Tea Towels

One of my favourite things I learned when I took the Food Handling and Safety Course, was that it is more hygenic to let dishes air dry in the rack.  The reasoning behind this recommendation is that germs can be spread by using a towel (assuming that most people do not have or use a fresh towel each time).  Not only was this fact the perfect defense for my dislike of drying dishes but also supported my obsession with clean towels in the kitchen.  I must use 6-10 dish towels a day...a clean one multiple times a day for hands, one to hang on my apron for quick wipes, one to put delicate items on to dry (like wine glasses), plus a few more for drying fruits and vegetables.  I can't stand it when they get wet so as soon as the towels are beyond damp I toss them into the laundry basket and pull out a new one.  I see now that Kleenex has a disposable hand towel dispenser.  While I think it's great to have a clean towel, I can't support throwing away all those used-just-one-time disposable ones.  I realize it takes energy to wash the cloth variety but I'm sure it is still better for the environment to re-use them.  Even after my Lab Sam gets a hold of my towels (his all-time favourite snack), I will continue to use the only slightly shredded tea towels for cleaning, wiping up in the garage, or in the laundry room for drying spills or hands.  I have a big drawer in my kitchen with a ready supply of fresh towels - and my family knows to use them! 

Comments

[Christina]

So true Angie. I've been doing this since I was a teen. And I got married as a teen! I have a big pail in my laundry room and by the end of the week it's full of tea towels and dish rags!! Great article! Hopefully you'll enlighten someone out there. xo

Christina