cloth towels instead of paper towels?

[rwielatz]

trying to find a replacement for all the paper towels we go thru...it's such a waste of money. I've been making some cloth napkins out of ticking fabric but I don't think it's soft enough or absorbent enough. I wouldn't think quilting fabric wouldn't hold up very well. can anyone suggest a good fabric replacement? muslin? terry cloth? thanks.

 

[Disneefun]

We use the cheap-o washcloths from walmart. You can get a pack of 10 or 12 (can't remember) for like $4. Not something I'd use in my bath as they're pretty "stiff" but they are absorbent and take a good beating being used and washed so frequently.

 

[lauradis]

We use the cheap-o washcloths from walmart. You can get a pack of 10 or 12 (can't remember) for like $4. Not something I'd use in my bath as they're pretty "stiff" but they are absorbent and take a good beating being used and washed so frequently.

beat me too it.... plus buy white kind they bleach well. I dis like paper towels unless I have been touching raw chicken yuck.. after you find ones you like buy like 20.

when they get holes in them i move them to the garage for rags to wash car or clean outside.

want to get cheaper any old towels can be cut up to make rags they last a while too.

 

[dpswift]

We have a drawer full of old washclothes and towels. They work great for drying hands and wiping down the counters. We use some paper towels but go through less than a roll a week for our family of six.

 

[burnurcomputer]

You an get some thinner towels in bulk at a box store like Costco or Sams. Some people attach small snaps to them so they can be wound around a wooden dowel and "pull" off like a paper towel does. When they are done being washed they are snapped back together and rewound around

 

[LJSquishy]

I would look on Etsy.com for reusable paper towels...just to see what types of materials they are using to make them. You can make them with snaps or with velcro if you want to actually use them on a paper towel roll holder. I would think cotton terry cloth is what most use (I've seen them with 1 pretty side in a cute print, and the practical terry on the other side).

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

trying to find a replacement for all the paper towels we go thru...it's such a waste of money. I've been making some cloth napkins out of ticking fabric but I don't think it's soft enough or absorbent enough. I wouldn't think quilting fabric wouldn't hold up very well. can anyone suggest a good fabric replacement? muslin? terry cloth? thanks.

I like flour sack towels for EVERYTHING. Absorbant, low lint, bleachable. I have used them as napkins, paper towels, burp rags, ersatz beach towels. I get packs of 5 for about $5.

I have seen cool tutorials for cloth paper towels with snaps so they can be rolled, but I think the snaps could scratch things if you werent careful.

 

[pixiewings71]

My Mom makes us kitchen towels and dish rags every year for Christmas, I love my Mom towels. She just uses thin linen, irons a transfer on and goes over it with embroidery, sometimes she just does them free hand. They last for quite a while too. Also micro fiber works for soaking up wet messes, not so much with soap but for water they are fine.

 

[Disneybuckeye]

I have bought one roll of paper towels in 26 years of marriage. Much prefer reusable cheap cloth washcloths.

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I bought microfiber towel from SAMs, towel size and off QVC, or HSN I think, it was a set of rag size in the multicolor. I have pink for the kitchen, blue for little ones and hei mess, the green for household cleaning and wipe ups, the yellow for the bathroom.

Just don't use softener on them in the washer. They last orever and I've cut my use down on paper towel needs.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

For those who use cloth, do you just keep a stack near the kitchen sink? We would need around 50 of them for all the times someone washes their hands or else I'd be doing even more laundry. I do around 10 loads every Saturday & not a lot of time on weeknights for it.

I'm not a total germophobe but have missed enough work when our kids were little that I was suspended for 3 days and on the verge of being fired. I'd have done anything to stop germs from spreading. Now they're teens so it's not so hard but we go through a lot of paper towels. I work in a hospital and we have handwashing/infection control drilled into us. I can't see myself reusing.

