Kitchen Cloth - Analysis and Buying Guide - 2022
Towel sets are not limited to the plush collections found in hotel rooms and bathroom linen closets.
Lots of people buy towel sets for their kitchen, too. The typical kitchen towel is not as luxurious as the bathroom towel, but it serves an important purpose.
Some kitchen towels are lint-free, making them ideal for drying plates, cups, and cutlery. Others absorb liquids especially well and are designed to deal with spills, drips, and other liquid emergencies. And of course, dish towels are a convenient, often decorative, place for you to clean your hands while you work.
At Real Indian, we combine consumer feedback with independent research and expert interviews to provide our readers with honest and unbiased buying advice. Our ultimate goal: to become your source for trusted product recommendations whenever you are faced with a purchasing decision.
We've compiled a list of reasonably priced kitchen towel sets that we believe will provide you with years of quality service.
Types of Kitchen Towels
The definition of a "kitchen towel" is open to interpretation. Everything from a roll of disposable paper towels to a set of decorative hand towels fits the bill.
Here's a look at the most common types of kitchen towels:
- Tea Towel
The kitchen towel is a workhorse. Often sold in sets of four or five, its name underscores its ancient purpose: to dry the house tea set.
Dishcloth's natural absorbency and lint-free properties make it ideal for dishwashing, but it's not necessarily the best choice for drying hands or handling kitchen utensils.
- Kitchen Towel
A standard kitchen towel can also be referred to as a dish towel, but when you compare different brands, you're likely to notice some subtle differences.
Kitchen towels tend to have a thicker texture than tea towels. Some have an abrasive and/or ribbed texture that allows them to thoroughly wash and dry dishes, cutlery, and cookware.
Because they are more utilitarian than decorative, most kitchen towels stay in a drawer when not in use.
- Hand Towel
Kitchen hand towels are often made from a thick terry cloth fabric that closely resembles the material of a washcloth or guest towel.
Some cooks tuck a hand towel into the waistband of an apron while preparing food. Others hook the towel on the refrigerator or a drawer handle for quick access. Hand towels can be very plain or extremely decorative. They can replace paper towels as the first line of defense against small spills.
Kitchen Towel Materials
Cotton is a “thirsty” natural fiber that can be woven into a lint-free fabric. It is a popular towel material, but it is not the only one on the market. You'll also see man-made microfiber and wood fiber towels on store shelves.
- Plain Linen
Because early tea towels were designed to clean and polish tea sets, the material needed to be free of lint. Cotton linen may be thin, but it absorbs the last drops of water from the dishes and leaves no unsightly fibers.
The bedding is also considered food safe. As such, many cooks use it as a protective coating for breads and other hot foods.
- Ribbed Cotton
The material found in dish towels (and some hand towels) is a more processed form of linen. Cotton yarn is used to create a thicker ribbed finish, giving the towel an abrasive quality that helps with dish washing, pot holding, and surface cleaning.
Many ribbed tea towels feature color combinations or graphics that match or enhance the room's décor.
- Terry Cloth
Cotton terry cloth is extremely absorbent thanks to the many threads that are woven into the material. It is an ideal fabric for both functional and decorative hand towel sets. You will also see it used on some pot holders and oven mitts.
Many consumers display their seasonal hand towels for decorative purposes, but keep a set of functional terry towels in storage for dishwashing and surface cleaning.
- Microfiber
Microfiber is a synthetic material consisting of thousands of extremely small fibers. When working in tandem, these fibers sweep up dust and dirt much more efficiently than regular cotton.
If you're looking to get your kitchen surfaces and dishes squeaky, you might want to try this simple synthetic technology. Some people swear by the effectiveness of their microfiber towels.
Care and Maintenance
Kitchen towels are often the first line of defense against spills, boil-overs, and other kitchen emergencies. As such, they can go from perfectly clean to very dirty in a matter of minutes.
If you want to preserve the quality and functionality of your kitchen towels for as long as possible, keep these tips in mind:
Use your tea towels no more than a day or two between washes. A damp cloth develops mildew if it sits too long.
Foodborne bacteria can also contaminate a dish towel. If food gets on your towel, replace it with a clean one, and wash and sanitize the dirty towel as soon as you can.
Although dry cup holders and tea cloths may not look dirty, they can develop mold during storage.
Keep a generous supply of kitchen towels on hand. A dirty bedding set can be washed while a fresh, clean set takes its place.
Why Buy a Set of Kitchen Towels?
From spilled juice in the morning, to dirty wine glasses at night... and garbage; dish towels are in high demand from dawn to dusk in many homes. It makes good economic sense to buy them in bulk when possible.
Here are some other great reasons to buy more than one dish towel at a time:
- You can quickly replace a dirty towel with a new one when needed.
- You can designate one set to be used as hand towels and another to be strictly for washing or drying dishes.
- You can coordinate your colors and patterns to match your home décor and the seasons.
- Instead of wasting paper towels, you will reuse cotton ones, a greener way of life.
- They are likely to spend less money per towel when buying in bulk.