The Best Dish Towels, According to Cleaning Experts
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Shopping for dish towels is like drafting a team to tackle the mess of a kitchen. A good roster of towels is so important in industrial kitchens that chefs on Reddit have reported having rules so they don’t fight over them. “Thieves, towel thieves everywhere,” one anonymous user posted.
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Unfortunately, those who have failed to maintain the cleanliness of their dish towels have given the entire category a reputation for being bacteria-soaked rags, and helped the flimsy paper towel edge its way into folks’ good graces. But aside from being wildly wasteful, paper towels do not hold up for every job at home. They don’t effectively dry glassware and cannot be flirtatiously snapped like a towel while cooking a romantic dinner. (Hurling a soggy paper towel at your significant other is the adult equivalent of shooting a spitball.)
Lending themselves to versatility, dish towels can moonlight as counter cleaners, oven mitts, cheesecloth, and a decorative accent in the kitchen, but mostly they are for drying delicate items. “They can be used for various tasks, reduce waste, and save money in the long run,” Diana Ciechorska, General Manager Park Slope Cleaning, explained. The thing is, it takes a lot of towels rotating in and out of the action to maintain a clean kitchen, and even more if they’re low quality. “High-quality dish towels are more efficient, durable, and gentle on surfaces, making them a better choice for daily kitchen chores and worth the investment,” Ciechorska said.
It may seem like any absorbent scrap of fabric will do whilst drying the dishes, but selecting dish towels is not a no-brainer. A more decorative towel that feels good for hand drying could scratch up wine glasses. A lightweight towel that dries dishes can be useful for proofing sourdough. Tea towels do not have to be used for cleaning up after crumpets, they’re essentially dish towels with a European spin.
The low end of the dish towel price range is $20, so weighing differences between options may seem inconsequential. But at the same time, regularly replacing stained, worn out, or just plain disgusting towels, doesn’t feel like a great alternative to paper towel waste. So paying more attention on the front end can keep you from throwing away rags and riches.
What the Experts Say
Sources in the cleaning industry look for dish towels that are absorbent, yet gentle. That is why cotton is the most popular material for towels. While microfiber towels can hold up to six times their weight in water, cotton can hold up to 25 times its weight and stay soft, hence why it’s a favorite fabric among cleaning and culinary professionals. “I’m not a fan of microfiber towels in the kitchen. I prefer cotton, especially for drying plates and glassware,” Anca Toderic, a private chef and recipe developer told Spy, noting that microfibers are synthetic and less sustainable.
To that point, many dish towels market themselves as eco-friendly because they help cut down on paper waste. Although cotton is biodegradable, manufacturing cotton textiles places additional strain on the environment. Extra sustainably-minded consumers should opt for a linen towel instead.
For this story, Spy spoke to Ciechorska, Toderic, and Elizabeth Shields, the Operations Manager of Super Cleaning Service Louisville, about what dish towels they keep on hand. And the short answer is that it depends on who is using them. As for the longer answer, Ciechorska, Shields, and Toderic shared what towels they would recommend to friends and family and plenty of tips to absorb before buying.
BEST OVERALL
COTTON CRAFT Amazing Kitchen Towels – Set of 12
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Cotton Craft Kitchen Towels are highly absorbent but gentle. Shields prefers this brand specifically for that reason. “These towels have a waffle pattern that helps them soak up more water and the soft cotton fibers feel comfy to touch,” she explained. Amazon costumes echoed similar sentiments about how absorbent the towels are while drying quickly. The verdict is clear, these towels have everything the average kitchen needs. “They are gentle on surfaces, so you can use them for drying delicate glassware or china.”
Ciechorska agreed that terry cloth texture can be helpful with managing lint, which can be particularly pesky when it comes to cleaning glassware and mirrors. “Terry towels are designed to leave surfaces streak-free and without any lint residue, making them a great choice.”
With 12 dish towels for $29.99, or about $2.50 per unit, these restaurant-grade dish towels are worth soaking up.
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Candy Cottons Set of 12 Kitchen Dish Towels
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Candy Cottons dish towels combine all the great aspects of a herringbone weave towel, with an updated, eclectic look. Herringbone towels have a V-shaped weave that is known for being extra absorbent. They’re typically white towels with a distinct stripe that prevents fraying and adds to the durability but can give them more of a sterile vibe. The multicolored stripes on Candy Cottons’ dish towels give new life to an old favorite.
“Herringbone towels are durable and have a textured surface that provides effective scrubbing power for dishes and kitchen surfaces,” Ciechorska said. “These towels are also gentle on delicate glassware and leave surfaces clean without scratches.”
Candy Cottons’ herringbone towels also come with a hanging loop for easy, breezy storage, and a money-back guarantee. At $25.99 for a set of 12, that comes out to about $2.17 per towel, making them a sweet-like-candy deal.
BEST MULTI-PURPOSE
Utopia Kitchen Flour Sack Tea Towels, 12-Pack
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Like herringbone towels, flour sack towels are used among professionals and home chefs alike.
“I love flour sack towels, they’re great in the kitchen,” Toderic said. Made from 100 percent cotton, they are highly absorbent yet thin enough to dry quickly. “This is beneficial for both hygiene and convenience.”
