Poll about towel usage.

[Touchdown]

I've been arguing with a friend of mine. He uses a bath towel only once, then throws it in the laundry. I use it for about 4-5 days then I throw mine in the laundry. I also change my shirts once a day, whether I wear an undershirt or not, he wears his shirts for 2 days (sometimes not in a row though) before it gets thrown into the wash.

Now, he says I'm strange because I need twice as many clothes as he does, and towels are cheaper and his way is cleaner. He says that towels take off the scalies from your body, and I say if that's the case, then he's not washing good enough. He also says that a dermatoligist told him 35 years ago that it's not healthy to use soap every day, because your pores have to keep producing oils to keep your skin soft and young:eyes:. Sounds like a load of crap to me.

So, I want to find out if he's the cultural abberation, or me. And, of course I'm being completely fair and balanced in this. All answers are for one person.

[blondeatlast]

1. Ahem, please do NOT introduce me to said friend!

I'm 100% on your side.

[xJlM]

2. If you're washing yourself well...

How does the towel get dirty? It should be doing nothing more than drying clean water off of your body and hair.

[Nikia]

8. You take off dead skin and hair

I suppose that it might be possible for that not to happen, but I think that it usually does. Warm water in soap loosens dead skin and oils that are rinsed off. More dead skin may come off though after showering especially if you use any kind of force when you dry off. You may lose hair as well to the towel. While the towel remains wet, these remanents may attract mold and bacteria. I regularly smell my towels and may take them down anyway if I am washing other clothes and it has been a view days.

[xJlM]

29. I don't know about you,...

But I use soap and a washcloth very liberally when I take a shower. Yeah, if you only rinse off in the shower, I suppose your towel might get pretty bad in one use. And I'm taking a kind of chemo, so I'm going to lose hair no matter what. I've found that taking a few minutes to allow myself to "drain" means I don't have to get too enthusiastic about drying my hair.

[Bake]

10. Makes sense to me!

And I HATE doing laundry!!

And as for the "dead skin argument," heck, just shake 'em out!

Bake

[nuxvomica]

3. You are normal

Men shouldn't wear shirts more than once between washings. Women can go longer. Towels should last a long time between washings. I used to think I needed a fresh towel after every shower till someone straightened me out on that.

[JitterbugPerfume]

4. I am a frugal person in A LOT OF WAYS

but I use a fresh towel every time

[Touchdown]

7. "Thank you!"

...he said with exasperation.

[1monster]

5. Uh... I have long hair ...

It reaches to the middle of my back and thus need a towel of its own. Ergo, I use two towels every time I shower and usually use the towels two days in a row, then get fresh.

[philosophie_en_rose]

9. Me too!

I have to use two towels - one for my body and the other to dry my hair. The hair towel is sopping wet, because my hair is so long. Thus, it's easier to throw towels into the laundry.

I wash my hair every other day, so I use about three towels every two days. If the towel is not very wet, I'll let it dry and use it again. If it's too wet, it's easier to stuff it in the wash with the rest of the laundry.

[opiate69]

22. Same here...

although, I usually use 2 towels, then next time I shower, I'll use one of the used ones on the floor, and get a new one for my hair...

[JVS]

6. Bathing, ugh. How hopelessly bourgeois.

[BlueJazz]

11. Tell your friend that people use towells...

...to absorb the water after a shower....not to get the scum and crap that they missed!

[Philosophy]

12. My towels last a month or two

Change them when they start to get crispy.

[trof]

13. I use a towel until

I can smell anything on it. Kind of a slight mildewy odor.
I figure you're clean when you come out of the shower, so you're not getting the towel "dirty". OK, you're exfoliating a bit, but as long as you and the towel smell OK, so what.

I do wear shirts more than once, until I can detect any kind of odor or if there are visible signs of dirt (neck band) or stains. I spend most of my days in shorts and T shirts. Only wear shirts when I'm going out and usually only for a few hours then. Did I mention I'm retired? ;-)

If I "sweat" a shirt it goes in the wash, odor or not.

