Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 16 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 3 months ago by
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I’ve traveled extensively throughout Europe and North America and am wondering why even the best European hotels do not provide washcloths for their guests. Do the guests bring their own washcloth with their personal items, or do they ‘scrub down’ in a different way that we Americans are used to?
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Name : Marie-K, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 49, City : Manassas, State : VA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I have traveled in Europe fairly extensively and have noticed this too. Generally speaking, European bathrooms have showerheads attached to hoses, and the heads hang on the wall more or less where we would have a showerhead. This way you can either wash under the shower or run the showerhead over your body. The latter wouldn’t require using a washcloth. I always carry a few American-style washcloths in my luggage, but if all else fails, take a small hand towel and fold it double.
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Name : Augustine23659, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 43, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I assume you’ve often heard as I have that Europeans are not as fond of bathing as we are in America. I don’t know if it’s true now or if it ever was. It’d be nice of some Europeans out there could respond to both these questions.
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Name : Vail24472, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : mutt, Religion : Atheist, Age : 40, City : Philly, State : PA, Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,I’m from Brazil and am living in the United States. You’re supposed the use a loofa or some other kind of scrub brush for the body! A washcloth is simply a tiny towel that is left soaked inside the shower, and it’s disgusting for the hotel maid to have to pick up that dripping wet cloth that has been rubbed who-knows-where.
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Name : Patricia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Baptist, Age : 40, City : sacramento, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : office assistant, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,When I went to Paris we stayed in a 3-star hotel and we had 3 wash cloths and three towels.
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Name : Scotty J., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/Puerto Rican/White, Religion : Catholic, Age : 16, City : Detroit, State : MI, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Upper class,I guess that me not knowing what a washcloth is says it all! I am French and live in Denmark, so I will try an explanation at ‘European bathing practices.’ I suppose a washcloth would be some towel-like piece of fabric that you would use to soap your body with? There is no such device in European hotels. I guess that ‘soaping practices’ differ greatly from one person to another: some wash themselves with nothing else than their bare hands, some use sort of ‘towel gloves’ (maybe that’s a washcloth?), some use natural sponges, loofahs or any other device, depending on the ‘scrubability’ strength. So, that said, it would be difficult to cover all options in a hotel. But secondly, I would say that all these ‘devices’ are considered very personal, and yes, people do carry them when travelling. I personally wouldn’t use anything like that if it was offered in a hotel, as I would feel like using someone else’s toothbrush.
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Name : Sofia, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 28, City : Odense, State : NA, Country : Denmark, Occupation : Graduate student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,A washcloth is rarely used in Germany. Most people only use it when washing in front of the sink, and this is only done in some youth hostels. Most people in Germany shower and use shower gel, and you can easily apply shower gel with only your hands. Soap is normally used only for washing your hands. So if you want to use a washcloth, you normally bring one for yourself.
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Name : Taleweaver, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 30, City : Ludwigshafen, State : NA, Country : Germany, Occupation : storekeeper, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class,We don’t use washcloths as extensively as Americans, but we do wash ourselves very well with soap and hands, thank you.
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Name : Carol, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Berkshire, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Social class : Middle class,I was at a German friend’s house getting ready to go out that night after work and she told me I could take a shower if I wanted to. She handed me a towel and I asked her for a washcloth. After I explained to her what a washcloth was, she said they don’t use them in Germany. I said, ‘Why?’ and she said, ‘I don’t know, we just don’t’. So I asked her what they wash up with and she said they just used their hands or a bar of soap and I said, ‘You don’t even use those little scrubby thingies?’ and she said no. Then she gave me a look like I was the weird one.
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Name : Michele, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Age/Metaphysical, Age : 32, City : New Orleans, State : LA, Country : United States, Occupation : Reservationist, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class,We don’t use washcloths, so tourists are expected to bring their own. In our homes, we use sponges, which are typically made from foamed plastic. These must be too unhygienic for use in a hotel: they’re impossible to wash, but too expensive to throw away.
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Name : lh, Gender : M, Age : 21, City : Espoo, State : NA, Country : Finland,As a native of Belgium, I can confirm that washcloths do not exist in a number of European countries. Instead, people ‘scrub down’ with mittens designed specifically for that purpose. They are made of thick bathtowel fabric and are treated much more as personal items than are washcloths in the United States. In fact, they are pretty close to underwear in personalness: you wouldn’t offer one of yours to someone else, or accept one that is offered to you, even if it’s perfectly clean and fresh out of the laundry. A European traveler will pack at least three of these little mittens in his or her suitcase – I brought a bundle with me and still use one daily, even after several years of living in the United States.
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Name : Paul30466, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Riverside, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I lived in Brazil for a number of years and found no washcoths there, either. I believe some people of other cultures may consider a washcloth to be a kind of dirty rag, and who would want one on one’s body? Why not use a brush instead? Or a sponge? I did see bath sponges and loofas in Brazil.
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Name : David Stephen, PhD, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Humanist, Age : 53, City : Broomfield, State : CO, Country : United States, Occupation : professor, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Unfortunately, European people have the urge to view such things (washcloths) as “gifts.” Mostly they are stolen so much that hotels have stopped supplying them.
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Name : Ralph-R, Gender : M, City : Rucphen, State : NA, Country : The Netherlands,I went to a family reunion in England a few weeks ago and noticed the same thing. Great towels and even towel heaters, but no washcloths. My relatives have them in their homes, so perhaps they tend to disappear too easily in hotels and B&Bs, so they don’t provide them.
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Name : Midwesten Mom, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Chicago, State : IL, Country : United States, Occupation : Business Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,Yes, we use our hands and they work pretty well. I was raised in South Africa and we very seldom used washcloths. It certainly was not a standard item in the bathroom. For one thing they never get dry, so you have to launder them often or they’ll get moldy.
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Name : Michelle20558, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Southlake, State : TX, Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
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