Wash a bath towel after about three uses, as long as it dries fully between showers and only one person uses it. That's roughly twice a week if you shower daily. Wash it sooner if it smells musty, stays damp, or has been used by someone who's sick. Hand towels and washcloths need changing more often than bath towels.
The three-use guideline comes from appliance maker Whirlpool, which says to wash towels after no more than three uses. Rietie Venter, an associate professor in health sciences at the University of South Australia, gives similar advice in an article for The Conversation: towels are best washed every few days, because they soak up moisture, take a long time to dry, and wet towels are a breeding ground for bacteria and mold.
How often to wash each kind of towel#
| Towel |
Wash after |
| Bath towel, one user, dries well |
About 3 uses |
| Bath towel in a humid bathroom with no window |
2 uses, or whenever it's still damp the next day |
| Hand towel in a shared bathroom |
Every 1 to 2 days |
| Hand towel in a one-person bathroom |
Every 2 to 3 days |
| Washcloth or face cloth |
Every use |
| Gym or sports towel |
Every use |
| Beach or pool towel |
Every use |
| Any towel used by someone with a stomach bug or skin infection |
Every use, washed on its own |
| Guest towels |
After each guest, even if they look unused |
Counting uses works better than counting days. A towel used once in a dry bedroom en suite is in better shape after three days than one used twice a day in a steamy family bathroom.
Signs your towels need washing sooner#
- It smells sour or musty, even slightly, when you bring it to your face.
- It still feels damp when you go to use it again.
- It's been on the floor, in a gym bag, or wrapped around a wet swimsuit.
- Someone else used it.
- It feels stiff or less absorbent than usual. That's usually body oil and soap residue building up.
Why drying between uses matters most#
A towel that dries in a couple of hours between showers stays fresh far longer than one that stays damp all day. How you hang it makes most of the difference.
Spread it flat on a towel bar instead of bunching it on a hook. Folded or hooked towels stay wet in the middle. Give each person their own spot so towels aren't layered on top of each other. And run the exhaust fan, or open the window, after showering. If the room never really dries out, wash towels after two uses, not three.
Don't leave a damp towel in a pile or in the laundry basket, and get towels out of the washer as soon as the cycle ends. Venter warns against both. If a towel is wet when it's due a wash, hang it to dry before it goes in the hamper.
How to wash towels so they stay soft and absorbent#
- Wash towels separately from clothes when you can. They shed lint, and zips and hooks on clothes snag the loops.
- Separate whites and darks, especially for the first few washes of new colored towels.
- Use hot water if the care label allows. Whirlpool recommends hot water and high heat in the dryer for towels to help kill bacteria, and Venter suggests a high temperature such as 65°C (about 150°F). If the label says warm, use warm.
- Use the normal amount of detergent. Extra detergent doesn't rinse out of thick cotton, and the residue makes towels stiff and less absorbent.
- Skip fabric softener and dryer sheets. They coat the fibers so towels stop soaking up water.
- Don't overload the drum. Towels need room to move to get clean and rinse properly.
- Dry them completely, on medium to high heat in a dryer or outside on a line. Feel the thick hems before folding. If they're cool or damp, they're not done.
Why do my towels smell even after washing?#
A towel that smells fine out of the dryer but turns sour the moment it gets wet still has bacteria and residue in it. Usually one of these is the cause:
- they sat wet in the washer or hamper before drying
- too much detergent or softener is building up
- the wash is too cool
- the washing machine itself smells
Rewash them hot with a normal dose of detergent and no softener, then dry them straight away. If the washer has a musty smell or black gunk in the door seal, clean the washing machine before you rewash, or the towels will pick the smell straight back up.
When someone in the house is sick#
Give everyone their own towel, and switch to paper towels for hand drying in the bathroom if you can. For laundry soiled by vomit or diarrhea, the CDC's norovirus guidance is to handle it with gloves and without shaking it, then wash it with detergent and hot water on the longest available cycle, then machine dry on the highest heat setting.
When to replace bath towels#
Replace towels when they're thin, fraying at the hems, have holes, or stay rough and musty after a hot wash. There's no fixed lifespan; well-cared-for towels last years. Old towels make good cleaning rags and pet towels, so they don't need to go in the bin.
Your bath mat needs washing on roughly the same weekly cycle, and the bed sheets on the same laundry day. If you want a reminder, ChoreLists.com can prompt a towel change twice a week and a wash on your laundry day.