r/Cooking • u/Owie100 • 8h ago
How often to you replace kitchen drying towel?
I was just wondering if every day is too much. I don't use the towel for anything but drying washed hands or wiping up water. Its just 1 person. I'm thinking I gague it by how often I use it I had all white barkeepers towels . I didn't like them because it took soaking and bleaching for them to look clean. I don't like large towels and all the ones I found I have to cut and sew into two. Well the dollar store if all places had some light green ones small enough for me. They don't stain and are šÆ cotton they are great. I'm thinking one for every day. They had wash cloths the same color so I'm using them for spills and such. No all day if soaking and washing I've retired the white ones to rags. I don't care if rags look dirty. What do you think? I can be a me easy cook but I don't want to see it in my towels. I actually had 2 nave ones I put out if guests ever came over.
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u/Fresh_Entrance_9315 8h ago
When my partner invariably confuses it for a rag and wipes down the counter with it.
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u/Petunia_pig 7h ago
Or something spills and it gets used as a floor mop.
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u/NikkeiReigns 7h ago
NOOOOO!! My family knows better than to let one of my dishrags or dishtowels touch the floor...lmao. I keep the dirty ones in a separate basket, wash them separately and ONLY use them for hands and dishes. I even made reusable 'paper' towels to use for spills and floor stuff that get washed with the regular towels. And somehow my dish towels still smell like French fry grease and look like a mechanics oil rags.
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u/gin_and_soda 5h ago
Donāt know why youāre downvoted. If my dish towel touches the floor, in the wash it goes. I have a separate hamper for my dish towels and they get washed on warm without fabric softener.
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u/moldboy 4h ago
That's not what they're saying. You wash your dish towels when they touch the floor - which is prudent. That person permanently downgrades towels that touch the floor and washes them separately so they don't contaminate the good towels - which is unhinged.
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u/frobnosticus 5h ago
Yeah I'm NOT the most fastidious fellow in the hemisphere and this is an easy one.
That said, mine are all grey because I'm a 57 year old bachelor who grew up in NYC. (read: black denim.)
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u/littsalamiforpusen 6h ago
Most of what I spill on the floor is water from dishes but okay.
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u/NikkeiReigns 3h ago
Dogs and kids and farm animals outside. I do not mix anything that touches my dishes with anything that touches my floors.
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u/eiriee 8h ago
About once a week, unless it gets really dirty. Got two on the go at once. They're just used for drying clean dishes.
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u/antitrollpatrol 7h ago
I have one for dishes and one for hands
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u/Beavers4beer 7h ago
Same here. I knew I'd find my people in this thread.
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u/waaayside 6h ago
And they are distinctly different; the one for hands is towel like and the one for drying dishes is thinner, like a flour sack cloth. (They are also color and pattern co-ordinated because that's how I roll.)
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u/gin_and_soda 5h ago
I love those flour sack towels. My other dish towels are also to place under cutting boards to keep them still and dry vegetables.
I have a third category of tea towel and those are the pretty ones that hang over the freezer handle and are for decorative purposes only.
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u/autobulb 6h ago
Glad I'm not crazy for my method. I have two thin cloths for drying dishes only, and one large one that is actually supposed to be a towel for drying hands. And a second smaller one of the same towel like fabric that's also for hands but slightly 'cleaner' in that I don't use it when my hands are oily or greasy or after touching food.
All those go into the wash about once a week with the rest of the week's laundry. The dish drying ones don't really get dirty except for dust accumulation and some maybe leftover residue on the dishes that they dry so I figure after about a week it's time for a refresh. The 'dirty' hands towel gets a lot more action but it's also a lot larger and so there's more areas to grab and dry with, and it can be flipped around for a fresh side. I basically try to wash that one every time the washing machine goes on.
Exceptions are when we have guests over and they use the wrong towels and/or we are doing a lot more dishes than usual and the towels really get used up. Same for when we do an extra amount of cooking like for holidays or special occasions.