 

[pixiewings71]

I keep 4-6 kitchen towels in the drawer next to my sink, I keep more in the linen closet. Don't get me wrong, we have paper towels, but I use a regular towel when possible. I do a load of towels weekly at a minimum so I make sure I keep enough towels on hand to cover our needs. We also have 3 saltwater fish tanks so we have towels on hand that we use just for the tanks, yes, we have a lot of towels. lol

 

[SandrA9810]

It's easy to get in the habit of using towels. It was something we had when I was growing up and I can't stand spending money on good paper towels. I do keep one roll handy for cleaning my cast iron, and it drives me nuts when people take 2 or 3 to dry their hands.

Walmart sells the 12 pack washcloths for $4, and the flour sack towels. I bought the clearanced colors, so I don't know what the regular prices are. You can also go to Home Depot and buy painter's rags. When I lived in FL, I would keep a box on hand. They're great for cleaning messes, and I don't feel bad when they have to be chucked in the garbage. You might find similar shop towels at an auto part store too.

Keep a small basket in the kitchen for the rags to be tossed in when they get dirty. Buy enough to last a couple of weeks. When you wash, use bleach to get them clean, and vinegar to make them smell fresh.

 

[tzolkin]

For those who use cloth, do you just keep a stack near the kitchen sink? We would need around 50 of them for all the times someone washes their hands or else I'd be doing even more laundry. I do around 10 loads every Saturday & not a lot of time on weeknights for it.

I'm not a total germophobe but have missed enough work when our kids were little that I was suspended for 3 days and on the verge of being fired. I'd have done anything to stop germs from spreading. Now they're teens so it's not so hard but we go through a lot of paper towels. I work in a hospital and we have handwashing/infection control drilled into us. I can't see myself reusing.

Sorry, but I don't believe your method is the norm. I think most people share a hand towel or at least the same person could dry their hands more than once.

I have a hand towel hanging in the downstairs bathroom and one by the kitchen sink. I change them once or twice a day. If you have washed your hands properly, I don't see the need for disposable.

My DH does orthopedic surgery, so he is also familiar with germs and scrubbing your hands, but he has no issue with cloth hand towels at home.

I do use paper towels to wipe down the bathrooms, appliances, and kitchen counters several times a day. I have been thinking about using cloth and for those I would not use more than once before washing.

 

[JillianMarie]

I use a combination of old cut up t-shirt rags and dish towels around my kitchen. I have two buckets under my sink that I got from the dollar spot at Target. One says 'clean' and one says 'dirty'. I just take from the clean, use it to clean up whatever needs cleaning, and then move it to dirty. Then when I need to, I just toss the whole thing into the washer. It's a very simple process. I generally hang them up to dry on my clothesline so there's never been a smell issue. You can cut them to the size you need and they're perfect super soft and absorbent.

 

[delmar411]

For those who use cloth, do you just keep a stack near the kitchen sink? We would need around 50 of them for all the times someone washes their hands or else I'd be doing even more laundry. I do around 10 loads every Saturday & not a lot of time on weeknights for it.

I'm not a total germophobe but have missed enough work when our kids were little that I was suspended for 3 days and on the verge of being fired. I'd have done anything to stop germs from spreading. Now they're teens so it's not so hard but we go through a lot of paper towels. I work in a hospital and we have handwashing/infection control drilled into us. I can't see myself reusing.

If your hands are clean after washing why exactly would you not reuse the towel?? Little kids in daycare get sick, that has nothing to do with hand washing/drying practices at home.

My family only uses cloth towels and we are one of the healthiest families I know. Kitchen towels are reused until dirty or soaking wet and then I toss them in the wash. We have quite a large collection of them since they build up over the years and I do have my favorites but I only keep 1 or 2 out at any given time and they hang from the oven handle to keep them dry.

Our kitchen towels don't add enough to our laundry to even be half a load each week.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Sorry, but I don't believe your method is the norm. I think most people share a hand towel or at least the same person could dry their hands more than once.

I have a hand towel hanging in the downstairs bathroom and one by the kitchen sink. I change them once or twice a day. If you have washed your hands properly, I don't see the need for disposable.

