Do you wash your bath towel often? Experts in Singapore found germs ‘too numerous to count’
An unwashed towel could be one bad day away from causing an infection. The programme Talking Point finds out how to keep the germs in check and which fabrics hygiene-conscious users should avoid.
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SINGAPORE: As irony would have it, the towel used on seemingly clean skin after a shower could potentially be one of the filthiest things in your bathroom.
Justina Tan was appalled at what a lab test showed: Her bath towel, used once or twice daily, was teeming with bacteria “too numerous to count”.
She was one of eight participants whose towels were tested in a Republic Polytechnic lab, as part of a Talking Point experiment. Her towel, washed every three to four weeks, was ranked the second most bacteria-ridden towel in the group.
“I don’t think it’d be super clean, but I don’t expect it to be super dirty,” she said before the test results were announced.
Muhammad Sherefudin fared worst. He uses his towel twice a day but throws it in the wash only when it starts to smell. His sample turned out to be rife with bacteria, mould and yeast.
Like Tan, he never thought it would be “this bad”, and they are probably not alone in that.
A Talking Point poll of over 1,200 viewers found 11 per cent of them changed their towels once a month or longer, 14 per cent did so every two weeks, while half of them said they wash theirs weekly.
How often one’s towel is washed, however, is only part of the story. Some 43 per cent of respondents also said they leave their towels inside the bathroom, where there is high humidity and poor ventilation.
Elizabeth Purwadinata, for example, washes her towel weekly but leaves it to dry on a bathroom rack, which yielded the group’s third-highest bacterial count. Kai Leow, another weekly washer, was similarly dismayed that his towel was riddled with yeast microbes.
But why do towels harbour so many microbes in the first place, when you have already scrubbed and rinsed yourself?
“We’re covered (with) bacteria naturally, and the typical shampoos or soap don’t remove all the bacteria,” says James Ho from the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University.
“(Then) the bacteria stick to the towel, and they grow.”
What exactly could be festering in your bath linen, and how hazardous can a germ-laden towel be? Here is the experts’ advice on how to keep your towels clean for a clean bill of health.
WATCH: How often should you wash your bath towels? More often than you think! (22:36)
Young children with sensitive skin, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems, including those with diabetes, may also face higher risks.
Poor towel hygiene may contribute to the spread of bacteria and infection. For example, using the same towel for one’s body and face can result in the transfer of Escherichia coli bacteria to the facial region, Yong says.
Damp towels left unwashed for too long may also develop mould, which can trigger allergic reactions when inhaled. Skin contact with mould may lead to irritation too.
Yeast, another potential concern, can cause infections such as candidiasis, commonly observed in infants with diaper rash and adults who are incontinent and wear adult diapers. In immunocompromised individuals, yeast can also affect the oral cavity, resulting in oral candidiasis.