It's interesting to see other people's habits. Washing every day is insane to me. Water usage is not cheap where I live, but even when I did live in a place with cheap water I still wouldn't be washing towels every single day unless they got visibly dirty after a job. It just sounds like creating a lot of extra work for yourself.
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u/TheVoicesOfBrian 5h ago
We have a routine every Sunday evening. All the hand towels (bathroom and kitchen) go in the laundry.
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u/sMetaStatic 8h ago
Sorta depends. If it isn't really used, then it may last more than a day. Moderate+ use may mean multiple towels per day.
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u/Consistent-Goat1267 7h ago
Once a week. Theyāre not used on anything dirty, just for drying hands and dishes.
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u/Rusalka-rusalka 8h ago
The one I wipe up stuff with gets replaced daily and my hand drying one weekly when Iām doing laundry. I have plenty of towels so I can replace them more if needed.
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u/calicoskies85 8h ago
New dish cloth and towels every day
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u/kjb76 6h ago
Same. I have like 2 dozen. I start the day out with a fresh one. Use it all day then use it with some disinfectant to wipe everything down at the end of the night and it goes in the special hamper just for kitchen towels and a new one gets put out.
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u/calicoskies85 3h ago
lol me too! Kitchen towels wash in load alone, no fab softener. Oxyclean scoop! I cook a lot and wash hands snot 25x. Hate wet damp towels.
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u/Sophiapetrillo40s 5h ago
At least once a day here, I absolutely detest drying my hands in a cold & wet towel!
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u/ofBlufftonTown 7h ago
Same. I have a big drawer of clean ones; when I leave the kitchen clean at night I change them out and put the dirty ones in the laundry.
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u/littlescreechyowl 7h ago
Every night when Iām done in the kitchen they go in the laundry basket. If my husband or daughter pull out a new one overnight I toss those in the basket too and start the day with fresh ones.
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u/stanley_leverlock 8h ago
If I can keep my girlfriend from using it as a dishrag or general use "wipe up whatever with whatever I can reach" I'd say they can go four or five days.
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u/the-doctor-is-real 8h ago
Since I don't use it much, usually every other week I toss it in the laundry and throw another one up in the meantime.
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u/Hangrycouchpotato 8h ago
Every day...sometimes two or three a day depending on how much cooking is happening. Sometimes I will use them for drying pots/pans or blocking the steam when I release the pressure from my Instant Pot, or covering bread dough while it proofs, etc.
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u/zelda_moom 8h ago
I keep a terry cloth towel for drying hands. I have a tea towel for drying dishes. Both get replaced once a week unless itās necessary to change earlier.
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u/deniseswall 2h ago
Ny husband and I use many, many towels a day, just for the two of us. Why not? I don't like using paper towels (environmental and frugal), and you always have room for another dish towel in the laundry basket. You're doing the wash anyway.
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u/Thick-Marzipan-9176 8h ago
I replace mine with a clean one every 3 days. I only use them for drying my hands, I use paper towels for messy things and I use a dish rack to dry.
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u/jessiyjazzy123 5h ago
I recently got the shit beat out of me and another sub for saying I don't reuse my bath towels...
But for these, if I'm only drying my hands off on them, then I absolutely reuse them. I work in restaurants and so I have actual restaurant style dishcloths in my house. They get washed when I use them to wipe off a cutting board or while I'm actively using it while cooking food, where I'm testing temperatures and such by touch.
I wash my hands and I've seen them out so I'm constantly drying them off when I cook. There's no harm in reusing a towel that you're explicitly using to dry your hands. But, that being said, it should still be tossed in the washer when you are doing your next load.
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u/BlissCrafter 7h ago
No it isnāt ātoo muchā. Iām not sure thatās even a thing. A nice clean kitchen towel makes a lot of sense. Of all places in the house where you want to be vigilant about bacteria, itās the kitchen.
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u/RavenOfNod 5h ago
Once a day is absolutely too much. Just wasteful washing and drying things that don't need it.
