Expert reveals exactly how often you should wash your bathroom towels

Some Brits have admitted how little they wash their towels, after an expert shared their advice on the matter.

Around two million Brits have admitted to only washing their bathroom towels once a year, new research has revealed.

After a long day at work and the gym, or whatever you’ve been doing, nothing feels better than a hot shower and a fresh and fluffy towel to wrap around yourself – before sitting on the end of the bed and scrolling for half an hour.

That, and then getting into bed with clean bed sheets. Wrapping a damp, soggy, smelly towel around yourself after a good scrub just defeats the object.

But with rainy British weather and the rise in the cost of energy prices, just how often do you put your towels in the wash? And, when should you?

Bathroom experts at Showers to You have revealed the findings of their new research, and the results are shocking.

After just one week of use, towels contain up to around 94 counts of bacteria – wow. 

Despite this hygiene hazard, nearly two million Brits have admitted to only washing their bath towels once a year. The survey also revealed that men ‘were five times more likely to clean their towels just once a year, compared to one percent of women’.

And, further to your disgust – or maybe not – it also found a third of the UK admitted to washing their bathroom towels ‘once every three months’, which equates to around 17 million people.

According to research, people living in Leicester and Glasgow are ‘most likely to go the longest without washing their bathroom towels’.

And as if that’s not bad enough, ‘over four in 10 (41%) from both cities’ admitted to ‘only washing their towels every three months at the most’. It seems we are a filthy nation indeed!

Guidance suggests that your towels should be washed after three uses – that’s right!

The reason for such regular washing is that towels are the perfect breeding ground for bacteria and germs because of how damp they become from usage.

And, let’s be honest, all that washing and drying can actually make the fibres in the towel become less fluffy and more rough.

Experts at Only Radiators have told us what temperatures to use so we can help prevent this, which is between 30 to 40 degrees – so not a hot 60 degrees wash as many may think.

Speaking to the Daily Express, Tom Drake, a DIY expert at Only Radiators, said: “Towels can feel hard and stiff due to the build up of soap and detergent which causes a less absorbent layer on your towels.

“You may think that a lot of fabric softener and a hot wash will keep your towels fresh, but this can actually have the opposite effect.

“Warm water absorbs detergent better, in turn leaving less chemical child up on your towels, which makes them feel stiff.”

Radio DJ Roman Kemp also recently brought up the subject on his show, which struck a debate among listers. He admitted to only washing his towels once every two to three weeks. 

Still, it’s probably not that bad compared to most of the UK!