Why is it gross to wash towels with clothes?

Zenya

I learn something new every day on the nest.

J&A2008

I don't know that it's gross, but I know I sometimes don't want the pills from the towels on my clothes.  I had a roommate in college who washed them separately because she believed the roughness of the towels would wear out your clothes faster, too.

Mominator

What? Why? I'm curious too. I use to my towels to dry myself after showering, so in essence, my towels don't really get "dirty". I'd venture to say that my clothes that I've worn outside the house that have particles of dirt, dust, pollen, etc are a heck of a lot dirtier than my towels.

superslug

I think it's gross to throw wet towels in with clothes in the hamper because of mildew but I don't see why it would be gross to wash them together. Things that make you hmmm...

buffalo_buckeye

I only separate them to put towels on a higher heat wash. I was a lot of our clothes on cold.

JenniC1135

Around here, towels don't just dry off our bodies, but also the boys' bad aim in the bathroom, food from the table after meals (washcloths,) and more.  I wash them in hot water, and our clothes in warm or cold, so they don't generally get done in the same load.  Also, I throw in a cup of baking soda to get out any funky smells from the wet towels.

AngelaSue

I wash mine towels on my sanitize cycle on my washer. I could wash them with our clothes, but we always have way too many clothes to wash and enough towels for their own load. I like to wash them on the sanitize cycle because of the washcloths that we use during our showers/kids bath.

peekaboo716

I don't find it gross either. I just wash them separate since I wash them at a higher temp. Also, I find that when I dry a random towel in a load of clothes, the towel doesn't dry as fast as the clothes do.

veloelle

Same reason why using a towel one time is gross, I guess? I wouldn't know, we don't practice towelism in my house. ; )   We actually have a heated towel rack in the bathroom so it gets dry after every use, thus cutting down our towel washings AND I get a heated towel after my shower. That's how I roll.

brightning

I just make sure not to wash towels with DH's uniforms because the fuzzies cling to the poly-whatever fabric and are impossible to get off.

jessicaclare

I won't wash our bath towels and cleaning/kitchen towels together because for some reason that grosses me out (I have no idea why, though), but I don't see why you wouldn't wash bath towels and clothes together. I don't because I wash towels on hot and clothes on cold, but its not gross to me.

emiliemadison

Dont tell anyone, but I wash our UNDERWEAR with other clothes. They co-mingle in the soapy water, contaminating everything! But we definitely dont wash towels with clothes. That's nasty and unsanitary...somehow. 

Mrs Manners

J&A2008:

I don't know that it's gross, but I know I sometimes don't want the pills from the towels on my clothes.  I had a roommate in college who washed them separately because she believed the roughness of the towels would wear out your clothes faster, too.

 

This is my reasoning too. I don't like the fuzz/pills and I swear it makes the clothes look older and more worn faster. I also don't put fabric softener on my towels (blocks their moisture absorbing properties) and I do on my clothes. I don't think it's gross, just not good laundry procedure.  

Zenya

I just read back and GHM - your'e the one who said it was gross!  You must explain!     

ghm

Sorry! I saw this from my phone last night but I didn't feel like fooling with a longish response from my phone.

I said in the other laundry post that I don't use paper towels, so we have tons of rags from cleaning. They have cleaners on them and have wiped up pee accidents or milk, along with cleaning windows and toilets. Like Jenni, sometimes I'll grab a dirty bath towel to do this, too. They have to be washed on extra-hot, and I like my clothes washed on cold or warm. And then there's washing my clothes with pee and windex...

I'm not opposed to throwing a regular bath towel in with my clothes when it's just a towel that's been used to dry off after a shower, but I still prefer them washed separately--different temps, etc.

I do wash our bath towels separately from the kids bath towels. Ours are white and I don't like them mixed with everything else. I'll throw them in with the white clothes if both loads are small enough, but I prefer to still wash separately.  

tanzer13

I don't think it is gross, but I do wash my towels on hot and clothing on cold, so I do them separate for that reason.

NativeNyer

I wash the towels, sheets,  separately because I use hot water.  Cold water for all other clothes.

shouldbworkin

I separate them b/c you're not supposed to use fabric softener on absorbent materials like towels and dry fit clothes.  I wash my towels separately with vinegar (in the rinse cycle) and then don't use fabric softener in the dryer like I would with my clothes.  But, I guess it is kind of gross to wash hand and dish towels with underwear when you think about it. 

joseysbride

I don't think it's gross.  I will occasionally throw a bath towel or hand towel in with the whites if I only have one or two.  But I would never wash my kitchen towels with other stuff.  I wash them on hot water in an attempt to kill any bacteria that may be in them.  I do all the towels together, so they all get washed on hot, which I prefer.  I don't wash any of my other clothes on hot.

CleoKitty

I typically wash towels alone simply because we have enough for a full load plus my crappy washer gets thrown out of balance easily. However, I will occasionally throw a bath towel in with clothes if there's room. Not a big deal either way to me.

However, I will NOT wash bath towels or underwear with kitchen rags, dish towels, cloth napkins, etc. Gross. The thought of something I'm using to clean dishes mingling with dirty underwear makes me cringe. 

FWIW, I'm kind of anal about kitchen towels. I probably go through at least 5-6 dish rags and 3-4 dish towels everyday, often more. 

ridesbuttons

emiliemadison:

Dont tell anyone, but I wash our UNDERWEAR with other clothes. They co-mingle in the soapy water, contaminating everything! But we definitely dont wash towels with clothes. That's nasty and unsanitary...somehow. 

jlw2505

I have no clue - I wash mine with clothes from time to time.  I tend to do sheets and towels together or just my towels alone but that is only due to color.  I totally do not think it is gross - everything going into the washing machine is getting washed!!!

eclaires

I don't wash towels with clothes b/c I wash them differently - higher heat setting, hot water, no type of fabric softener.

I mean... there are settings on your washer and dryer for a reason.  

I find it bizarre that people actually don't separate and wash things differently based on what they are.

DandRAgain

eclaires:

I find it bizarre that people actually don't separate and wash things differently based on what they are.

This was my DH until I took over.....EVERYTHING would get tossed into the wash machine until it was probably OVER full and washed on cold so it wouldn't bleed/shrink/whatever.

sometimes I wonder if I'm making more work by mixing ALL of our clothes together THEN sorting by color..like maybe if I just did a dark and light load for each family member it would be easier to put away...but so far its working and I like having FULL loads of whites and darks and whatever.

jen5-03

It does seem ew to me, but I don't have a logical reason for it. But I know it's bad for the towels to be in a mixed load because zippers and buttons cause pulls in the terry.

luckyluvr

With 3 kids and teaching full time, I've gone back to college habits...I don't sort and everything gets washed on warm. I don't clean up pee or gross things with anything but paper towels, though. I don't have time or patience for doing laundry like so many of you have described.

Zenya

luckyluvr:

With 3 kids and teaching full time, I've gone back to college habits...I don't sort and everything gets washed on warm. I don't clean up pee or gross things with anything but paper towels, though. I don't have time or patience for doing laundry like so many of you have described.

That's me.  Minus the FT job

I just don't care that much.  I find kind of fascinating .

Of course I also throw away stained clothes and holey socks.  I am no Martha!!