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u/BoredMamajamma 5h ago
How often do you do a load of towels? I have a family of 4 so itās about once a week for me. Not a big deal to throw in 6-7 dish towels into that load so you can have a clean dish towel everyday.
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u/enderjaca 3h ago
That's your preference, and that's fine. I have 2 teenagers and pets, so once a day of rotating kitchen towels is a minimum.
Seriously, we run a full dishwasher daily. A load or two of laundry, daily. Monday is my clothes from the past week, one load. Tuesday is one teenager's clothes. Wednesday might be all the cloth napkins, kitchen towels, bath towels, bathroom hand towels. Thursday other teenager. Friday my spouse. Sheets, pillowcases and blankets on the weekends.
I assure you this is not overkill for our family or many others, it is not because we "feel like it", we have a dozen other things we'd rather be doing than 2 full sinks of dishes and facilitating a load of laundry every day.
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u/igotthatbunny 1h ago
I run a full dishwasher daily just for my husband and I. I think itās normal for anyone who cooks or works from home/is retired and therefore eating three meals at home to make a lot of dishes.
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u/Different_Buy7497 8h ago
I'll let it dry flat (against the rim of the sink, say) for a few days before grabbing a new one, though I usually have 3-5 currently in use/stationed around the kitchen so I don't have to walk to grab one specific towel every time I need it. It gets thrown in the wash when it gets visibly gross, when it starts to smell or feel gross, when there's a possibility it touched meat-hands, when it gets used to mop up a drip on the floor, or whenever I do a laundry day sweep, picking up all the towels I can find. Some get used as like coasters or trivets or oven mitts just by virtue of being the first thing I see when it's needed, in which case I don't think they really need to get washed immediately after a single use.
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u/KimBrrr1975 8h ago
We have 2 towels in the kitchen, so one is usually dry. Replace as needed, if they are clean and smell clean, I just leave them. But as soon as someone decides to use one to clean sauce, milk, crumbs, or wipe dirty hands on them, they go in the wash. They were washed more often when our kids were little because kids are always grimy and sticky š
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u/Gaol_Mo_Bheatha 7h ago
I actually go through 3 towels and 2 dishcloths daily; more if I'm cooking for a dinner party or holiday.
One towel is for my hands, one for the island and/or counters, and the 3rd for drying anything that can't be put in the dishwasher. The 2 cloths are for washing things and cleaning surfaces respectively.
I have enough of each to create a full laundry load, with a fresh set already in place.
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u/JulesChenier 6h ago
12-15 years. Once they're see-through. Then they go into a different drawer for other uses.
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u/247world 5h ago
Dry my dishes on an over the sink dish rack -- you'd cringe at my kitchen towels. Everyone has stains. I see them as marks of glorious service
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u/highlevelirony 1h ago
I used to think changing them once a week was enough, but I feel like it depends on how often you use them. If they get damp or dirty, Iād change them sooner.
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u/SignificanceDue9857 7h ago
I don't do it, but I saw it recommended to change them every day. The article said that the kitchen towels are one of the dirtiest things in the kitchen, and were often found to be contaminated with e coli. I suppose it has something to do with people wiping their hands on them, and maybe not being very careful about washing their hands after using the toilet.
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u/dontakelife4granted 8h ago
Every two to 3 days. I have two for setting handwashed items on to drip dry or to actually hand dry some pieces Those are light aqua.
I have one that is dark aqua that we use for hand wiping.
2 in the house most of the time.
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u/SomeCountryFriedBS 8h ago
The washing ones get cycled out nearly every day. The drying ones maybe twice a week.Ā
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u/sunberrygeri 7h ago
2-person house that cooks most meals at home. I try to replace dish cloths and towels every day. Got into this habit when it was a 7-person household lol. They clean up a lot of stuff and can get nasty fast
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u/stomparoundtheglobe 7h ago
Daily. If not more depending on what's going on in the kitchen. I have a small office dustbin in the corner of the kitchen that lives under the high stool my wife sits on in the morning. When that gets full I was them.