As the name suggests, flour sack towels are kind of boring and resemble packs of tighty-whities from a distance. What is great about Utopia’s cotton flour sack towels is that they have all the great attributes of flour sack towels with multiple colors. Shields likes the Utopia brand best because their cotton towels don’t leave any lint behind. “Nobody wants lint all over their dishes or surfaces, so these towels are perfect for getting a spotless result,” she noted.
These are the closest thing to a lateral, but sustainable, move away from paper towels, as flour sack towels can have many purposes beyond drying dishes. While they effectively dry fragile plates and glassware, the signature thinness of a flour sack towel can be utilized as a salad spinner, strainer, cheesecloth, and for cleaning up. At $22.99 for a 12-pack, or less than $2 a towel, that should be easier than figuring out how to make cheese.
BEST SPLURGE
Mellow Buff 100% Cotton Terry Dish Towels, 4-Pack
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Speaking of getting rid of lint, Ciechorska is a fan of terry cloth towels that serve as sort of a fringe, designed to absorb water and trap lint. “Terry cloth towels are designed to leave surfaces streak-free and without any lint residue, making them a great choice for commercial kitchens and restaurants,” she explained.
There are many types of terry cloth, which is part of the issue — it is easy to get seduced into buying a cotton-synthetic blend at a lower price point. What makes Mellow Buff’s terry cloth towels great is that they’re 100 percent cotton. Unlike flour sack and herringbone dish towels, these terry cloth towels are heftier, making them more suitable replacements for sponges when hand washing dishes. They come in a simple but stylish range of four colors, green, light gray, navy blue, and yellow.
The high-quality cotton and terry cloth weave makes these towels more expensive at $19.99 for a set of four towels, about $5 per towel. But for anyone only looking to add a few, trusty dish towels to their ranks, or buy a sensible housewarming gift, Mellow Buff’s terry cloth has a great feel.
BEST ECO-FRIENDLY
LINICHE Linen Kitchen Towels, Pack of 2
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While cotton textile manufacturing is not great for the environment, alternatives like bamboo and linen claim to be more sustainable. Bamboo is thought to be sustainable because it is a rapidly growing and invasive species. However, converting bamboo into fabric requires chemicals that are toxic to the environment and bad for human health. The Federal Trade Commission even warned that “This process is far from eco-friendly, and the fabric that it creates may not be better for the environment than other types of fabric.”
In contrast, linen is more sustainable than bamboo and cotton because it requires less water and fewer chemicals to produce. “They are also highly absorbent, durable, and can be used for various cleaning tasks,” said Ciechorska.
What makes these linen towels great is that the airy texture can dry faster compared to cotton and bamboo, and the flax fibers have been found to slow the growth of bacteria. LINICHE is a solid option for anyone who is as worried about contamination as much as the environment. Moisture-wicking and thermoregulating, these are great towels for dabbing the sweat off of your brow after cooking a hot meal.
At $25.99 for a set of two towels, they are the most expensive dish towels suggested, but being a good person sometimes costs a little extra.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dish Towels
How Often Should I Wash My Dish Towels?
Experts recommend rotating in clean dish towels every other day if there’s a lot of food prep and cooking taking place, but this can be stretched to three to five days if not. It might seem like a great idea to throw a load of dirty flour sack towels in the wash on hot, but that is not a good idea, and they should be laundered like delicates on a gentle cycle with cold water. Bleach is bad for maintaining quality dish towels in the long term, and more surprisingly, so is fabric softener.
“Fabric softeners may reduce the absorbency of towels over time, so it’s generally recommended to avoid using them,” Toderic advised. She recommended boiling rags monthly for lingering grease and other stains as well.
How Often Should I Replace My Dish Towels?
Experts suggest replacing dish towels when they are no longer heat-resistant or when they lose their absorbency. “If your towel is getting a bit thin, not absorbing as it used to, is stained and smelly even after washes, then consider getting a new one,” Shields said. “I like to check mine every six months or so.”
If cotton or linen dish towels are properly maintained, they should last anywhere from one to two years, Toderic added. After that, they can be reincarnated into cleaning rags, rather than immediately disposed of.
How Do I Fold a Dish Towel?
There are several ways to fold a dish towel, but many people prefer the Marie Kondo method, which there are several demonstrations of on TikTok. Essentially, this involves laying a towel flat, folding it the long way in half twice, and then folding it in half in the other direction once, then another time into thirds. This makes the towel fold smoothly at the top, and like an accordion at the bottom, allowing for many dish towels to be stored in a cabinet or drawer, while letting them breathe a bit.
With that in mind, “Make sure the towels are thoroughly dried after washing,” Toderic said. “Damp or moist towels can become a breeding ground for bacteria.”
How Many Dish Towels Should I Own?
At the risk of encouraging dish towel hoarding, it is one essential item in the kitchen where minimalism is not encouraged. Instead, experts across the board recommended having an extensive rotation of dish towels, so the burden of laundry does not lead to cutting sanitary corners. “Have separate towels for drying dishes, wiping surfaces, and hand drying to avoid cross-contamination,” Toderic added.
In other words, not every member of the dish towel team should play the same position.
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