Healthy Living: Common Showering and Bathing Mistakes

Showering every day may be a habit, but unless you're grimy or sweaty, you may not need to bathe more than a few times a week. Washing removes healthy oil and bacteria from your skin, so bathing too often could cause dry, itchy skin and allow bad bacteria to enter through cracked skin. When you expose your body to normal dirt and bacteria, it actually helps strengthen your immune system. Plus, showering too often wastes water. Still, make sure you are washing your hands frequently.

Antibacterial soaps can kill too much bacteria, including the good kind. This can allow bad bacteria that's resistant to antibiotics to move in. Harsh soaps can dry out your skin, so stick with mild soaps with added oils, gentle cleansers, or shower gels with added moisturizers. If you have eczema or sensitive skin, scented soaps can irritate your skin. Use fragrance-free soaps instead.

Damp towels are a breeding ground for bacteria, yeasts, mold, and viruses. A dirty towel can cause toenail fungus, jock itch, athlete's foot, and warts. Yikes! To avoid this, change or launder your towel at least once a week and make sure it dries between uses. Hang it spread out on a towel bar rather than from a hook to help it dry quicker. Wash towels more often when you're sick and if your home is humid, like during the summer.

Loofahs are great for scrubbing, but their nooks are the perfect hiding place for germs. You should clean your loofah weekly by soaking it in diluted bleach for five minutes and rinsing well. Although it's convenient to store your loofah in the shower, it's safer to shake it out and hang it somewhere cool where it will dry faster. You should replace a natural loofah at least every 3 to 4 weeks and a plastic one every 2 months.

A long, hot shower feels so good, especially in winter, but hot water removes your skin's natural oils and can leave you dry and itchy. Protect your skin by sticking with warm water and keeping your shower to 5 to 10 minutes. This is especially important if you have a skin condition like eczema or psoriasis.

Unless you have an oily scalp, you probably don't need to wash your hair daily. If you have curly, coarse, or chemically treated hair, wash your hair less often to keep it from getting too dry. Try going longer between washes and see how it feels. Even if you exercise or sweat every day, it's best to keep a regular hair-washing schedule. As you get older, you don't need to shampoo as often because your scalp makes less oil.

Tens of thousands of people in the U.S. fall and get hurt each year while bathing or getting in or out of the tub or shower. A grab bar can help prevent falls. It's also a good idea to put nonslip mats inside bathtubs and showers.

Your showerhead is an ideal home for bacteria, which love to grow in its small, damp, dark holes. When the water runs, the bacteria can enter the air you breathe. This is hard to avoid, but you can remove and clean the showerhead in boiling water to help kill the bacteria. It also helps to run hot water for a minute before you get in the shower, and drain as much water as possible from the showerhead when you’re done bathing.

Lotion, cream, or any moisturizer works by trapping the moisture in your skin. The best time to put it on is right after you bathe. Apply moisturizer within a few minutes of drying off.

Not all areas of your body need soap in order to get clean. Limit soap to your armpits, groin, feet, hands, and face, and stick to warm water for the rest of your body. This will help keep your skin from getting too dry. Using soap in your vagina could irritate it and upset the balance of natural bacteria, which can lead to bacterial vaginosis.

There's no need to keep minor cuts dry or cover them for showering. If you have a minor wound, it's best to take the bandage off and clean it every day with soap and warm water, and the shower is a great place to do that. Put on a new bandage after you dry off. Your doctor will tell you how to care for more serious wounds.

The bathroom can get mighty humid during a bath or shower, and over time that moisture in the air can damage your woodwork and drywall. It also makes a welcome home for mold and bacteria to grow. Turn on the bathroom fan or vent every time you bathe to help control the humidity, and leave it on until the humidity goes down after you're done showering.

Shower curtains can be a sneaky place for bacteria to hide. For most people, the soap scum that builds up is just gross, but if your immune system is compromised it could be a problem. Clean or change your shower curtain regularly to stay safe.