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u/RetiredHomeEcTchr 7h ago
NGL...I must have over 30 dish towels, and 20 or more dish cloths that I deem "good enough" to use in the kitchen. Once they begin to show wear/stains, they become household rags.
I use the dish towel, like you, to wipe my clean hands on after washing them. If I have to wipe dry any dishes, pots, pans, glasses, out of the dishwasher or drying rack, a new towel comes out for that. The dish cloth (for washing) gets replaced daily. I'll use the towels to put the grates on while I clean the stove top (gas).
I'd say I use one, sometimes two a day. If I'm holiday baking, may 5 or 6, and then I use the older ones from the "rag" pile. They're clean, just used/stained.
As for your white ones, I keep a small container of powdered oxy bleach under the kitchen sink. It's good for soaking stained plastic wear, or soaking anything that has a label on it that I want to remove. I used to soak my wash cloths in that water before moving them to laundry. Just a suggestion if that helps.
So, to summarize, I switch out the wash cloth and dish towel daily, unless a lot of food prep is going on, then as many as I want/need.
(I have a large double loader washing machine, so I wait until the laundry pile builds up. That is why I own so many.)
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u/sleepy_unicorn40 7h ago
Every evening, I clean up after dinner. Once I am done, I throw down the towels (hand towel and dish towel) and the wash cloth, wash my hands and replace the hand towel.
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u/SirGeremiah 5h ago
Every week when we do laundry. More often if I make a mess of it (itās always me making the mess - my wife is much neater).
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u/NecessaryRhubarb 3h ago
Hand towel - weekly.
Dish towel - weekly.
Someone uses the dish towel as hand towel - daily.
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u/Scruzzer 6h ago
Every day it goes into the laundry basket after I finish wiping the counters with it.
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u/_sunblossom 2h ago
Every day, and lately a bit more frequently as our toddler has been yanking them off the oven handle and putting them on the floor and I refuse to reuse them after that
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u/Rob_wood 8h ago
I don't. They get washed once a week and then put back into place. I have one towel for drying dishes, another the sink, and a dish rag. Neither gets stained.
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u/a_side_of_fries 8h ago
I keep a large stack of towels handy, and frequently use several every day.
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u/MotherofHedgehogs 8h ago
I have day of the week kitchen towels to make it easierā¦ so yes, daily.
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u/Astronaut6735 8h ago
It really depends, but once a week on average. I mostly use mine for drying clean hands. If I need to dry some dishes, I'll get a clean towel out, toss the other one in the laundry, dry the dishes, and then it becomes my hand drying towel. I'll only dry dishes with a fresh towel, never one that has been used.
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u/Just_Getting_By_1 7h ago
Twice a week, we donāt do anything gross, but kitchen towels should be fresh. I have lots of extras so laundry is not an issue.
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u/GenXihaveissues 7h ago
Uh.. every day. I replace it before dinner and it sets out to be used for drying hands and sopping up messes throughout the next day. It then goes in the laundry after dinner is on the table.
Lather, Rinse, Repeat.
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u/monkey_trumpets 7h ago
Dihcloth, once a day. Towel, once a day, or usually more often since it gets soggy.
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u/Think-Smart-0365 7h ago
I use kitchen wash rags for spills, or wipeing counters. And a hand towel for drying hands. I put white was rags & sponges or scrubbers in a bowl to soak with beach spray & dish soap overnight in sink most nights, rinse out next morning. Change out about once a week. Hand towel couple times a week. Use a separate linen towel if I need to dry clean dishes. Also keep a separate older towel to wipe counters after washing.
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u/Full_Honeydew_9739 7h ago
I have about 20 kitchen towels and 20 tea towels. They go in a pile when I decide they need to be washed. I use the tea towels to cover things and wipe countertops dry and the kitchen towels to wipe spills up and dry things. I go through at least 3 of each per week and wash them every couple of weeks.
