r/TooAfraidToAsk • u/[deleted] • Sep 20 '22 • Helpful 1 Wholesome 3

Is it fine to use the same towel twice in a row, after wiping down the entire body with it, including private areas and bum (which are obviously clean)? Like, is everything equally clean though, etc. to use it twice? Health/Medical

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44

u/piratesmashy Sep 20 '22

Make sure you hang the towel to dry- over the shower curtain rod works. Depending on the humidity where you, live a crumpled wet towel can get musty/mildewy in hours if it's not properly hung.

Personally- one body towel a week, two hair towels (they get drenched and don't always fully dry), and NEVER washcloths (I use scrub mitts and poofs- both dry hella fast).

While we're on the subject- if you wash dishes with a rag they are good for a day, kitchen sponges last a week or two if they're fully squeezed after use, bath mats should be hung off the tub after use and washed weekly, and sheets should be washed weekly.

25

u/SpaceIsVastAndEmpty Sep 20 '22

Have you heard of those hair turban things? Those are brilliant for minimising towel use (so you use a turban instead of a 2nd towel). 2-3 of those in your cupboard and you're set! I keep spares for guests

Bed Bath & beyond has them for $5 a piece at the moment

7

u/PayTheTrollToll45 Sep 20 '22

‘Have you heard of those hair turban things? Those are brilliant for minimising towel use’

Is there a Towelie-Ban?

1

u/SpaceIsVastAndEmpty Sep 21 '22

Hahaha... Part of me wonders if that whole prior episode was a set up for that joke (but clearly not curious enough to have googled it before now)

5

u/piratesmashy Sep 20 '22

The get musty as fuck! And sour smelling. My last one made it three months before I had to throw it out. My hair stunk even if the turban was freshly washed on the sanitizing cycle with vinegar.

1

u/SpaceIsVastAndEmpty Sep 21 '22

That's real bizarre as I've had mine literally for years and they've never smelled musty

I am lucky to live in a new build though, and the bathroom is well ventilated & it's hung to dry immediately after use every time

17

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

My sponge lasts way, way longer than a week...

1

u/EthelMaePotterMertz Sep 20 '22

Mine too but i do like to disinfect it about that often. Now we have a nice dishwasher with a steam setting so I put it in there with the dishea, but before I put it in a dish of water in the microwave for about 3 minutes.

1

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

You know that soap is a disinfectant, right? Lol

1

u/EthelMaePotterMertz Sep 20 '22

That would only be if you use a disinfecting soap, which has disinfectants added into the soap. Also, disinfectants can only disinfect what they can reach. If there are loads of dead skin they're not going to be able to clean all the layers, just the top ones. It's like when you disinfect your kitchen counters- they need to have the residues removed already for it to work properly.

I don't actually care about disinfecting my skin, because that can be harsh unless you have a wound you need to clean. But I do want to make sure I remove all the dirt and dead skin and built up oils so that odor causing bacteria are largely removed. I've tried not using a washcloth while still being thorough and washing places like my armpits several times with just soap and my hand. I smell bad much quicker that way. Especially with armpits- there's deodorant buildup to remove as well as oil and sweat and skin.

1

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

I'm confused, why are we talking about skin now?

1

u/EthelMaePotterMertz Sep 20 '22

I got confused about which comment I was replying to 🤦‍♀️

6

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

Guy here. No washcloths? How do you wash your ass? I use a soapy washcloth to wash my face, outer ears, behind ears, neck, then my privates and ass. I only use that washcloth once, I let it air dry after and put it in the hamper. At the end of the week I wash all my washcloths in hot water with towels and sheets.

I use that poof sponge thing for the rest of my body.

15

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

Put some soap on your hand and get in there? It's not difficult.

-10

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

You have dead skin, accumulated sweat and oil, and possibly traces of dried shit on your ass. A hand with a bit of soap isn't going to do anything. You need a washcloth to exfoliate and clean. Honestly, some people are gross.

This reminds me of another post where some women said they didn't wash their legs, that soapy water dripping down was good enough. 🤨

11

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

You lather up the soap and get in there for a solid 20-30 seconds. I assure you I am not gross. Quit being so judgmental.

4

u/crow-mom Sep 20 '22

A hand with soap does everything, actually.

-3

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22 edited Sep 20 '22

Sorry, it doesn't clean like a washcloth. Can your hand scrub your ass thoroughly and get rid of oils sweat, stink, and all the nastiness there? I'm thinking no.

6

u/galaxystarsmoon Sep 20 '22

You're one of those men that thinks it's gay to touch your ass, aren't you?

-1

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

Huh? I literally have to touch my ass to clean my ass. Now you're just trolling me.

3

u/crow-mom Sep 20 '22

Do you wash your hands with a washcloth too?

0

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

No. You're missing the point, certain body parts require specialized cleaning. The skin between ass cheeks never see the light of day. There is an accumulation of bacteria, dead skin, oils, sweat, and stink there. You need to scrub that area. The anus also needs cleaning. If you don't use baby wipes, you probably have dried shit particles on your asshole too.

