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Few debates rage as fiercely as the ones surrounding people’s shower habits. One man asked TikTok to settle a long-running debate between him and his wife, who disagrees with how he dries himself after a shower.

The man, known simply as @6spd.e38 on the app, asked what the best way to dry yourself off after a shower is. Apparently, there is more than one possible option. So far, the video has garnered over 42,000 comments, and he admitted that they were pretty “heated.” So, what’s the correct way to dry off after a shower? You’ll have to decide for yourself.

He asked whether or not you should reach straight for a towel when you’re done with a shower.

“Please help me and my wife solve this household debate, OK?” he asked. “Me versus her. When you get out of the shower, OK, you turn the shower off, you’re still in the shower. You’re covered in water — wet, right?”

Thus far, there was nothing controversial about the man’s accurate account, but things were about to get intense. “Do you, as one who wants to be as efficient as possible, would do … squeegee the excess water off of yourself before grabbing a towel, and then [use] your towel?” he asked. “Or, do you, sopping wet, just start drying off with a towel, which is crazy, by the way?”

In the interest of clarification, yes, a squeegee is that little tool with a rubber end that allows you to clean different surfaces. In this case, however, the man was referring to using your hands to “squeegee” (or wipe) off the excess water on your body before grabbing a towel.

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It turns out that people are very passionate about how you should dry yourself off after a shower.

Other TikTokers were extremely serious about which option they agreed with. Some were completely on his wife’s side. “Who the [expletive] ‘squeegees’ the water off their body?” one asked. “Sir, with all due respect, I have never squeegeed the water off my body. That’s what the towel is for. Good luck with that,” another added.

Ana Florescu’s Images | Canva

On the other hand, some users were fully behind the man’s squeegee method. “I didn’t realize people didn’t squeegee till I got married and my wife used a towel like some kind of Neanderthal,” one person said. A second argued, “Drying sopping wet = musty towel. You should either squeegee or shake. Continue on the good path, sir.”

A few other commenters seemed indifferent or even confused by the question. Really, there was no clear consensus, and no end to the debate.

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There’s no scientific answer to this question, even though many people would like there to be.

There’s not a lot of evidence to back up either drying method, which isn’t exactly surprising. However, dermatologist Dr. Alok Vij, MD, did say, “The longer the towel stays damp, the longer the yeasts, bacteria, molds, and viruses remain alive and stay active. They can cause an outbreak of, or spread, fungal infections like athlete’s foot, ringworm, and jock itch — and viral infections like warts.”

MART PRODUCTION | Pexels

Of course, Dr. Vij’s advice refers more to how you store your towel and how often you clean it. Still, you could make the argument, based on his expert opinion, that you should strive to keep your towel as dry as you can, and that using your hands to squeegee water off before grabbing it would be one way to do so.

This seems like one debate that is destined to rage on without any real answer. There’s no evidence to suggest one way of drying off is better than the other. Rather, it’s really just up to personal preference. As for this man and his wife, and the general population, it seems like they might just have to agree to disagree.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.