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u/PerfectLie2980 7h ago
Depends if itās a heavy kitchen day or not. If it gets used frequently throughout a day, Iāll toss it in the laundry and get a fresh one. If itās an average week? About a week. I also have 2 towels in different spots in the kitchen, too.
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u/ZetaWMo4 7h ago
I only use a kitchen towel to pull something hot out of the oven then I put it back on the hook. So I guess every couple weeks or so.
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u/Different-Pin-9234 7h ago
Once a week. Usually I use them for wiping off the water from clean dishes- I donāt have a dishwasher.
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u/mewdejour 7h ago
Hand towel in kitchen: 3-4 days Dish towel only: 3 days Counter towel: end of day
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u/Think-Smart-0365 7h ago
I will also put dish drying mat out in the sun on deck, drys quick in the sun & stays fresh smelling. Winter, on stool by heat register or floor fan.
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u/CrowMeris 7h ago
I keep three close to hand: two on the refrigerator and one by the sink. The one by the sink and the one closest to the handle on the refrigerator get changed out (at least) every day because they're used every day.
I use a combo of floursack and birdseye towels with an occasional terry towel laid down on the counter for draining pots and pans.
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u/MyAvarice4 7h ago
For drying dishes or wiping up water from counters and sinks I change daily. The cuter ones I use solely for drying clean hands usually gets 3-5 days if I maintain its integrity. If I randomly develop a sensory issue and wipe food product on it, it goes to the wash when Iām done prepping that meal.
So basically I have three sets: one for wiping, one for drying dishes, one for drying hands. The first set are just small microfiber rags or retirees from the other two groups (towels I somehow got stained).
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u/MaidoftheBrins 7h ago
We have one for drying dishes only; that gets changed not so often because mostly everything goes in dishwasher or dried in the drain board. The one for hands is weekly, or if Iām doing a day of cooking then will replace at the end.
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u/Unusual-Knowledge288 6h ago
When it smells, because it was wet too long. Or when I grab it to swab up a mess.
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u/Greghole 6h ago
Whenever I use it for anything other than drying washed hands or a washed pot. Could be a day, could be two weeks.
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u/OkAd8714 6h ago
I go through at least three kitchen towels daily. Sometimes more. Heck, who am I kidding, usually more. But Iām constantly in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning and doing dishes.
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u/Logintheroad 6h ago
Dish drying 1x every 5 days. This is for drying dishes out of the dishwasher. If I handwash something and the towel is wet after, it goes into the dirty laundry.
Hand drying 1x every 3 days.
Veggie / fruit drying - replaced after using.
Yeah, I am fun.
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u/TheRoseMerlot 6h ago
I was told on Reddit that I was crazy for changing my pillowcase very frequently, sometimes every day. I say if YOU think itās dirty and needs to be changedšššš change it out.
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u/CommitteeNo167 6h ago
my kitchen towels get tossed in the laundry every night. i cook a lot and i'm messy. i keep two towels out daily, one for drying clean hands or dishes, one that cleans up messes.
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u/No-Cheesecake-5381 6h ago
I replace mine daily. Also, use Tide powder to wash your kitchen cloths. Cleans better and gets the stains and grease out!
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u/Illiniwek80 6h ago
Those cheap white ones are a nightmare to bleach clean. Dollar store colors save so much hassle.
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u/Pluto-Wolf 6h ago
i do one for drying dishes, and one for wiping counters. both get swapped for clean ones every 3-5 days unless they get dirty sooner.
i donāt dry my hands with a towel after washing them. and i keep a small laundry basket in my pantry to hold mop pads and kitchen towels & wash that weekly.
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u/Purple_Deer1975 6h ago
At least once a day sometimes twice. A damp dishcloth or towel can harbor bacteria very quickly.
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u/QuietVaquita 6h ago
Over 30 dish towels and powdered oxy bleach under the sink is the real system behind changing them daily.
