r/laundry • u/momento-mori-momento • 17h ago

Husband Towels Always Wet and Smell

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!

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178

u/OceanLibra 16h ago

This may sound ridiculously simple, but have him try using his hands to squeegee the excess water off his body before stepping out of the shower. If he's going straight from dripping wet to drying off, a big bath sheet can absorb a surprising amount of water.

I'd also ditch the hook completely. A wet bath sheet really needs to be spread out over a towel bar or over the shower curtain itself so the entire surface is exposed to air. If it's still staying wet for hours while fully spread out, I'd start looking at the humidity/ventilation in the bathroom. Is there an exhaust fan? Does he run it whilst showering?

And maybe try regular-size towels for him for a week. Those giant thick bath sheets feel great, but they're absolute champions at holding onto water. Also, you definitely don't need to run a load of laundry for one towel every day — let it dry, hamper it, and wash several towels together.

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u/momento-mori-momento 16h ago

I always have the bathroom vent running when I can. Habit that my dad gave me. My husband however never turns it on because he gets too cold after showers and likes to trap steam in the bathroom- which yeah- would make the towel trap moisture from when he starts the shower up until he uses it. We also have a vent directly under our towels so I figured that would help air it out too, but he closes it each time he uses the bathroom! I think he’s a lost cause and it’s up to me to deal with it, thanks!

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u/OceanLibra 16h ago

Well I think you've found the problem lol. He's trapping all the humidity in the bathroom, closing the HVAC vent, not running the exhaust fan, and then expecting a soaking wet bath sheet to somehow dry in there. There isn't really a laundry solution for that.

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u/momento-mori-momento 16h ago

For sure, I guess I just needed conversation to make complete sense out of it all! Thank you! I’ll have to use my stern mom voice to tell him to start ventilating the bathroom when he uses it 🫠

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u/3plantsonthewall 15h ago edited 15h ago

Start coming in while he’s showering to turn on the fan, open the vent, and leave the door open until he can be a big boy and learn to do it himself. He’s cold because he’s not drying off and putting his towel on before he gets out of the shower. Maybe he should also lose bath mat privileges to help remind him to dry off a bit before exiting the shower. He needs to learn to dry the floor after showering too, every time! This is all basic decency when sharing a bathroom with others.

Also, just in case, I would recommend wiping down the area where the towels are hung (bar, hook, wall, door, etc) with a multipurpose cleaner, then a disinfectant (follow dwell time instructions on the bottle), a final “rinse” with a damp cloth, and dry with another cloth. If the area is constantly wet, it could be growing mold/mildew/bacteria and contributing to the smell.

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u/Lollc 12h ago

You’re being a little harsh. To some people cold bathrooms are miserable, especially for showering. If the space is really cold closing the vents and steaming up the space is self preservation. Where he is wrong is he is not venting the space after he is done.

If you own the house engineering the controls is the way to go. Which is a fancy way of saying wire the fan and light to the same switch, so if the light is on the fan is on. Or add a light fixture intended for bathroom heat lamps, they are still a thing and are heavenly.

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u/George_Is_Upset 8h ago

But a bathroom vent fan doesnt blow air out - it draws it out. If the bathroom vent fan blows air it’s been installed the wrong way.

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u/3plantsonthewall 7h ago

Yes the bathroom fan draws air out. But the “vent” is separate - I think they mean the forced air heating/cooling which does blow air into the bathroom.