How regularly you should wash your bath towel according to a microbiologist
Moist towels are an ideal breeding ground for germs because they contain the requirements for microbial life which are water, warm temperatures and oxygen.
If a towel has moisture then there are microbes growing. Microbiologist Philip Tierno sees a moist towel as practically a living organism.
“A damp towel is growing,” Tierno, a microbiologist at the New York University School of Medicine, told Business Insider.
Tierno recommends only using your towel three times before throwing it in the wash and that is assuming it gets completely dry after each use.
An easy indication that a towel has remained damp for too long is the smell.
“If there is odour coming from the towel, wherever there is odour, there are microbes growing, so it should be washed,” Tierno said.
If you are drying yourself with a towel coated in bacteria then you are potentially transferring that bacteria onto your skin and undoing the purpose of your shower.
If you share a towel with others, you could come into contact with organisms that your body isn’t used to dealing with, “which may give rise to a boil, or a pimple, or an infection,” Tierno explained.
However, not all microbes are bad for us and some can even be beneficial. The hygiene hypothesis believes exposure to germs and certain infections can help the immune system to defeat foreign microbes easier in the future.
When your towel has a bad smell, and is fostering microbial life, it is best to put it in the wash instead of extending its use.
“The idea is to be prudent and to be aware,” Tierno said.
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