Guest Towels....are they for guests?

[+ purplekow]

I recently had a long term friend (without benefits) stay over my house unexpectedly. We were out for dinner, he had a bit too much to drink and we decided that he should stay over. I do not have a guest bedroom per se, but there is a room in which my guests have been quite comfortable. By the time we returned to my home, we were both quite tired and we quickly retired. He awoke early in the morning to head to work. When I awoke, I found the guest towels scattered about the bathroom. I realized that I had not put out towels for his use, though there were many in the linen closet in the bathroom. I was fine with his using the guest towels (though he did not need to leave them on the floor but that is a separate issue).

I have been in a similar situation as a guest, but I have never used the guest towels.

So, in your mind, are guest towels for guests or are they for show.

These particular guest towels are quite nice. They were a gift and are monogramed and I do leave them out basically for decorative purposes.

[jimboivyo]

they're towels. if you leave them out, there gonna be used. just that simple

 

if you tell folks not to use the towels you've put out, it'll make you look insane

[cany10011]

I've had perfectly respectable friends who used guest towels and left them on the floor. Is this a western custom to indicate that the towels were used and not to be used again? Not sure but this is not the first time it has happened with different individuals. I just hang mine over a towel bar of fold it nicely and place it to the side of the shower.

[+ Travis69]

I've had perfectly respectable friends who used guest towels and left them on the floor. Is this a western custom to indicate that the towels were used and not to be used again? Not sure but this is not the first time it has happened with different individuals. I just hang mine over a towel bar of fold it nicely and place it to the side of the shower.

Leaving used wet towels on the floor at a person's home is TACKY!! This isn't a hotel!! I agree that you should always hang them on a towel bar to dry and then the host can put the dry towel in the laundry hamper. A damp towel in a laundry hamper will get all moldy. Tells me a lot about a person when they throw a towel on the floor!! As far as using the guest towels that is what they are there for. To be used unless told otherwise.

[bigvalboy]

Leaving used wet towels on the floor at a person's home is TACKY!! This isn't a hotel!! I agree that you should always hang them on a towel bar to dry and then the host can put the dry towel in the laundry hamper. A damp towel in a laundry hamper will get all moldy. Tells me a lot about a person when they throw a towel on the floor!! As far as using the guest towels that is what they are there for. To be used unless told otherwise.

 

+1

 

Leaving used towels, guest or otherwise, on the floor in a private home just means you are a slob and don't respect your host. AND guest towels, monogrammed or not, should be there for your guests.

[jjkrkwood]

+1

 

Leaving used towels, guest or otherwise, on the floor in a private home just means you are a slob and don't respect your host. AND guest towels, monogrammed or not, should be there for your guests.

 

I just leave em a "cum rag".......

[Whitman]

So, in your mind, are guest towels for guests or are they for show.

Guest towels are for guests; fancy guest towels are for show. Two separate categories--of the eleven categories of towels...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp-LcKd-NV4

[Becket]

Off with his head. Guest towels are for show.

[bigvalboy]

Ahhh...but what about guest soap? Is it really there for the guests? I say guest soap, unlike guest towels, is definitely for show. I have never ever used someones guest soap... I have sculpted decorated balls of guest soap layed out neatly on a silver platter. Some came from an antique store. If anyone used them, I'd throw them out by their heels.

[Rudynate]

I don't know why they started calling them guest towels. They used to be called "hand towels." I suppose they make sense either way. If all you need it for is to dry your hands, why would you need a big bath towel? Since short-term guests are only going to be washing their hands, they also don't need a big bath towel. But if your guest is an overnight guest and is going to shower in the morning, of course they're going to need a bath towel.

[+ Travis69]

Ahhh...but what about guest soap? Is it really there for the guests? I say guest soap, unlike guest towels, is definitely for show. I have never ever used someones guest soap...I have sculpted decorated balls of guest soap layed out neatly on a silver platter. Some came from an antique store. If anyone used them, I'd throw them out by their heels.

I agree. They are to be admired and never touched. Perhaps bend down and enjoy their fragrance but never touch!! Alarms will sound and attack dogs will come if hands come within 1 foot of them!! You should probably search your guests pockets before they leave your home to make sure your balls are still properly displayed on the silver platter!!

[Epigonos]

I have a pedestal sink in my guest bathroom. It has a very wide edge on which I place a folded hand towel for anyone needing to wash their hands. If someone is staying over I place a white bath sheet adjacent to the shower for their use. The towels on the two racks are purely decorative which must be obvious as they have seldom been used by guests. I have never had a guest leave either the hand towel or the bath sheet on the floor of the bathroom. I always fold towels and leave them on the floor of a hotel bathroom; doing so in a private home, I agree, is tacky.

 

P.S. During the holidays I entertain a great deal. On those evenings I set out a stack of high quality themed paper guest towels. Guests have no problem understanding that after using one it is to be discarded.

[+ bigjoey]

I did away with fancy "guest towels" in my guest "powder room" off my entry hall. In their place, in have a container filled with rolled-up wash cloths and a small basket next to that for the ones used. People use them and put the used ones in the basket. Where they use to feel uncomfortable using the "fancy" ones. Guests clearly feel comfortable using them.

