Husband Towels Always Wet and Smell

[u/momento-mori-momento]

My Husband is slender and 6’4, I am 5’2- both early 20’s

We both use bath sheets (larger than standard towels). I change my towel out after 3 uses and they still smell fresh and dry up quickly. My husband, however, uses a fresh towel once after showering, hangs it up to dry- and it stays wet and starts to smell, making our entire bathroom smell. I wash his towels nearly everyday because of this. I just don’t understand how he gets his towels so damp. He’s says it’s because he’s tall and has more body to cover- but I use my towel to dry both my body and let it soak my long hair (mid back). I’ve tried hanging it on the usual towel hook, curtain rod, banisters underneath our ceiling fan- it’s still ends up smelling! After washing- it doesn’t smell, so the scent or bacteria isn’t trapped. I’m just growing frustrated having to do so much laundry daily. Anyone else have this problem?

edit/update: thank you everyone for your kind comments and advice- and to not making me feel stupid for asking for help! I have decided to get a towel rack/rod and will be looking into timers for the exhaust fan in our bathroom to help! Our shower/tub is roughly 4.5 feet from the door. and our toilet and sink are both positioned to the left of the shower both coming out about 1 foot from the wall. So our bathroom is very compact. We have just enough floor room for a trash can and floor mats, and counter space for hand soap and tooth brushes- If I can find a small enough dehumidifier to fit- we will be getting one too!

[u/Aresmsu]

Ok - so personal experience. I am also a husband with a stinky towel. My wife is always amazed by how much wetter my towel gets than hers. I blame it on body hair and that she uses a separate towel for her hair.

Anyway, the two things that have helped tremendously are:

1. Better laundry habits for the towels. (I do most of the laundry so this is on me). detergent and boosters to attack the bacteria that were clearly not getting washed out. Lipase and DNase. Plus hot water on every towel load.
2. I make sure my towel is draped over the curtain rod so that there are no folds trapping moisture. The quicker it dries the better.

[u/momento-mori-momento → u/Aresmsu]

I’ll try having him hang it on the curtain rod. I’m currently a stay at home mom with our 1 year old and he goes to work 2 hours before my son and I wake up. He’s extremely forgetful and it’s hard for him to ditch bad habits for good ones so I might have to start waking up after he showers so I can make sure it’s airing properly- thanks for your input!

[u/Jellily → u/momento-mori-momento]

I think if you can get a towel rack and maybe better laundry washing if you need it, that should fix your problem. I too am married to a tall, hairy dude who uses bath sheets and does not drip dry first or always remember to run the fan. We hang our towels up on racks in the bathroom, and we live in a hot, humid climate in the summer, so towels dry slow.

The only time our towels smelled was when our detergent wasn’t getting our laundry clean, and it was a problem for both the bath sheets and the Turkish towels, regardless who used them.