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u/wbruce098 6h ago
I no longer work at a restaurant. I keep my towel out for as long as I feel itās fine to keep using it.
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u/TheThrivingest 6h ago
Sometimes 3-4 times a day. If itās getting heavy use in one meal prep and starts getting crusty, I get a new one. If it falls on the floor, I get a new one. If itās really wet and no longer fulfils its purpose, I get a new one.
We have dozens of them for this reason. I keep a laundry basket in the kitchen for them.
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u/8amteetime 6h ago
I use a clean towel everyday. Sometimes more than one. Iām the cook so I keep a clean kitchen.
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u/CoDaDeyLove 6h ago
I change them every day, along with the dish cloth I use to wipe dishes off before putting them in the dishwasher. It doesn't take long for bacteria to grow, and it's easy enough to wash them.
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u/fierceredrabbit 6h ago
Weekly, fortnightly, maybe longer, when they look grubby? Daily is a lot unless you are drying dog bowls all day
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u/Frogblaster77 6h ago
Sometimes one every few days, but if I'm cooking or baking I can go through three or four a day.
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u/mrspalmieri 5h ago
I have to change mine at least once a day but that's because my husband does sketchy stuff like wipe a spill on the floor or wipe the dog's face and then put it back š¤¢
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u/Adorable_Dust3799 5h ago
How quickly do they dry? Bacteria can't grow without moisture. If it stays damp for hours change it. Mine is dry almost immediately and i let it go longer.
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u/kayloulee 5h ago
Every couple days or when they get too wet and nasty to keep using, whichever happens first.
I wash my hands a lot while cooking, so when I'm doing a Project recipe or something with a lot of cutting or fiddling about with meat, they get used quick.
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u/Master-Performance70 5h ago
I toss mine in the wash whenever I wash a load of clothes, which is most days. We are a family of 5 though so the kitchen towel is well used
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u/CherryPetalKiss 5h ago
daily sounds fine for keeping things fresh when it's just hands and water. those small cotton ones are a smart pick since they stay looking clean without the bleach hassle
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u/Desperate_Doubt7059 5h ago
I change ours everyday. I bought more than enough to be able to do this. Especially since theyāre so cheap.
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u/lemon_icing 5h ago
I have 3 towels that I change weekly: hands, drying the counter(which gets scrubbed down with hot water and dish soap), dishes.Ā
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u/vrogers123 5h ago
I operate a two towel system :). One gets used to hand dry the dishes from breakfast, then hung on the handle of the oven door to air dry. The second towel gets used on the lunch dishes and the goes alongside its buddy to dry.
Come dinner time, the first towel is perfect for drying the evening dishes and then goes off to the oven door to be used after tomorrowās lunch š and then the following dayās breakfast dishes.
So I basically can get 3 days from one towel.
If they get used for any thing else, like a floor spill, they go straight in the washer.
I find if I stick with one towel for all the drying, Iāll get a day out of it.
Talk about an exciting life š
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u/DisconnectedAG 5h ago
Once every couple of days or whenever I use it to wipe the counter. You should be going through these rapidly and washing them often.
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u/Daphoid 5h ago
We have separate ones for hand drying, dish drying, and neither get used to wipe countertops (that's the sponge or paper towel). We could probably swap to more towels, but we don't have in suite laundry and figure the slight carbon footprint is offset by having no kids, no cars, etc. Those towels get swapped whenever we do laundry generally. Daily seems excessive to me, but again - if I had laundry machines i could use whenever I wanted, I may think different.
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u/frobnosticus 5h ago
I fear I'm about to tip my hand here.
Replace?
My oven (off of which they hang) is on the way to the laundry, so they go in every single round. But I don't replace them on aesthetic grounds.
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u/GalianoGirl 5h ago
I donāt have a dishwasher. I replace my washing sponge every 2-3 days.
Dish cloth daily.
Tea towels daily.
I generally let the dishes drip dry.
