To kill bacteria on towels, wash them in hot water (around 60°C/140°F or higher if fabric allows) with detergent, adding laundry sanitizer, bleach, or vinegar/baking soda for extra power, then dry them completely, ideally in sunlight or a hot dryer to eliminate remaining microbes, emphasizing thorough drying to prevent regrowth.
Studies have shown that towels can quickly become contaminated with bacteria commonly found on human skin, but also with those found in our guts. Even after washing, our bodies are still covered in microbes and perhaps unsurprisingly when we dry ourselves off, some of these transfer onto our towel.
Washing in hot water, using a deeper cleaning laundry detergent, and adding a registered sanitizer or using the sanitizing cycle on the washing machine provides maximum protection against the hardest-to-kill germs.
coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus can survive and persist for up to 16 days on a kitchen sponge and up to 13 days on microfiber towels.
Baking soda and vinegar clean towels efficiently because of their bacteria-killing and deodorizing properties. Running this combo through the washing machine neutralizes the ingredients, so use this method by hand. Consider steam cleaning towels for efficient cleaning when a load is too much trouble.
Because vinegar is acidic, it can help kill mildew, mold, and other bacteria on your towels, keeping them smelling fresh, according to Eichholz.
While vinegar on its own is a miracle worker, it becomes a superstar when coupled with baking soda. To perform this deep clean, you'll need to run two towel-only loads. But, in this method, you load the towels with a quarter cup of baking soda first. Then run the washing machine on the hottest cycle possible.
Jennifer Maender, a dermatologist at Houston Methodist. "Respiratory viruses and fungi can survive for several days on fabric, while bacteria can survive two to three weeks." Some of these microbes are just stinky, contributing to that musty smell a towel collects the longer it goes unwashed. Bleh.
Bath towels are the workhorses of the towel family, used daily and exposed to frequent washing. As a general rule, it is recommended to replace your bath towels every two to three years, with five years the maximum.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities rely on their commercial laundry partners to properly disinfect linen laundry, to help reduce the risk of HAIs. AdvaCare laundry disinfectant for healthcare is EPA-registered* and has been proven to kill eleven microorganisms on healthcare linen, including C.
While baking soda works well on clothing stains and odors, you may want to avoid using vinegar in your washer as it can damage the rubber seals and hoses on some machines. Plus, if you use them together, it may cancel out the cleaning potency due to baking soda's high pH and vinegar's low pH.
Hot Vinegar Wash: Add 1-2 cups of plain white vinegar (no detergent!) to the washing machine and run a cycle on the hottest setting. 2. Hot Baking Soda Wash: After the vinegar cycle, run another wash with 1 cup of baking soda, also on a hot cycle. This freshens and deodorizes your towels.
The "bathroom towel trick" usually refers to a popular, space-saving, and decorative towel rolling method that makes towels look like spa rolls, creating tight cylinders that store neatly and look elegant in bathrooms, often by folding in triangles and tucking the end into a pocket. Another less common "trick" involves using a towel for jawline exercise, where you bite down on a folded towel to strengthen jaw muscles, or a cooling method with a wet towel near a fan.
For most people, reusing a towel two or three times is safe as long as it dries completely after each use. However, using the same towel for an entire week can increase bacterial buildup, especially in humid conditions.
“So what you want to do is change your towels at least three times each week because even on day three, your towel contains so much bacteria that you're better off washing or changing it.
Some bacteria and viruses are more resistant to heat than others, and low heat settings may not be effective at all. Additionally, some germs can survive if the drying time is too short or if the dryer doesn't reach a high enough temperature.
Mizu towels are made of self cleaning silver fibers that prevent 99.9% of bacteria from sticking. The color of the stripes even change when it's dirty so you know when it's time to wash it.
Sanitizing towels and bed sheets
To wash bleach-safe bed sheets and towels, machine wash in the hottest water recommended using a good detergent and ⅔ cup Clorox™ Disinfecting Bleach in a traditional deep-fill washer, or ⅓ cup Clorox™ Disinfecting Bleach in a high efficiency clothes washer.
However, vinegar is a safer, eco-friendly alternative that effectively whitens and freshens without the harsh effects of bleach. Adding half a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle can help remove detergent buildup and restore softness.
Once you have added your towels, add laundry detergent in its respective drawer, and add about 250ml distilled white vinegar into the fabric softener drawer. If your towels have already been washed in detergent, just mix some water into the vinegar to dilute before you add it to the detergent drawer.
You should not clean delicate surfaces like electronics, glass (mirrors, screens, cooktops), wood, aluminum, marble/natural stone, painted surfaces, or gold/silver-plated items with baking soda, as its mild abrasiveness can cause scratches, dullness, or damage finishes and patinas. It's best used for tougher grime where its abrasive quality helps, but avoided on anything requiring a delicate touch or specific sealant.