We use bath towels every day and bacteria sticks to them and they can give off an unpleasant odour when dry. Washing towels correctly and on time will take care of our health.

Fabrics come in close contact with our bodies and can cause various diseases due to dirt on them. Everyday Health has compiled good reasons why you should keep your towels clean.

Elizabeth Scott, PhD and vice chair of the International Home Hygiene Forum, has listed the pathogens that can be on dirty material - skin, faecal pathogens, bacterial, viral and fungal bacteria. All of these can cause illnesses such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, conjunctivitis of the eye and shingles

To avoid this, it's best to wash your towels after two or three uses, and it's safest to get a new towel after every bath. You should dry it immediately after wiping and preferably not in the bathroom, because this is a humid environment that encourages the growth of bacteria.

"If you have open cuts or scratches on your body, have recently had surgery (including removal of a mole or skin cancer), have a lot of eczema or general skin rashes, you should never use the same towel again. Use a fresh towel after every shower until your skin has healed," stressed dermatologist Deirdre Hooper.

Towels should be washed in hot water with detergent added. You can also add liquid bleach or washing solutions with activated oxygen to effectively remove dirt.

According to Kayleigh Reynolds, PhD, if you wash an item infrequently, it can develop a mouldy smell which will be transferred to your skin.

To keep your towels fresher and cleaner for longer, you should dry them from top to bottom, dry them properly rather than piling them all up and bleach them if there's an unpleasant smell that's indicative of mildew.

Also wash the washing machine, dirt and germs accumulate there.

Kitchen towels can be used for a maximum of three days. That's because there's more dirt and bacteria building up. Researchers say it can lead to food poisoning, so they should be washed daily.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL told how to keep soft towels, even after a hundred times of washing.

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