These are our favorites for soaking up spills, catching crumbs, dusting, and more.
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Paper towels are an unsung hero among kitchen cleaning tools. Whether mopping up spills, wiping down counters, or catching crumbs, they’re an easy solution for even the worst cooking messes. Reaching for disposable paper towels for every little task, however, can become a costly (and wasteful) habit. For a more wallet- and eco-friendly option, reusable paper towels are a smart alternative to rolls of disposables. We tested 20 reusable paper towels to see how they performed against sticky chocolate syrup, red wine on the carpet, and other spills. These are our favorites for durability, versatility, and value.
Each large, sturdy sheet can be used up to 50 times before disposing.
It might take a few wash cycles to achieve maximum absorbency.
Bamboo is a wonderful sustainable resource, since it’s easy and quick to grow, replenishing in just a few months versus the years it takes to grow trees. These reusable towels are made of bamboo fiber viscose, with a thick feel and excellent durability — you can use each sheet up to 50 times, which makes a 20-sheet roll equivalent to 20 standard paper towel rolls.
In our tests, we found these absorbed liquids better than regular paper towels, wiping up water spills with a single swipe. They weren’t as efficient when picking up dry spills, like coffee grounds, but proved to be very sturdy when wiping wine from the carpet, even with vigorous rubbing. We liked that these towels could be washed by hand or by machine in a cold water cycle. Hang drying them, and use them again. They will become softer and more absorbent after a few washes.
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These towels deliver when it comes to strength and absorbency.
You can only clean them by hand, and they may show wear and tear faster than more expensive versions.
This affordable paper towel roll delivers major value — one sheet is equivalent to a single standard paper towel roll, and one roll takes the place of about 30 disposable ones. Measuring 10.75 x 11 inches, these towels are perfectly sized to tackle spills, dry your hands, or dust surfaces, and you can wash them by hand for reuse.
At first glance, these towels look similar in thickness to their disposable counterparts but have a slightly slicker, shinier surface. They scored very well when it came to quality and absorbency, picking up a respectable amount of moisture in one pass. We noticed very slight wear when it came to rubbing the towel on a carpet to mop up wine, but that didn’t change their efficacy. Washing them by hand left the used towels clean with no staining or significant wear and tear.
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These organic cotton towels are Fair Trade and 100% GOTS certified, and can be machine washed.
They require more vigorous washing when cleaning by hand, and debris tends to get stuck in the waffle texture.
For a more luxurious reusable paper towel option, the Mioceo are made of soft, unbleached 100% organic cotton. Each towel is said to replace a whopping 130 rolls of standard disposable paper towels to justify the splurge. The waffle texture provides a very light scouring ability to wipe up stubborn or sticky stains, and you can wash them in the machine for easy cleaning.
These quality of towels stood out to us; their strong fabric held up well during wet and dry tests. They mopped up most spills in just one or two swipes and showed no wear when rubbing a wine spill off the carpet. Debris tended to get stuck in the waffle texture, requiring more vigorous washing when cleaning by hand, but it was nothing that a washing machine cycle couldn’t handle.
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Durable and easy to clean, these cloths are nicely absorbent and can tackle a number of cleaning tasks.
We found they only absorb half the volume of moisture that they claim to.
Available in 10 colors, the Swedish Dishcloth is both a utilitarian and cheerful addition to your cleaning routine. Made of cellulose and cotton, each of these 8- x 7-inch cloths is said to equal 15 disposable paper towel rolls. They’re so sturdy that you can enlist them for just about any household cleaning tasks and can be used on glass, tile, wood, stainless steel, and marble with no problem.
This product did well when wiping up wet spills, absorbing about 90% of a water spill in one swipe. While this towel claims to absorb 20 times its weight in moisture, we found that it only absorbed about half that — a slight disappointment, but still a respectable absorption capacity for its size. It’s incredibly sturdy and easy to throw into the washing machine to clean. While they’re one of the least paper towel-like among the ones we tested, we still think they’re worth a purchase for all the tasks they can handle.
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Each of the five cloths are designed to clean different surfaces and messes.
They’re almost too specific in purpose — we wish one was for general spills.
