Read This Before You Even Think About Using The Towels In Your Home Again

Proper hygiene is extremely important in keeping proper health, but, by using unclean towels you could be doing more harm to yourself and your family then you think. Luckily, this article will be focusing on how to properly clean your towels to make sure your healthy, holistic lifestyle is not jeopardized.

1. Dish towels

Doing the dishes might be one of the more simple (and tedious) chores around. Although, by using unclean dish towels you might be rendering your hard work pointless.

Assuming that you are a clean and health conscious individual, you would probably not wash your dishes in toilet water, right? Well then, why would you dry your dishes with smelly towels covered in germs and bacteria?

A study conducted by the University of Arizona in 2014 found that 89 percent of kitchen towels carried coliform bacteria, amongst other various types of germs and bacteria. If this figure is not shocking enough, the research also found that 25 percent of the dish towels examined tested positive for E.coli bacterial contamination. (This could mean that about one in every four dishtowels used could contain trace amount of the E.coli bacteria.)

To avoid winding up in the emergency room the next time you wash your dishes, Kelly Reynolds, an expert from the University of Arizona’s Zuckerman College of Public Health, recommend soaking your dish towels in a diluted white vinegar solution.

To make the solution: fill your sink with water, add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar for every gallon of water in your sink, then dip your used dish towels into the solution and let them dry. This method will prolong the use of your dish towels for up to three days. Roland also recommends laundering your towels weekly to keep them as clean as possible.

2. Bath towels

There is nothing more relaxing (and hygienic) than a nice hot bath, but, if you’re using towels that have not been cleaned properly, you could be unknowingly covering yourself in filth. Because bath towels are super absorbent they usually lock in moisture and bad odors, this leads to that musty smell you hate so much.

To get rid of that musty smell and have your towels dead skin cell free laundry expert, Mary Marlowe Leverette, recommends washing your towels with vinegar instead of fabric softener. Leverette explains that vinegar strips away odor while Fabric softener residue traps odors.

3. Face towels and washcloths

Due to the absorbent quality of face towels and washcloths (and pretty much any other fabric to be honest) dirt, germs and bacteria have an easy time clinging to the fabric making them smelly. This means that if you are using the same washcloths or face towel more than once, you are potentially re-packing your pores with the dirt and grim you worked so hard to clear out.

To avoid self-induced acne and breakouts experts in dermatology recommend washing smelly face towels and washcloths after every use. That being said, it really is all about how frequently you use these towels. If you are only using your face towel to pat your face dry its ok to use it a few times before wash. However, if you are using your towels to remove make up you must wash them right after use to keep them clean. Experts recommend regular, hot-water wash cycle, using fragrance-free detergent to keep skin from irritating.

Know with this information you are better prepared to live a cleaner and healthier life style.