How to prevent acne medicine from ruining towels?

[liz]

DS ruined a bunch of towels with his acne medicine :mad:. There are bleach spots all over our light green colored towels. How can we prevent this from happening again? Would light beige towels work? I really don't want white towels. We have hard well water that leaves mineral deposits (even with a water softener). Also, if anyone sees a sale on towels it would be appreciated!

[jgenie]

I would buy a huge stack of the cheap washcloths from Target or Walmart. He can stain those and neither of you have to worry.

[JBaxter]

Get white until he goes to college Costco towels.

[liz]

I would buy a huge stack of the cheap washcloths from Target or Walmart. He can stain those and neither of you have to worry.

Well, he was supposed to use certain towels because of the staining factor. I know for a fact now he didn't, so I can't trust him with that. It's on colored bath and hand towels. So, I just googled hydrogen peroxide friendly towels and lo and behold there are some that are rated well on CR. Huh, I never knew this was a thing until today.

eta, oops meant to say benzoyl peroxide friendly towels, not hydrogen peroxide

[PZMommy]

I buy the cheap washcloths from Target (like 3.99 for 10). I use them only for washing off my makeup so I don't stain any of my good linens. I would get him some and leave them in a basket by whichever sink he uses to wash his face.

[calebsmama03]

Beige towels turn pink from benzoyl peroxide. :( Also know that, IME, HP has less of a bleaching factor the BP so if the towels say they are colorfast for *HP* they may still stain from BP.

[bisous]

I’m presuming this is a teenager? And you say he’s been given washcloths or towels to use and he isn’t using them? My mean mom suggestion would be to have him continue to replace the towels at his expense until he stops. I feel like some kids don’t understand the consequences of their actions until they are held accountable. If he already knows this and continues to damage the towels this will help motivate him to be more careful.

I know this from experience. :)

[Green_Tea]

BP stains easily. I would simply be glad he’s using his acne meds and buy him some white towels to use.

[essnce629]

BP stains easily. I would simply be glad he’s using his acne meds and buy him some white towels to use.

Yes, even with careful use I still managed to stain all my towels, hand towels, AND sheets when using BP. I'd get him all white towels, including hand towels, and white sheets! I even bleached the edges of my blankets and some of the necklines of my shirts when using BP. If possible, you'd need to find towels that are BP friendly, not hydrogen peroxide.

[liz]

Thanks all for the advice. So yes, DS and I had a lengthy discussion about using his acne medicine and how to mindful of clothing and towels in relation to staining when he first started treatment. (I didn't think about bedding though!) Part of the frustration is that I had just replaced all the towels within the last year. They were really good quality and I spent some $$. DS was well aware of this. I bought the towels before he started using meds. I can see how his bath towels could get messed up....but it's on 4 bath towels and 8 hand towels. My boys are responsible for their laundry so I didn't notice until last night how bad things were. And yes, DS was supposed to use face cloths and specific towels, but he clearly did not.

So last night DH and I went out and bought brand new white face cloths for DS. DS is buying new towels that are benzoyl peroxide friendly (I misspoke and wrote hydrogen peroxide up thread). I very rarely make my kids pay for things like this, but lately DS has been giving me the impression that spending (my) money is no big deal.

And lastly, I just wanted to add that this is the main bathroom which guests use and I just could not look at having stained bleached towels in there.

[liz]

Just wanted to add these are the towels we bought in case anyone is interested: https://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1613100/SONOMA-Goods-for-Life--Quick-Dry-Textured-Bath-Towel.jsp?pfm=bdrecs-WebStore-PDP-Horizontal1-b563-231&bdrecsId=ab38374b-e161-4da4-9669-7594fbb3f3c6 With coupons and Kohls cash, the total for 4 bath towels and 8 hand towels came out to about $54. A lot less than I paid previously for towels earlier this year. I really hope these work.

We bought them in ivory. If these don't work out, then it's on me and those kids are getting the cheapo The Big One towels from Kohls!

[pakin]

I saw Joy Mangano selling these towels on Home Shopping Network yesterday. They're supposed to be beach/cosmetic resistant. I don't know if they really work.

"Resistant to discoloration or fading from cosmetic ingredients including salicylic acid, retinol, hydrogen peroxide, whitening toothpaste and benzoyl peroxide acne products"