Do you hang your towel on a rack in the bathroom all week, or you care to spread it out in the sun?
Do you ever think about what might be lurking in your dirty towels?
Do you share your towels with anyone? Come to think of it, when was the last time you changed your favorite towel—three months, six months, 12 months, or never?
There is no such thing as a harmless old towel. Even if you aired it, boiled it, and disinfected it, an over-used bath towel could still wreak havoc on you! Most towels on the market are made of 100 percent cotton. That makes them very absorbent.
After a shower, you would probably have eliminated most of the germs and dirt from your skin, but do you know that the process of rubbing your towel against your body rubs off dead skin that sticks to the moist towel? Believe it or not, your towel could be a magnet for some of the most deadly but contagious germs imaginable.
For the sake of your good health, beware of the contagious diseases one can get from bath towels. All of them are treatable with antibiotics, anti-fungal medications, and good hygiene. But most of all, avoidance of poor towel hygiene is the best prevention.
Assess your current inventory of bathroom towels, bath sheets or washcloths. Hang towels in layers. If you have basic towel bars, the first strategy involves stacking towels according to size. Begin with a bath sheet and fold a hand towel over it, ending with a washcloth. Instead of hooks, try modern towel clips for holding up towels in tight spaces.
There is no such thing as a harmless old towel. Even if you aired it, boiled it, and disinfected it, an over-used bath towel could still wreak havoc on you! Most towels on the market are made of 100 percent cotton. That makes them very absorbent.
After a shower, you would probably have eliminated most of the germs and dirt from your skin, but do you know that the process of rubbing your towel against your body rubs off dead skin that sticks to the moist towel? Believe it or not, your towel could be a magnet for some of the most deadly but contagious germs imaginable.
For the sake of your good health, beware of the contagious diseases one can get from bath towels. All of them are treatable with antibiotics, anti-fungal medications, and good hygiene. But most of all, avoidance of poor towel hygiene is the best prevention.