The short answer is use a towel warmer (heated towel rack). The heated towel rack efficiently reduced the growth of bacteria on towels under daily wetting conditions. After seven days, a towel on an unheated rack produced 890 million colony-forming units (CFUs), while a heat-treated one had only 520 Million - representing 99% less than initially seen. Additionally, the test revealed the towels on a towel warmer maintained a fresh or pleasant odor over seven days. Comparatively, the unheated sample produced a musty smell by day four.