[trof]

14. And now the REAL question:

Is every day "clean underwear day"?

[JVS]

15. Oh hell yeah.

I'd rather go commando than wear dirty undies.

[trof]

19. If you wear them once are they "dirty"?

First of all
<blush>
I don't wear underwear all the time.
Not just hanging around the house in shorts and Ts.
I use the same criteria as for shirts.
If it don't stink and there ain't no scorch marks, they'll do for another day.
However, if I'm your houseguest I promise I'll shower and change every single day.
Promise.
;-)

[JVS]

20. If I wear them for a day there will be some perspiration

so yes, I count that as dirty

[Wickster]

16. Sometimes even twice a day

Depending upon what I have been doing! :D

[grasswire]

18. maybe some people's....

....aversion to changing towels and clothes has to do with the proximity of the laundry. If you have to lug it to a laundry room and pay quarters and wait for it, you may be less likely to wash often.

I feel very fortunate to live in an apartment with my own WD. And I change towels about three days. But I remember a time when I had to wash everything by hand for several months, and washing/wringing a bath towel was quite a chore.

[PDittie]

17. I do what you do with the towels and what he does with the shirts

...does that make me a pig?

[Touchdown]

24. That depends...

Are you a ditch digger in Florida, or a lifeguard in Oregon?;-)

[catpower2000]

21. I have two possible poll answers...

I wash two towels a week, AND I change my towels once a week. You see, I use two towels every day, one for my body and one for my hair (I have long hair). I change them once a week, unless they get musty.

Cat

[MiltonLeBerle]

23. I use a FRESH towel every time I shower.

I wouldn't expect to get a used towel at the health club, and I refuse to use one at home. I use big fluffy towels, and most of the time, they don't totally dry out between showers anyway, and in that short time, mildew can start to form- why would I want to get out of a shower all clean, and then rub myself with a towel full of mildew?

Test it yourself- take a clean towel, and shove your nose in it, and take a big whiff-
then take yesterday's towel and do the same thing.

I can definitely tell the difference.

[Touchdown]

25. On your towels maybe.

But my towels only start to stink after a week or so. Using soap everyday and a hand nozzle, which get all the nooks and crannys, shouldn't funkify a towel after just one use.

[trof]

26. Hear, hear.

And I like "funkify".
I'm gonna use it.

[MiltonLeBerle]

30. If you can't tell the difference between a fresh towel and a used one

Then there's either something wrong with your sense of smell, or your washer/dryer- and/or the way you use them.

[Touchdown]

31. Oh' I can tell the difference...

I just know the difference between one that's been slightly used and one that stinks, and I think that's what I said, Uncle Milty.

I do remember your commercial in the 90s when you said that at your age, you'd done just about everything in your BVDs, so I can only imagine about your towels.;-)

[MiltonLeBerle]

33. 'slightly used' is still "Used"

at least in my book.
Would you stay a member at a health club that made you save your towel to use again tomorrow? (Well, actually- it sounds like you might, so it's probably not a good question to ask.)
I wouldn't.
And I'm not going to settle for less at home.

[patdem]

27. Unless it's really really really cold..I air dry...why use a towel when

nature will do the job for FREE? I only use a towel to towel dry my hair....and then let nature just dry it out...

I say if god wanted you to use a towel to dry off after a bath you would remain wet until a towel is used!

[Touchdown]

28. You know, they used to have heat lamps everywhere.

You know, those orange mezmo things in chrome, and they'd dry you off real good. They were installed in most houses in the 40s-50s. I wonder why they went out of favor.:shrug:

What I don't want to see is one of those public restroom hand blowers, put on steroids and made body size. :o

[Deja Q]

32. Towel does not get dirty for me!

I'm a clean guy. Besides, the only thing I'm mopping up is water dropplets. I'm not a lizard, I don't shed skin... :D

Kitchen towels are a different story. I let them go for a month...