Paper Kitchen Towel Alternatives

Anoneemoose

Hi,

As the title says, I am looking for alternatives to paper kitchen roll.

The issue I have is I make and decorate cakes for friends and family and disposable is needed for that. Because of doing the cakes and having the towel in for that, I have sort of gotten used to it for everything!

I have thought of getting lots of cloths that I could use as I would the paper, with a view to washing them, but I would need them to be fully lint free, yet absorbent.

I am aware of the environmental impact and this is the next thing I want to tackle in regard to that. (I have already stopped using chemical cleaners (mainly ecloths and a bit of method now and then). I use biodegradable plastic bags, I did try eco friendly laundry stuff but I couldn't get on with it. There are other changes that we have made as a family as well.

Any tips or recommendations would be great.

Thank you.

C_J

I have a couple of packs of microfibre cloths which I bought from £-land which I use in the kitchen. They machine-wash very well.

rach_k

If you're environmentally conscious, you probably want to avoid microfibre because of the way it sheds micro fibres into the water which can't be removed and don't break down. We do have some ecloths (which are fab) and a few non-branded microfibre cloths but once they've died I won't be replacing them. I believe wash bags are starting to become more easily available to catch the microfibres though, if you do like microfibre. The other downside to microfibre is that is quite easily affected by detergents and soap, so if you clean with them you have to rinse them LOTS or they stop being properly absorbent.

Instead of kitchen roll, I mostly use cotton cloths (actually old Cheeky Wipes) and woven tea towels that have seen better days. They all started out as good quality ones so they don't leave fluff behind and as they're cotton they're very hard wearing so can be washed at high temps if needed. We don't buy kitchen roll at all any more. I use a normal scrubby washing up sponge or brush for things that need a proper scrub, the Cheeky Wipes for things that need a bit of friction e.g. cleaning the worktops (they're cotton terry and we have hard water!) and the old tea-towels for things like mopping up spills. I don't miss kitchen roll at all.

Artytarty

Gosh, you have made me think how much we rely upon paper towels
We use them for milky spills, so the cloth doesn't smell and for wiping oil out of a pan before washing, the odd emergency napkin for kids,
Floormspills, so many things.
I would miss it I think.
But thanks for the microfibres warning, I didn't know about that, I thought microfibres and e clothes were the same thing.

Anoneemoose

rach_k wrote: »

If you're environmentally conscious, you probably want to avoid microfibre because of the way it sheds micro fibres into the water which can't be removed and don't break down. We do have some ecloths (which are fab) and a few non-branded microfibre cloths but once they've died I won't be replacing them. I believe wash bags are starting to become more easily available to catch the microfibres though, if you do like microfibre. The other downside to microfibre is that is quite easily affected by detergents and soap, so if you clean with them you have to rinse them LOTS or they stop being properly absorbent.

Instead of kitchen roll, I mostly use cotton cloths (actually old Cheeky Wipes) and woven tea towels that have seen better days. They all started out as good quality ones so they don't leave fluff behind and as they're cotton they're very hard wearing so can be washed at high temps if needed. We don't buy kitchen roll at all any more. I use a normal scrubby washing up sponge or brush for things that need a proper scrub, the Cheeky Wipes for things that need a bit of friction e.g. cleaning the worktops (they're cotton terry and we have hard water!) and the old tea-towels for things like mopping up spills. I don't miss kitchen roll at all.

Thank you for your reply!

Do you mean like these?

http://www.cheekywipes.com/cloth-baby-wipes/washable-premium-cotton-terry-cloth-washable-wipes.html

I was looking at those, do you know if they definitely don't shed?

I had read some negative things about microfibre cloths but not about them shedding, thanks for the tip there.

I daresay I will have to use some paper towels still, for when I am caking, as I feel this is more hygienic when making for someone else. I had tried some recycled paper towels but they weren't as good quality and I ended up using more.

Anoneemoose

Artytarty wrote: »

Gosh, you have made me think how much we rely upon paper towels
We use them for milky spills, so the cloth doesn't smell and for wiping oil out of a pan before washing, the odd emergency napkin for kids,
Floormspills, so many things.
I would miss it I think.
But thanks for the microfibres warning, I didn't know about that, I thought microfibres and e clothes were the same thing.

This is us! I steam milk for coffee and it often dribbles out of the spout or spills when I remove the thermometer, so use kitchen towel for that. I also use it for wiping the thick off pans or if there's a food spillage that needs scooping up rather than just wiping.

And there are many other things too!:o

Callie22

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I had read some negative things about microfibre cloths but not about them shedding, thanks for the tip there.

I have to admit that this was something that I only found out about recently too - fleece clothing is something else that's a problem in terms of putting microplastics into our watercourses and oceans, and is something that I also hadn't thought much about. We've been sold the idea that microfibre cloths and fleece clothing are 'greener' alternatives as you can use fewer chemicals with one and the other requires less energy to dry, but they really aren't.

Linda32

Anoneemoose wrote: »

I have thought of getting lots of cloths that I could use as I would the paper, with a view to washing them, but I would need them to be fully lint free, yet absorbent.

I wonder if muslin would work for this?
I'm sure you could buy a length from ebay or amazon.

dingdongsaving

I use hankies.

x2 sets of 5 (or 6, can't remember!) that are navy for kitchen use.

I use them and throw them straight into the wash.

Anoneemoose

dingdongsaving wrote: »

I use hankies.

x2 sets of 5 (or 6, can't remember!) that are navy for kitchen use.

I use them and throw them straight into the wash.

Excellent idea! Would never have crossed my mind.

Anoneemoose

Linda32 wrote: »

I wonder if muslin would work for this?
I'm sure you could buy a length from ebay or amazon.

That's a fab idea, too. I'm not sure if it would be too thin though. I might try them though, along with the other suggestions and see what works best.