If you have a pool...

[HeatherB]

How do you handle washing towels and suits? Do you have enough that you don't have to launder them daily? Or do you just rinse/hang them out? We don't have a clothes line so I don't have a good place to hang up 5 wet suits and 5 wet towels... But I'm trying to figure out how to best handle it all on a daily basis.

FWIW, we just had our pool converted to saltwater, and finally got in two days ago. I envision this being a daily routine for us now! But keeping up with laundry - and towels that take a LONG time to dry - may make me crazy!

Thanks for any tips.

[nd_deadhead]

Hmm, I don't know about saltwater - I would think you'd want to wash that off, but I've never been in a saltwater pool.

Our neighbors have a pool, and they use far less chlorine than a commercial pool. We hang suits and towels over the shower curtain rods in the bathrooms if we plan to swim again soon, otherwise we wash everything.

I assume you have a fence around the pool - you can hang the towels out on the fence to dry if the saltwater isn't an issue. I would hand suits up inside.

[RiverSky]

We hang them on the backs of patio chairs and on shower curtain rods or hooks in the bathroom, and I wash them after one use. (not a popular thing on MDC, I'm guessing, but we're in Florida, super humid and can't abide by the idea of mold growing...) We each have numerous swimsuits, especially the children. I figure since we have a pool and are near the beach, we certainly can use multiple suits, and the children tend to wear out some of theirs before they grow out of them, too.

I have TONS of white towels which I buy at Costco (6 for $19.99). I buy a package once or twice a year and they have just added up. It's great having them be white, because our colored towels were just getting bleached from the chlorine.

A salt water pool still has chlorine in it (the salt is turned into chlorine) so I imagine light towels will work best anyway.

[HeatherB]

Thanks! I'm thinking buying more towels (and finding those ones that somehow wander away!) is a good idea. And, if we're swimming daily, having multiple suits per person makes lots of sense, too. I think I can cut down on the daily washings that way, for sure.

There is a fence around the yard, but I hate the idea of *bugs*!! We did just get new lawn furniture, so if swimming during the day, I think we can hang towels out on the chairs. We're in a very, very dry spell here so I think towels would dry quickly these days, though when the humidity goes up, it'll be a different story altogether.

At the least, having extras will allow us to swim when we want to, rather than waiting for the silly towels to dry!

As for saltwater, it's actually much nicer than regular chlorine pools, as far as being gentler on skin/eyes/hair, etc. It does create chlorine but you don't get the effect of a regular pool. So, I think it's probably *less* concern on our towels and suits than otherwise, but since we just got it I have no experience yet.

[jocelyndale]

I have a drying rack from Ikea which lives on our deck during the summer. I hang suits and towels out there. Wash 'em when they need it. I rinse suits out with fresh water. Swim diapers get washed a bit more often than swimsuits.

I do have multiple suits for DS. I only have one for myself, but I don't wear it every day. We have a kiddy pool and go to spraygrounds/splashparks.

Our towels get washed fairly often because we also sit on them on the grass/dirt. If yours aren't going there, you could probably get away with washing a towel once or twice a week.

Definitely rinse those suits out. When our gym switched to saltwater systems, I found that my lycra swimsuits were eaten up twice as fast. I now buy poly fitness suits, which last longer.

[vm9799]

we hang towels on the patio chairs and the kids hang their swimsuits up on the shower curtain rod. i tend to let the kids wear their suits a few times before washing (and do an evening load so that they are fresh and ready for the next day), but we have tons of beach towels so those don't need to be washed right away.

we are actually looking into converting to the saltwater system too....i've heard great things about it!

[newbymom05]

We also have a saltwater pool and use it every night. There is NO WAY I would wash towels for all of us every day! I slowly weaned DH and DS to sharing one beach towel between them. Our routine is pool/bathe/snack/bed, so no one needs to be bone-dry from the pool Everyone goes from the pool to the b'room, removes suits in the shower to rinse, hangs them up to dry and then finishes showering. The beach towels stay in the kitchen on a chair or outside on a chair. I'm forced to wash towels every other day or so b/c someone eventually wipes their feet on the towel or wipes the dog off or something.

I wish i had multiple suits but that's my least favorite kind of shopping! We all have a couple but DH tends to wear his over and over and 1/2 the time my oldest is in underpants and the baby in nothing.

Oh, and re: space, we bought double-bar towel racks for our b'room just for the towel/bathing suit issue. They're great!

[NiteNicole]

I rinse and hang suits every day - those over the door hangers are good. You can put them on a shower rod or door with the suits dripping in the bath. We each have a few suits so we rotate (mostly whichever suit is closest is the one that gets worn) fairly often and wash them about once a week, hang to dry.

Stock up when you find beach towels on sale! I do a load every night with our bath towels. I'm trying to figure out where I can best put a clothes line near my backdoor so I can at least stop using the drier.