A microfiber cloth is a wonderful tool for cleaning a variety of surfaces, and this set from Full Circle includes five cloths assigned to specific purposes. The difference is in the weaving. One is meant for bathroom and tile (equipped with scrubbing stripes), one is for dusting, one is for cleaning glass, one is for greasy ovens and stovetops, and one is meant for cleaning stainless steel. Made of recycled plastic, these durable cloths can be cleaned via washing machine and line dried for reuse.
Because each of these towels has a specific use, they didn’t quite align with the performance comparison of a disposable paper towel in our testing. That being said, we liked how durable and absorbent these towels were, wiping up wet spills and chocolate with one swipe. We also found the scrubbing aspect of the bath and tile cloth to be a pretty cool feature, useful for sloughing off any sticky residue on a kitchen counter. Though we did find that the microfiber wasn’t as soft after laundering, they’re easy to clean in the washing machine. Just hang them to dry after.
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Kitchen + Home Bamboo Towels ($10 at Amazon) The design and feel of these reusable paper towels are close to disposables, and they performed almost exactly like them, too. Very sturdy when wet, they held up well when wiping up spills from the carpet. One roll is said to replace 60 disposable ones, giving this option a high value rating.
Grove Co. Swedish Dishcloths ($10 at Grove) We liked the absorbency of these dishcloths when soaking up simple liquid spills, and we appreciated their durability when wiping up wine from the carpet. They weren’t as effective when wiping away tackier, thicker messes like chocolate sauce, but they were easy to clean by hand or in the washing machine.
Zero Waste Store Reusable Paper Towels, 12 Pack ($25 at ZeroWasteStore) The quality of these towels is good, and running them through the washing machine didn’t change that. We liked them more for picking up bigger messes (like spilled syrup or food debris) than for soaking up liquids.
Luckiss Bamboo Dish Cloths, 12 Pack ($15 at Amazon) With the thickness of a light rag, these reusable towels performed a lot like disposable paper towels, soaking up spills and wiping up messes in a couple of easy swipes. Durable enough to withstand some friction when rubbing a spill off the carpet, these cleaned up nicely after washing and felt like a good value.
While we liked how easily we could rinse the Aidea Cleaning Wipes ($7 at Amazon) for reuse, we also found them flimsier than others we tested — every towel either ripped or had a hole by the end of testing. The Lola Wowables Swedish Dishcloths ($16 at Amazon) were also easy to clean, but they weren’t as absorbent as they claimed. They also felt less durable and less effective at absorbing spills and cleaning messes than others we tried. Finally, the Scotch-Brite Reusable Wipes ($2 at Target) were good for scrubbing and cleaning, but they didn’t compare to disposable paper towels when it came down to functionality. They were less effective at absorbing and drying than the competition.
When selecting reusable paper towels, those made of a natural material like bamboo fiber or cotton will likely feel and act most like disposable paper towels, with the added benefit of durability for reuse. Products made from cellulose (like Swedish dishcloths) will feel less like paper towels, but they should be more durable and act more like kitchen sponges when wiping down surfaces. Microfiber is another good option for cleaning a variety of surfaces like glass, tile, or wood, including dusting.
The care of your reusable dishtowels depends on its material and fabrication. Very thin sheets are typically hand-wash only, as they aren’t sturdy enough to stand up to the rigors of a machine wash cycle. As always, consult the manufacturer’s specifications on properly caring for your reusable paper towels, discerning whether or not they can be sanitized with bleach, and when they should be disposed of.
A fresh disposable paper towel will almost always be more sanitary than a reusable paper towel simply because it hasn’t gotten a chance to get dirty. But when cleaned and dried properly, a reusable paper towel is an excellent option for wiping up spills and other minor messes. For heavy-duty jobs, pick a towel that can be machine washed, use it once, and then launder it again before using it for a different task.
Certain types of reusable paper towels can go through the washing machine, but not all of them. You’ll want to consult the manufacturer’s instructions, but for the most part, you can hand wash them with liquid dish soap, rinse them well with warm water, and hang them to dry.
Again, it depends on the manufacturer’s instructions. Most reusable paper towels are meant to be hung to dry; a tumble dry cycle might wreak havoc on their fibers and cause them to break down prematurely.
Bernadette Machard de Gramont is an LA-based freelance writer specializing in food, wine, cookware, and other kitchen products. After a two-year stint at Williams Sonoma headquarters in San Francisco, she now researches and tests a variety of cookware, bakeware, and wine tools, and interviews field experts for their insight.
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