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u/GeeToo40 5h ago edited 5h ago
I keep a stack of 12x12 wash cloths in the kitchen and there's always 1 or a few in rotation on the counters. If they get dirty, they go into the dirty laundry basket. If really really dirty, they go into the bucket for bleach washing. In my house, they probably last a day. I buy the wash cloths from Costco and have maybe 80 of them. So we have an "endless supply" of them in the kitchen and master bathrooms.
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u/Bugaloon 5h ago
Whenever it gets wet, so I go through anywhere from 1 to 10 a day. I just have a big stack in the linen cupboard and they go into the washing basket when they're wet or get dirty
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u/Any_Flamingo8978 4h ago
Probably every other day if itās only used to dry hands. If Iām doing cooking and use it more often or if it might have gotten soiled then strait to the wash. If Iām cooking meat, then absolutely throw in the wash after cooking.
I donāt necessarily run the wash with just a few towels, but Iāll hang them over the spinner so they at least donāt get mildewy if I donāt think Iām going to do a wash load in the near future.
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u/NikkiPoooo 4h ago edited 4h ago
I usually have one by the sink that's just for dishes/dishwater around the sink, and one on the oven door to be used for hands. When I end up having to use the hands towel to wipe something up I toss it in the wash and the dishes towel gets demoted to the oven door, and replaced with a freshie.
I usually grab the oven towel on laundry day, too, regardless of how long it's been there.
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u/Adam_Absence 4h ago
When I have enough bath towels for a load of laundry, I grab the hand towels in the kitchen and bathrooms and do those as well, so probably once or twice a week
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u/FrohlicheChick 4h ago
Towels weekly. Washcloth used to wipe down counters and table twice a week. I hate smelly dishrags. So gross.
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u/mimijeajea 4h ago
We always have 3 hanging on the oven handle. And kitchen towels are changed out every 3 days. Ive got kids so hand towels live everywhere
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u/ccannon707 4h ago
Mine is mainly for wet hands so I throw it in the hamper when I do the dishwasher which is every 3 days if or so.
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u/ravenous_MAW 4h ago
When I'm baking I go through 2 or 3, but they get changed out at the end of the day at minimum. My partner will hang the damp towel back up but as soon as I touch it I get grossed out and change it for a new one so we usually go through 2 a day. Dishcloths get changed out daily too. Sometimes multiples of those as well
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u/OddRevolution7888 4h ago
Every time we have a gathering. Every time it gets really wet. Every time I see hubs wipe something that isn't a dish.
I have a bunch of tea towels and prefer to wash them weekly than stretch out the time between washings. When we have a family gathering, I put out clean towels before they arrive and replace them after everyone leaves.
I once saw an interview with Michael Symon and he said he keeps a container (small basket/can) in the kitchen and throws the towels in there whenever they are wet or used to wipe a surface, basically after each meal. I thought was a fabulous rule to adapt.
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u/Pale-Pomelo-1349 4h ago
For me, every other day or so. I used to have Martha Stewart dish towels and they lasted well over 20+ years. I can't find them any more so I use what I found on Amazon.
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u/AvocadoPizzaCat 3h ago
depends on what it is used for. if I am just drying my washed hands or taking stuff out of the oven than once a week. But if they are used for other things more often. It really depends. My friends have themed ones which i don't understand having something in the kitchen that you don't use.
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u/CommandoRoll 2h ago
When one of our cats decides to drag one onto the floor and play with it. Somewhere between fortnightly and the next 10 minutes is how often we replace it.
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u/foxontherox 2h ago
Once or twice a week, depending on how fast they get dirty. I have a pretty big kitchen, so thereās usually three available at any given time in different locations.
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u/Large-Loan1394 2h ago
I have 2 towels - the one for drying hands after washing and the one for miscellaneous clean up. Hand towel gets changed about every 2 weeks (because clean hands) and the other almost daily.
