Do You Still Use Tea Towels?

VaughanJB

VaughanJB

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Let's start with a definition:

"Tea towel, also known as a dish towel or kitchen towel, is a lightweight, absorbent cloth used in the kitchen for drying dishes, glassware, and other items. It can also be used for a variety of other tasks like wiping surfaces, lining trays, or covering food. Tea towels are typically made of cotton or linen, or a blend of both, and are designed for repeated use and washing."

How many of you still have tea towels?

When I first went to he US, I was shocked at how prevalent the use of paper towels were. I wondered why tea towels weren't more common. Of course, there is the argument that paper towels are more hygienic. I get it. But still.

The cost of paper towels increased by almost 14% in 2022 alone. Still, I don't think anything will convince my wife a tea towel is the answer. :D

Is this a thing of the past?
 

Not a thing of the past in my house. I keep two "active" tea towels at all times: one to only dry dishes and one for hands, wiping counters, anything NOT dish related. I consider the latter as "dirty". When the dish towel needs changing to a fresh one, it gets downgraded to use for hands, etc. It's a rotation system, lol.

I think a reason many have moved away from them is that so many people have dishwashers with a dry cycle that works.

I still use paper towels for certain things. Wiping out a greasy pan or dish before washing (septic system and no garbage disposal). Doggie accidents. Anything really dirty. But I try to limit their use, partly because of cost but also because of potential impact to the environment.
 
I use tea towels to dry some slightly wet dishes coming out of the dishwasher and another to dry hands when using the kitchen sink. My husband will only use paper towels and I do for clean up on counters and other surfaces. I still use a hand towel in the bathrooms.
 

Yes. Just about what @GoodEnuff said.

Two towels. One for dishes, one for hands. Two different prints so it’s obvious. They get washed often so it’s no big deal.

I also have the dishcloth for handwashing dishes and wiping counters off. It goes to the laundry basket every night.

There’s also a microfibre cloth under the sink for spills, water splashed on the floor, etc

Paper towels are only for really dirty things or for a few things like cooking bacon.

I also have a rag bag with old towels, ripped up sheets, for big jobs.
 
I have a dish towel to dry dishes, but I clean counter surfaces with paper towels.

I don't have a dishwasher. I have one large kitchen sink with no divider in the middle. I use paper towels to remove as much food residue as I can from dirty dishes and utensils, and throw those away. Then, I spray dirty dishes and utensils with a mixture of ammonia, water, and dish soap and let them sit a few minutes, in the sink. Then, wash and rinse them under warm running water using a plastic scouring pad. I have a strainer in the sink drain to catch anything I might have missed.

Writing this out sounds like too much trouble, but it really isn't, and my sink drain hasn't stopped up in 10 years or longer.
 
I use dish towels to hand dry dishes, as pot holders, and as all around towels to clean up the counters wipe my hands, etc…

I don’t have any of the fancy tea towels that my grandmother used to line a tea tray, line bread baskets, etc…

My grandmother also used the older stained fancy tea towels to cover leftovers from lunch until supper, a holdover from the days before refrigeration.

My grandmother did start using paper towels in the late 60s as a substitute for paper napkins, they were too good to be wasted on many of the jobs we think of today.

The messy kitchen jobs were cleaned up with newspaper and the greasy kitchen chores were taken care of by brown paper grocery bags.

Then there was the rag bag or drawer! 😉🤭😂
 
GoodEnuff said:
Not a thing of the past in my house. I keep two "active" tea towels at all times: one to only dry dishes and one for hands, wiping counters, anything NOT dish related. I consider the latter as "dirty". When the dish towel needs changing to a fresh one, it gets downgraded to use for hands, etc. It's a rotation system, lol.

I think a reason many have moved away from them is that so many people have dishwashers with a dry cycle that works.

I still use paper towels for certain things. Wiping out a greasy pan or dish before washing (septic system and no garbage disposal). Doggie accidents. Anything really dirty. But I try to limit their use, partly because of cost but also because of potential impact to the environment.
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Yes, I have one going all the time, usually I throw one in the laundry every day and start a new one. My latest dishwasher never gets the dishes dry enough. I use them for the counters and the dishes.

Paper towels became a joke in my family when my sister-in-law teased my mom about the odd rags she used to dry dishes. A piece of old jeans was the worst. we laughed and laughed. So my mom got some paper towels. She said they felt pretty well off in their retirement and they, "were using paper towels freely." A few years later their broker made a mistake costing them a bunch of tax money so my mom told me they were "cutting back on the paper towels."

They are the only thing to use for dog urine accidents. Rags don't absorb as well or as quickly. I use almost a whole roll for my little dog's mistakes. Press down and they draw the liquid up. It's expensive to use a whole roll, but it beats buying a new $5000 carpet.
 
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