My DH does orthopedic surgery, so he is also familiar with germs and scrubbing your hands, but he has no issue with cloth hand towels at home.

I do use paper towels to wipe down the bathrooms, appliances, and kitchen counters several times a day. I have been thinking about using cloth and for those I would not use more than once before washing.

We grew up with using a single hand towel & we do that in the bathroom too but I probably am a little anal about germs in the kitchen then. That's usually where we wash before eating.

At work we even have to shut the faucet off with a paper towel since we turned it on with dirty hands and once they're clean we shouldn't touch the knob again. (The OR has foot pedals to turn the water on so no touching at all.)
Now the latest "recommendation" so that people don't just quickie wash is to sing either the ABCs or the Happy Birthday song so make sure it's thorough washing. Cracks me up how people who sit at a desk all day think up more things.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If your hands are clean after washing why exactly would you not reuse the towel?? Little kids in daycare get sick, that has nothing to do with hand washing/drying practices at home.

My family only uses cloth towels and we are one of the healthiest families I know. Kitchen towels are reused until dirty or soaking wet and then I toss them in the wash. We have quite a large collection of them since they build up over the years and I do have my favorites but I only keep 1 or 2 out at any given time and they hang from the oven handle to keep them dry.

Our kitchen towels don't add enough to our laundry to even be half a load each week.

Yes, they do but I was losing my mind with how much work I was missing. Also I'd watch how their friends would go to sit down to eat without even washing at all.

Ds, now 13, had 8 ear infections (following a cold) in his first 2.5 years. Add in my older ds's & my own occasional fevers, sore throats, GI viruses. It was awful; I had no back up child care. I was desperate to prevent them from getting sick & keep from getting fired. I can't post the name I'd like to call our admin in our dept. They often fire people for lateness/absences, even if it's only a minute or 2 late & even fired a single mom 2 weeks before Christmas.
#%&**!!!!

If you've ever cruised on DCL they are handwashing fanatics too & you just get used to it.

 

[delmar411]

Yes, they do but I was losing my mind with how much work I was missing. Also I'd watch how their friends would go to sit down to eat without even washing at all.

Ds, now 13, had 8 ear infections (following a cold) in his first 2.5 years. Add in my older ds's & my own occasional fevers, sore throats, GI viruses. It was awful; I had no back up child care. I was desperate to prevent them from getting sick & keep from getting fired. I can't post the name I'd like to call our admin in our dept. They often fire people for lateness/absences, even if it's only a minute or 2 late & even fired a single mom 2 weeks before Christmas.
#%&**!!!!

If you've ever cruised on DCL they are handwashing fanatics too & you just get used to it.

I understand the fear of those types of sicknesses. My oldest was the only one of mine that went to daycare and she was sick from the time she as 5mths until she was 3. As in standing dr. apps every 2 weeks for her ear infections, months and months of maintenance medication, huge doses of antibiotics because the normal doses were doing nothing for her. She had tubes put in by 10mths and they wanted to take her adenoids out by the time she was a year. And that was just the infections, add in the colds, flu, tummy troubles, fevers and I was long out of sick/vacation time, had call in every family favor, and was working nights and weekends to make up the hours at work. It was rough.

But we still only use cloth towels and napkins at home. LOL. And while she still gets troubles with her ears, she is a very healthy kid otherwise. No flus in this house, barely ever a tummy sickness, colds are barely noticeable. The other 3 are at a max 24hr sickness kids. Nothing hangs round longer than that and we've only had 1 bout of throwing up sicknesses with them.

I wouldn't worry about baby sicknesses now that they are teens. Give it a go and if you all start getting sick then at least you know you tried and it just doesn't work for your family.

 

[jgreco]

We use the choose-a-size paper towels for anything really gross (about a roll every two weeks for family of 5) and a single cloth hand towel for everything else (kitchen/bathroom) that gets washed/replaced twice a week.

Microfiber works great in the kitchen, but I hate the texture on my hands!

We are a pretty healthy family. Maybe luck or genes play a roll and not whether we use disposable vs. washable.