Stop Washing Your Kitchen and Bathroom Towels Together—Why Cleaning Pros Never Do

Common sense would suggest it’s okay to wash your kitchen and bathroom towels together. However, experts say it’s a little more complicated.

Kitchen towels are often exposed to contaminants like raw meat and grease, while bathroom towels can come in contact with mold and other bacteria. Hot water can be used to disinfect towels, but too much heat can damage the fabric fibers, eventually leaving your towels rough and damaged.

We spoke with two laundry experts to determine whether or not you can wash your kitchen towels with your bathroom towels, as well as tips for maintaining hygiene when you need to them together.

Can You Wash Your Kitchen Towels With Bathroom Towels?

In general, yes, you can wash kitchen and bathroom towels together. This is especially true of lightly used kitchen towels such as those used for drying dishes.

But, Tom Ceconi, president of Heritage Park Laundry Essentials, says a better answer to the question of washing kitchen and bathroom towels together is “it depends.”

“First, let’s discuss care labels, which should always be your first source of guidance on washing anything,” Ceconi says.

Since the care labels on kitchen and bath towels indicate similar, if not identical, instructions for washing, it’s natural to assume you can toss them in the same load of laundry. However, this alone is not a sufficient reason for washing kitchen and bathroom towels together.

“Kitchen towels and bath towels almost always recommend laundering in warm water,” Ceconi says. “But that does not always mean you can or should wash them together.”

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Why You Should Wash Kitchen and Bathroom Towels Separately

The primary reason our experts recommend washing kitchen and bathroom towels in separate loads is simple: cross-contamination.

“Kitchen towels often come into contact with food residues and can harbor bacteria like E. coli from handling raw food,” says Alicia Sokolowski, a cleaning and laundry expert and the president and co-CEO of AspenClean. “Greasy kitchen towels may also transfer unpleasant odors to bathroom towels.”

Sokolowski and Ceconi say kitchen towels typically require a hotter wash than bath towels to disinfect them and remove contaminants like grease and bacteria.

However, exposing your towels to hot water can damage the fabric fibers over time. Since bathroom towels are meant for drying hair and skin, they will ideally receive a gentler wash to keep them soft and absorbent.

“You don’t want to expose bath towels to hot water any more often than necessary, so the kitchen towels should ideally be washed in a separate load,” Ceconi says.

That said, bathroom towels can also harbor their fair share of bacteria. Towels used to dry your hands after using the restroom, for example, can absorb a wide range of germs and mold, which you wouldn’t want exposed to the towels in your kitchen.

“It’s best to wash kitchen towels separately from bathroom towels to maintain hygiene and cleanliness,” says Sokolowski.

Tips for Washing Kitchen and Bathroom Towels Together

Although our experts say kitchen and bathroom towels are best washed separately, they also agree that this isn’t always practical. Splitting your laundry into multiple loads not only requires more work, but it can also result in water and energy waste.

If washing your kitchen and bathroom towels separately feels unrealistic for you and your household, here are several tips from Ceconi and Sokolowski on how to wash your towels together.

• If you need to wash kitchen and bathroom towels together, use the hottest water safe for both fabrics to kill germs and break down grease. Sokolowski recommends 140°F (60°C).
• Avoid leaving damp, dirty towels in a laundry hamper or in a pile, as this creates a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Instead, wash your towels immediately or hang them to dry.
• Choose a natural, powerful detergent without synthetic fragrances for a deeper clean.
• If you’re washing kitchen towels that have been exposed to grease, always pre-treat them with a stain remover before washing.
• Be sure to dry your towels completely and avoid leaving damp towels in the dryer to prevent mildew and lingering odors.