Grim reality of what lurks on your towels as scabies surges across UK

10 January 2024 , 14:48

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There could be grim things lurking in your towels (Stock Image) (Image: Getty Images)

Towels are something that are used every day, but be honest, how often do you wash them?

With scabies, a skin condition, which is passed through intimate skin-on-skin contact, increasing rapidly throughout the UK, many people will have personal hygiene front and centre of their minds.

Sharing bedding, towels, and clothing are risk factors for the parasitic mite called sarcoptes, which lay their eggs once they have burrowed beneath the skin causing an irritable rash, which usually becomes worse at night time.

So, with this in mind, you'd hope that towels were being washed frequently - especially hand towels in a bathroom being used by guests. But alarming data from Showers to You has shown that not everybody is as on the ball as you may like.

Dr. Hamdan Abdullah Hamed MBChB, a board-certified Dermatologist and Co-founder of PowerYourCurls.com, explained why it's so important to wash towels regularly. He said: "It is crucial to maintain proper hygiene in our everyday routines, including the use and care of bathroom towels. Regular washing of bathroom towels is important to maintain cleanliness and reduce the risk of infections.

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"Towels tend to accumulate moisture, creating an environment conducive to bacterial and fungal growth. Bacteria like staphylococcus aureus can lead to skin infections, while fungi like Candida yeast can cause issues like athlete's foot or yeast infections. Additionally, dirty towels may contain allergens that can trigger allergic reactions or skin irritations in sensitive individuals."

But how often should we be washing our towels? Dr Hamed said it should be "after every three to four uses to eliminate bacteria, dirt, dead skin cells, and allergens, ensuring optimal hygiene and minimising health risks."

But shockingly, in a survey of 2,200 UK residents, the research found that 3% of respondents washed their bathroom towels just once a year, which is equal to 1,595,646 people in the adult population across the UK.

Men were five times more likely to clean bathroom towels just once a year, with 5% of male respondents admitting to only whacking them in the wash annually, compared to 1% of women.

Almost one in 10 respondents (8%) stated they will only wash their bathroom towels twice a year, indicating over 1.5 million people across the country give their towels a clean every six months, while a third of respondents (33%) will only wash their bathroom towels once every three months at the most.

However, it's not all bad, as 5% of people wash their towels daily, 24% once a week, and 38% wash them once a month.

Danielle Kate Wroe