# Speaking of showers - wash cloth or no?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 10, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222 "2015-11-10T20:35:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222/61 "2015-11-13T14:50:53Z")

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> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> As others have noted above, a wet used washcloth, hung up to dry, will be hard and stiff. Good for the old foliage removal, I suppose.

But, IME, once wet it returns to it’s normal flexibility (do you realize how difficult it was to formulate that response without opening up easy cheap shots - “Heh heh, mine usually gets hard and stiff when wet and limp when dry”)

> [@Senegoid](#):
>
> …they have a tendency to go “sour”, in which they smell bad as soon as they get damp again.

And this is when I throw it in the laundry and grab a new one. I can usually get a week or so out of a washcloth between ‘formal’ washes. Maybe it is, at least partially, a function of where one lives and the humidity/temp in the bathroom.

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**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222/62 "2015-11-13T19:29:03Z")

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A nice thick washcloth leaves me feeling a lot cleaner. I just hang it on a plastic hook and let it dry that way. After laundering they always smell fresh. I only use a washcloth for one shower, then it goes into the laundry.

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**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222/63 "2015-11-13T21:29:47Z")

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No washcloth, but I use a brush (the plastic handle kind) in its place. I never could get my elbows clean enough with just the soap.

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**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222/64 "2015-11-13T23:27:01Z")

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In E.B. Sledge’s “With The Old Breed,” he describes a Marine Sergeant scrubbing his [own] penis with a bristle brush.

Now _that’s_ exfoliation.

No mention whether he cleaned or replaced the brush every day.

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**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\
**Post date:** [November 14, 2015, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/speaking-of-showers-wash-cloth-or-no/737222/65 "2015-11-14T02:35:13Z")

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I use a sea sponge and body wash. Soap dries out my skin.

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