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01
A dirty towel hangs on a hanger outside
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My boyfriends one towel system is actually making me lose my mind
I moved in with my boyfriend about six months ago and I thought we had the big stuff figured out. We agree on rent and chores and what to watch on Netflix but we have hit a wall over something I never expected. Towels. I have a normal system. I have a microfiber wrap for my hair so it doesnt frizz and a soft bamboo towel for my face to avoid breakouts and a big plush one for my body. I change them every couple of days because damp fabric is basically a petri dish for bacteria. I thought this was just basic adulting but apparently I am living with a caveman who thinks a single towel is a lifetime commitment.
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02
A woman dries her face with a white face towel in the bathroom
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There are certain things in life that you just have to know. You have to know that you must wash your towel. Maybe nobody expressly taught you how to do that, but you should be able to pick that up on your own. It shouldn't be that difficult to intuit that your towel starts to smell bad after a while. Unless you're nose blind, there is no excuse for not washing your towel. You're only putting yourself in harm's way, and there is no upside to it. The man in this story didn't quite get that, though, and was stuck in his ways.
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He uses one towel for everything. I mean everything. He uses it for his face and his feet and his gym sweat and then hangs it back up in a crumpled heap in a bathroom with zero ventilation. It stays damp for eighteen hours a day and has developed this specific sour smell that I can detect from the hallway. When I brought it up he looked at me like I was the crazy one. His logic is that since he only uses it when he is "clean" from the shower the towel stays clean forever. I tried to explain the concept of skin cells and fungal growth but he just shrugged it off. He thinks I am being "extra" because I have more than one piece of fabric in the bathroom.
It got worse last week when I realized he hasnt washed that specific grey towel in at least three weeks. I practicaly had to peel it off the hook. When I threw it in the laundry he actually got annoyed because he said I was ruining the "break in" period and now he had to use a fresh one that wasnt as absorbent. I am sitting here doing thirty step skincare routines to keep my skin clear and then I watch him wipe his face with a rag that has probably developed its own ecosystem and then he wonders why he gets occasional back acne. It is like trying to explain color to a blind person. He just does not see the grime.
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03
A dirty towel hangs on the back of a chair
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It's hard to call someone out for something that they don't understand. The woman in this story was doing her best to be subtle and to not make him feel bad about his gross habit, but he just wasn't getting the picture. When you're not on the same page as your significant other, then where do you go from there? Anything she was saying to him was just not getting through. Plus, the problem was affecting her. Scroll on to read the rest of the story and then let us know in the comments what you would have done in her shoes.
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04
A woman looks upset on the sofa with her boyfriend next to her
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I have tried to be subtle about it. I bought him a nice set of high quality towels and labeled them. I even tried the "health angle" about staph infections but he just laughs it off and says his immune system needs the workout. The argument always loops back to the same thing. He thinks I am a victim of marketing and I think he is a walking biohazard. I catch myself staring at his towel rack with actual disgust now. It has become this weird focal point of our relationship where I feel like his mother and his roommate at the same time.
The other night I saw him use his "everything towel" to wipe a spill off the floor and then he just hung it right back up next to my face towel. I almost packed my bags right then and there. I ended up just moving my stuff to the guest bathroom but he didn't even notice the hint. He just thinks he has more space for his damp rag now. I am starting to think that some men just lack the sensory input to realize they are living in a swamp. I am going to buy a UV light tomorrow just to show him the horror but I already know he will just say the glowing spots are "character." It is a lost cause.
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