by Arsham
Why Do We Wash Towels If We Are Clean From The Shower?
11:11 pm in Health and Body by Arsham
The idea is this: If we take a shower to get clean, and use a towel to dry ourselves off after the shower, then why do we need to wash the towel?
Somewhat weird isn’t it?
The towel shouldn’t get dirty because our body is not supposed to be dirty after the shower (clean behind your ears).
But Are We 100% “Clean” After A Shower?
Actually, I would argue not.
First off, there is no way you got between every nook and cranny.
Second – let’s talk about how body soap works…
The function of your average shower soap is to loosen the dead cells off of your skin (in case you didn’t know, there are several layers of dead skin cells on your arms, legs, stomach, neck, etc..).
So when you are showering, the soap knocks those layers loose and the water washes MOST of it away, but NOT all.
When you use your towel to dry off, you’re not only transferring water to the towel, but also some dead skin cells and other bacteria/germs that might be hanging out in the nooks and cracks that you missed (and behind your ears).
But Wait.. That’s Not All!
If you agree with me so far.. think about this…
Now your towel has skin cells and water on it, and it is hanging there bring a perfect breeding ground for bacteria.
Naturally, the bacteria/germs floating around in the air land on the towel and eat the dead skin cells and drink the water in order to multiply… next think you know, your towel is starting to smell like mildew!
Hence – this is the reason why we have to wash our towels, even if we are “clean” from the shower!
learned something new.
great info, well written.
Keep it up. thanks
I have a buddy who says the same thing and actually polled about 30 fellow co-workers with the same question.
Astoundlingly, 99% of those polled agreed that there was no need to wash the towel after each “dry-off”.
That’s like vacuuming the carpet every time you walk on it or buying a new toothbrush every time you brush your teeth.
I hear it’s best to sun dry if you can inbetween washing and sun dry after washing….strong UV light helps sterilise them.
My buddy is a bit of a whacko, and 99% of us agree that he is a bit excessive and he may be a bit of a germophobe. Needs to be committed for asking the question in the first place.
Hahaha Peter – your buddy sounds like a class A germ-a-phobe.. I do agree, there is no need to wash after EVERY “dry-off”.
Actually, a buddy of mine brought this topic up to me.. he said: “Hey man – why does my towel start to smell after a week.. I’m really clean when I get out of the shower!” – So this was the only theory we could come up with.. and it’s true based on everyone I’ve ever talked to and from what I’ve researched..
Anyway, all the best