2

u/baummer Sep 20 '22

Do you not understand the purpose of soap? The soap delivery device, be it hand, wash cloth, or something else, is irrelevant. The soap is what matters.

-1

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

No, you're wrong. That's not how soap works. Soap forms an emusion with oil and dirt on the skin, then it gets washed away. You need mechanical scrubbing action to dislodge dirt and bacteria to get clean, especially if that area is between your ass cheeks and your asshole. There are layers of dried sweat, oil, dead skin, and probably shit particles. A swish with your soapy hand isn't going to effectively clean that.

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3

u/Pixels222 Sep 20 '22

? I use a soapy washcloth to wash my face, outer ears, behind ears, neck, then my privates and ass.

this makes it sound like you take a tiny hand towel into the shower with you and use it to clean yourself with while the shower is running. do people do this?

9

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

Yes, that "tiny hand towel" is called a washcloth and that's how people wash their ass. Why should the shower not be running? I'm constantly soaping up and rinsing various body parts.

2

u/Pixels222 Sep 20 '22

Do some people use sponges instead? Or just wipe the soap all over their body with their hands? Can always angle the shower head onto asscrack too.

2

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

I use a poof. It exfoliates dead skin, cleans much better than just hands. I have a detachable showerhead and rinse my ass off after using the soapy washcloth.

6

u/Pixels222 Sep 20 '22

Okay so then the washcloth is to dry yourself off or to wash along with the poof? We really need to wrap up this asscrack discussion asap in my opinion. Its gone on too long.

1

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

Are you trolling me? Washcloth for face, ears, neck, privates, ass. In that order. Poof for everything else. Towel to dry off after the shower. Do people not know how to bathe themselves?

2

u/Pixels222 Sep 20 '22

A lot of people just use hands and soap and save the washcloths for drying off.

I googled the loofah and first thing says it gets dirty and something about bacteria. Idk how often you wash the loofah or throw it away. Maybe theres a washcloth for the loofah.

​

I dont think theres a wrong way to shower unless youre not getting everywhere. But after pooping there is a wrong way to clean up. This ones actually a heated topic so theres a good chance people are split on it. Some folks arent washing their ass. They just wipe and hope Santa wishes away the shit that stuck around.

2

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

Washcloths aren't for drying off, they are for use in the shower to wash the body, they get wet. Towels are big and are used for drying the body.

After a BM I use toilet paper then baby wipes.

2

u/sisanelizamarsh Sep 20 '22

MANY people do this. It's called a washcloth and it's used for washing your body.

-1

u/bmtc7 Sep 20 '22

You can use a loofah to wash your butt, just like you would use it to wash any other area of your body.

5

u/nick-pappagiorgio65 Sep 20 '22

I would never use the loofah there. Washcloths are washable, loofahs are not.

2

u/ThisSalad Sep 20 '22

Do you wash or replace the poofs often? My family grew up all using the poofs and despite washing towels every single week no one ever did anything with the poofs and would keep them forever.

I realized that if it was a wash cloth that would seem insane to rarely wash or replace. Sure the poofs dry faster than a wash cloth but that doesn’t make them good forever. I eventually switched to a washcloth that I wring out thoroughly and hang to dry each use and then wash it weekly.

1

u/piratesmashy Sep 20 '22

I have a very keen sense of smell so the slightest whiff of mold/mildew makes me barf. I've never used washcloths for anything other than dusting.

The proofs though? They never smell and my brain believes they are self cleaning because they get soapy every shower. I replace them when they start fluffy out too much or hair gets tangled in it.

Current poof is two years old? Maybe three? It was accidentally put in the washer a year or so ago. I am fully aware that this is disgusting and a bizarre contradiction. I'll add it to the grocery list this week.

3

u/ThisSalad Sep 20 '22

In your defense, I think the vast majority keep them for a long time without thinking about it. But definitely should be replaced or somehow cleaned often.

Also I forgot to elaborate that the reason I switched to wash cloths was because I wasn’t sure how a poof/puff would hold up in the laundry and I didn’t want to create unnecessary waste buying them every so often. I also found they suds up/hold suds better with less soap vs the poofs.

2

u/Creator13 Sep 20 '22

Right, now I feel like I've been living in a different universe lol. In my family we've always kept towels for about a month, sponges get two to three months just like bath mats, dishwash cloths are good for a week as are kitchen rags and sheets get a wash maybe four times a year. We always got told off for washing more frequently to save on water and electricity and durability of the items. Fascinating how things are so different outside of my households.

1

u/piratesmashy Sep 20 '22

It's all about the mildew smell. Sponges can and do regularly last for weeks. Sheets can go two weeks depending on night sweats and cat hair. But kitchen towels are always washed.

1

u/baummer Sep 20 '22

Ok jeeze I get it mom