What’s the secret? I did some research and found that you should use vinegar and baking soda in addition to your detergent, but that really doesn’t seem to help. So what is your advice? I also stopped using drying sheets entirely, and now just have the wool dryer balls. Thanks in advance for your help.