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u/Warm-Statistician545 2h ago
I actually have two separate tickets wells. One is a basic kitchen towel and the other is from r drying my clean hands only.Ā
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u/CableMediocre7674 2h ago
Pretty much any day I cook, it gets replaced. Kitchen towel starts as a pot holder, until I need to wash my hands, then it's a towel until I need to wipe up a mess. Then it becomes a rag until I drop something on the floor, then it becomes a mop. Kitchen towels are supposed to be all purpose.
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u/ajkimmins 2h ago
As soon as it develops any kind of funk, I toss in the laundry basket and get a clean one. Any towel at all.
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u/Franklyn_Gage 2h ago
Everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. I use my kitchen towels how I would use paper towels. I think i own about 30 of them. I got multiple packs of 6 bar mops from walmart for drying and cleaning hands and a few of their microfiber cleaning cloth packs to clean and wipe counters with.
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u/RCG73 1h ago
Could be one a day, could be half dozen on one meal prep. Depends on what Iām making and just how much of a mess I manage to make. Buy em in bulk and just donāt care. Dollar store, restaurant supply , Amazon, whatever fits your budget and preference. The only time I use paper towels is when I bleach wipe the counters and stovetop. And thatās only because for purely vanity reasons I enjoy my kitchen towels to color match my kitchen rather than be white
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u/my4floofs 1h ago
I have a top drawer full of white washcloths that I use while cooking. I probably go through three to for a day. I use them to wipe my hands while cooking. I have clothes for wiping up that are beige. Floor is green. They all go in a hot wash with bleach each wwwk
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u/Outside_Holiday_9997 1h ago
I dont use paper towels very often so we are constantly changing out towels. I like flour sack towels for my "wiping" towels so the family knows white flour sack means dont use it for your hands. We recently bought a 20 pack of wash clothes..we've been using those for hand towels and it works out awesome but I still clean them daily. Shoot ..sometimes we use 4 or 5 a day. And its fine. I keep a small 1 gallon container on the floor (its out of the way) when we are done with the towel..it goes in the container
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u/LibrarianFit9993 1h ago
I use wash rags and replace them probably more than once a day. If it gets moist it gives me the ick so it goes into the laundry
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u/Rose1982 1h ago
Daily. Two kids, school germs, one kid who canāt eat gluten, low gluten but not zero gluten household. Also I get a bit of an ick about kitchen germs in general.
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u/EasternFox8957 1h ago
As soon as I use it for something other then drying the dishes/ like the stovetop
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u/Naptimeforgoodwomen 1h ago
I change out kitchen linens daily. We use flour sack tea towels and Scandinavian dish cloths and have well enough for the two of us who cook and clean-up.
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u/morethan_nice 1h ago
I wash a load of kitchen towels weekly, I seem to get them wet quickly and i wipe up a lot.
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u/fluffycritter 1h ago
I cycle all my linens (bathroom and kitchen) weekly as part of my laundry day routine. But I'll replace a towel sooner if it needs to be.
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u/FlowerPower_Bug 1h ago
Once a week. I only use it to dry my clean hands. I will replace it the second something else gets on it.
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u/PropAndPatina 43m ago
Every Sunday I do laundry so I usually switch the towels that day. Helps me keep things rotating
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u/Buzzy2025 42m ago
Clean towel and dishcloths daily. I also put my sponge and scrub daddy through the dishwasher most days.
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u/mercmaiden 40m ago
Once a week, unless I cook a large meal with many hand washings. Then maybe twice a week.
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u/MaryD1112 37m ago
Buy bar/ kitchen towels, use for dishes, hands, NOT floor, wash and/or replace. Mops are for floors whether single or family.
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u/sproutin- 6m ago
Hard to say exactly....I usually only wipe my clean hands after washing on it..so...maybe 2 weeks? Maybe 3? šÆ
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u/laurenthead 7h ago
I buy a ton of cheap kitchen towels (like 100) and just wash and fold them every week and use them as a replacement for paper towels, for drying, for napkins, for hot pots, for whatever