Bath towels
First of all, bath towels should never be shared with another person. To be more specific, if you share your towel with your partner or co-workers you are at high risk of developing different diseases and infections with various viruses. And yes, coronavirus can be one of them! Instead, you can opt for a paper towel, if you want to be safe and to minimize the risk of virus transmission.
In addition, if you use the same bath towel over and over again and you do not have another one for hands, body and face you are exposed to the same danger of disease and infection with microbes. It is very important to have a different towel for every part of the body because otherwise, it is like you did not take a shower at all.
Bacteria love to live in humid environments, especially in the bathroom and our towels are their favorite place because of the moisture that tends to remain on them. You have to keep in mind the fact that bacteria can’t grow and multiply without moisture. Some studies have shown that approximately 25% of bathroom towels were infected with E. coli. Moreover, if you choose to share your bath towel with another individual, whether we talk about your partner, kids or parents, you will be more likely to develop some skin irritation because your body has to deal with other unknown organisms.
Of course, you should not wash your towel after every use, but you can do this often. “Bath towels can typically be used up to three or four times before they need to be washed,” says Dena Nader, M.D., a physician at MedExpress Urgent Care in Washington, PA.
According to Cynthia Bailey, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist in California, you can wash your towel weekly, but only “if the towel is not allowed to dry between each use.” In other words, if you go to the gym often or shower for at least twice a day you should wash your towel every two or three days.