 

For soap in the guest bath "powder room" I use the small bars of facial soap I have gathered from hotels during my many years of traveling. These are often very high quality products. After having people over, I just get rid of the used bar of soap and have a new one out for the next guest.

 

I have an extra bedroom with its own bath and I have out just regular towels of different sizes. I have never had a guest leave them on the floor. For soap, I have an assortment of larger soaps collected from hotels over the years along with shampoo, mouth wash, conditioner, etc. I have all of these amenities in a small wicker basket on the counter and they are appreciated and used.

 

For overnight guests, I got a terry robe from Bed, Bath and Beyond (I think they called it a "spa robe") and it is often used and appreciated. After a guest leaves, it is easy to launder.

 

All this costs little but makes guests feel welcome and comfortable.

[leeper]

No fancy decorative towels or soaps. Everything that is out can be used by guests. I have also trained overnight guests to take their sheets and used towels to the laundry room before they depart. With many visitors - mostly relatives, it makes it a lot easier.

[+ azdr0710]

liquid soap pump in the guest 1/2-bath downstairs.....cheap hand towels on the towel rack nearby.....small hotel bar of soap and one cheap set of towels in the main guest bath upstairs

[bigvalboy]

For special guests, I spring for the extra money and get the decorated ones.

[Despardo]

According to Judith Martin (Miss Manners,) guest towels arranged in a bathroom are NEVER to be touched by guests. As a guest, you must look all around to find a lightly used bath towel hidden behind the door. Your duty as a guest is, however, thoroughly to explore the contents of your host's medicine cabinet.

[gallahadesquire]

Given that I live in a small house, and I'm currently at capacity (two people, one cat ... I suppose we could get a second cat) the idea of extra towels is pretty silly.

 

As for the "Fancy guest towels" in the bathroom: I'll use them. that's what they are there for.

 

Were I to have a guest room, I think leaving two (2) towels, a hand towel, and a washcloth on the bed is a good idea, as it clarifies the issue.

I love that Leeper has trained his guests to strip the beds and take the linens to the laundry. Unless previously specified, I will ask. Usually, the answer is, "Oh, you're so kind! But please, I'll take care of it." There is no entry in the 1945 Emily Post Etiquette regarding used linens, bedding, or towels that would be germane to this conversation. One must assume that the upstairs maid will take care of all of this.

[RandyC]

Soap and towels in a bathroom are to be used. If one wishes to have his guests look at but not touch his guest bathroom furnishings, I suggest a visit to a local art gallery where decorative soaps and towels can be framed and then hung on the wall to be admired.

[Rudynate]

I like nice soaps. When I'm feeling cheap I buy Yardley Oatmeal Almond soap and when I feel like splurging I buy Aveda soap.

[Rapaz]

If you think what your friend did with the guest towels is bad, you'd be shocked at what a friend did to my guest dildo.

[kewtex]

…There is no entry in the 1945 Emily Post Etiquette regarding used linens, bedding, or towels that would be germane to this conversation. One must assume that the upstairs maid will take care of all of this.

 

The 1972 edition of Amy Vanderbilt's Etiquette (kept on the bedside stand for those occasions when I am feeling incorrect) does address a guest's handling of towels. "Not every household has a chambermaid lying in wait for you to emerge from the bathroom so she can tidy up after you." In such cases, guests should try to leave the bathroom as they found it, if not better. "Don't leave used towels and washcloths thrown around the bathroom or draped over the bathtub or basin. This makes the room unpleasant." (pp. 482-483)

 

Here are some links to Miss Manner's view on guest towels:

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2006/aug/21/guest-towel-rules-tossed-to-side/

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-08-09/entertainment/8901030264_1_towels-bathroom-house-guest

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-08-18/features/0408180234_1_towel-guest-dear-miss-manners

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/miss-manners-hand-towels-in-the-powder-room-are-to-be-used-not-admired/2013/01/22/c412be90-6199-11e2-a389-ee565c81c565_story.html

[Guest]

You're upset because a guest used the guest towels? I feel a song coming on....

 

If he wasn't coming back to reuse them, they shouldn't have been put back on the rack, lest someone might think they're clean. If you had other towels you'd rather he'd have used, you should have made that clear. But, yes, he should have put them in a neat pile, not scattered all over the floor.

[+ glutes]

Sounds like he may have had a bit of a hangover? I'd give him 2nd chance.

[+ purplekow]

You're upset because a guest used the guest towels? I feel a song coming on....

 

If he wasn't coming back to reuse them, they shouldn't have been put back on the rack, lest someone might think they're clean. If you had other towels you'd rather he'd have used, you should have made that clear. But, yes, he should have put them in a neat pile, not scattered all over the floor.

 

I will quote myself from the original post: ." I was fine with his using the guest towels (though he did not need to leave them on the floor but that is a separate issue).

I have been in a similar situation as a guest, but I have never used the guest towels.

So, in your mind, are guest towels for guests or are they for show. "

 

My question was really more the point that I do not use the "decorative" guest towels, do you?.

So I am not sure that the Loony Tunes theme applies as you it seems you misread the post.