I recently was invited to a dinner party at the house of a couple I had never met. But they are big fans of my column and often take the time to email me their approval. So I was honored to be invited to a dinner that would include a few of their friends.

I entered their address on my GPS and saw that they lived in a swanky neighborhood. I decided to forego my typical clothing choice of jeans and a sweater. Instead, I chose a more upscale attire of dress pants, a button-down shirt and my blue blazer. I hoped on my arrival that their guests would not mistake me for a real estate agent.

During the pre-dinner mingling over cocktails and assorted appetizers, I found the group to be friendly. Many of them read my columns and a few heard my monthly co-host duties on a local morning radio show. 

Sensing that we would be seated for dinner shortly, I headed to the bathroom. After using the facility, I washed my hands rinsing off a smidgen of sauce from one of the Buffalo wings I had consumed. Turning off the faucet, I turned around for a towel. That’s where my problem started.

My bathroom at home has a rack to hold two plain hand towels. On a hook on the door hangs my bath towel for drying off after a shower. But this well to do couple had an assortment of towels of all sizes neatly arranged on a series of towel bars. Each one had a monogram that led me to believe that they weren’t purchased at Walmart. 

Panic set in. I pondered if one of those towels should be used to dry my hands. If so, which one was a hand towel. Being a stranger to towel etiquette, I thought that maybe I could dislodge a small one, dry my hands, then put it back in the towel arrangement. If I had not dressed like an usher at a Broadway theater, I would have dried my damp hands on my jeans. That, by the way, is what I sometimes do when a bathroom lacks paper or cloth towels and has a broken hand dryer.

I glanced around the room and saw three small white towels rolled up on a pedestal near the sink. Hearing my hosts announce that dinner was being served, I grabbed one of those towels and dried my hands. Not certain what I should do with the used towel, I rolled it up and put it back on the pedestal. 

Dinner was exceptional although I got nervous seeing the hostess enter the bathroom I had vacated. Luckily, she either didn’t notice that a towel was used or perhaps decided not to mention it.

Since that was not the first time I was confronted with the guest towel conundrum, I went online to research the proper etiquette. The main thing to remember is that you are a guest at someone’s home. If they have taken the time to arrange multiple towels like a floral display, leave them alone.  Those towels are decorative and should not be used to dry your hands.

Likely, if the host has gone to the expense to purchase fancy towels for the arrangement, they probably have provided you an alternative to be used by their guests. Looking back on my experience, I used one of the smaller rolled up towels that was provided. I made the mistake of rolling it back up after usage. Towel etiquette dictates that I should have just left the used towel on the sink edge. That shows the next user of the bathroom to grab a fresh towel.

Of course, some hosts will offer paper towels that obviously are for their guests. However, if you are still unsure of guest towel etiquette, I have a foolproof alternative. Grab a handful of toilet paper and dry your hands. You will be flushed with success!

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.