Pink towels almost always come down to one of two culprits: a common bacterium called Serratia marcescens thriving in the damp fabric, or a chemical reaction between your skincare products and something in your laundry routine. Both are fixable, and neither is usually dangerous.
The Most Likely Cause: Bacteria
Serratia marcescens is an airborne bacterium that loves moisture. It’s the same organism responsible for the pink film you sometimes see in shower grout, toilet bowls, and around sink drains. When it colonizes damp towel fibers, it produces a red pigment called prodigiosin, which gives the fabric that distinctive pink or salmon-colored tinge. The pigment is released when specific conditions of temperature and pH are met, and Serratia is remarkably good at outcompeting other microbes in wet environments.
If your towels stay damp for hours after use, especially in a warm, poorly ventilated bathroom, you’re creating ideal conditions. The pink color tends to show up most on white or light-colored towels, though it can affect any shade. You might notice it developing gradually between washes or appearing in patches where the towel stays wettest longest.
Skincare Products and Bleach Reactions
If only certain spots on your towels are turning pink, your face wash or acne treatment is a strong suspect. Benzoyl peroxide, the active ingredient in many acne products, is a powerful bleaching agent. It strips dye from fabric on contact, and depending on the original towel color, the bleached spots can look pink, orange, or pale white. This happens even from trace amounts left on your hands or face after washing. The stains are permanent because the dye itself has been destroyed.
Sunscreen creates a different problem. Avobenzone, a common UV-blocking ingredient, reacts with minerals in water to form pigmented complexes that leave yellow or pink stains on fabric. Chlorine bleach makes it worse. If you’ve tried to bleach out faint sunscreen marks, you may have seen them turn bright pink. That’s a chemical reaction between the sodium hypochlorite in bleach and compounds in the sunscreen residue. These stains often fade with sun exposure, but they can be stubborn.
Hydroquinone, found in some skin-lightening creams, and certain antibiotics like minocycline can also discolor fabrics they come in contact with.
How to Tell Which Problem You Have
The pattern of discoloration is your best clue. Bacterial staining tends to be diffuse, covering large areas of the towel with an even pink hue, and it often comes with a slight musty smell. It shows up on towels that have been sitting damp, and it affects multiple towels in the same bathroom.
Product-related staining is localized. You’ll see spots or streaks where your face or hands touched the fabric, typically near the center or along the edges you use most. The pink areas may feel slightly different in texture because the dye has been chemically altered. If only one person’s towels are affected, their skincare routine is the likely cause.
Getting Rid of Pink Stains
For bacterial pink stains, hot water is your best tool. Wash affected towels at 60°C (140°F) or higher. This temperature kills Serratia marcescens and most other bacteria that colonize household fabrics. Adding an oxygen-based bleach (sodium percarbonate) to the wash boosts disinfection and helps lift the pigment. Run towels through a full wash cycle with a thorough rinse. If your washing machine itself has developed a pink film inside the drum or detergent drawer, run an empty hot cycle with a washing machine cleaner first.
For stains caused by benzoyl peroxide or other skincare chemicals, the damage is unfortunately permanent. The dye has been bleached out of the fibers, and no amount of washing will restore the original color. Your best option is switching to towels you don’t mind staining, or using designated dark-colored face cloths for your skincare routine.
Sunscreen-related pink stains from a bleach reaction sometimes fade on their own, especially with direct sunlight exposure. Rewashing without bleach and line-drying in the sun is worth trying before you give up on the towel.
Preventing the Problem
Keeping towels dry between uses is the single most effective way to prevent bacterial pink stains. Hang towels spread out on a bar rather than bunched on a hook, so air circulates through the fabric. If your bathroom stays steamy, run the exhaust fan for at least 15 to 20 minutes after showering, or move towels to a drier room. The CDC recommends keeping indoor humidity at 50% or below to inhibit microbial growth. Washing towels at least once a week in hot water prevents bacteria from establishing a foothold.
For product-related staining, the key is keeping benzoyl peroxide and similar actives away from good towels. Use a dedicated face towel or washcloth that you don’t care about, and wash your hands thoroughly after applying acne treatments before touching any fabric. Some towel brands use vat dyes specifically designed to resist bleaching. L.L. Bean, for example, markets towels with this process, claiming bleach resistance for the life of the towel. These won’t help with bacterial staining, but they’ll survive contact with benzoyl peroxide.
Is the Pink Bacteria Harmful?
For most healthy people, Serratia marcescens growing on household surfaces poses little risk. The bacterium is everywhere in the environment, and routine exposure through towels or shower tiles doesn’t typically cause illness. However, Serratia can cause infections, including urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, and eye infections, in people with weakened immune systems, diabetes, or cancer. People who are hospitalized, using catheters, or on long-term antibiotics are at the highest risk. If anyone in your household falls into these categories, it’s worth being more aggressive about hot-water laundering and keeping bathroom surfaces dry.