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A Cleaner & Cuter Kitchen Is Yours With These Durable Kitchen Towels
For cleaning up messes or wiping dishes clean, the best kitchen towels are absorbent, durable enough for the task at hand, and fit your price point. Choosing the right material and size will help you find a set of towels that makes keeping the kitchen clean a cinch.
Materials
Cotton is absorbent and durable, making it a popular choice for kitchen towels intended for cleaning up messes and counters. Specific construction like ring spun cotton that combine short and long fibers create an even more durable fabric. The looping of terry cloth, which is most commonly made from cotton, increases the towel’s surface area and absorbency as a result; however, some may prefer a towel that isn’t as soft for cleaning up tougher messes. This may be the case if you’re using a kitchen towel to dry dishes; for this task, be sure to choose a lint-free towel, which typically has a tight and/or textured weave. Terry cloth towels usually require a few washes before they are free of lint.
Microfiber is typically made of synthetic materials and not as versatile as cotton; unlike cotton towels, microfiber can’t be folded to stand in as a pot holder because it may melt, and after washing they can feel unpleasantly static-like to some. With that said, microfiber towels are highly absorbent and many prefer them to cotton.
Size & Features
A kitchen towel should be big enough to handle a decent-sized mess or load of dishes, and that’s usually around 20 by 30 inches, though you may find slightly smaller towels are a better fit for your space. Most kitchen towels are simple in appearance, but you may like a few more decorative towels for display. A hanging loop is a nice bonus feature if you might like to hang your towels on hooks.
With all this in mind, below are the best kitchen towels. Since you use them everyday, nothing compares to a quality kitchen towel for keeping your kitchen in order.
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1The Most Premium Set To Match Your Kitchen's Colors
The simple striped pattern is enough to add a little personality to your kitchen towels, and they're available in a dozen colors, including black, blue, and yellow. These effective, yet decorative kitchen towels can subtly match your decor while also working efficiently to clean your kitchen.
Each of the 100% cotton towels in this six-pack has a hanging loop in one corner. The drill weave of the cotton makes them particularly strong and durable. They measure 20 by 30 inches and reviewers commented that they're the perfect size and that they're also especially soft and absorbent. While you only get six towels in the pack, one reviewer commented that these are "superior dish towels in all respects."
A helpful review: "I bought these towels in both the black and the green stripe to coordinate with my kitchen colors, and they look great hanging on my stove. However, the most important thing is how they work. They are absorbent, not soft, but effective in drying dishes, including glassware. They wash and dry beautifully and stains come out easily."
- Dimensions: 20 by 30 inches
2The Most Versatile Kitchen Towels
The best kitchen towels for just about any purpose — wiping counters clean, drying a dish, protecting hands from a hot pot, or even folding into a napkin for a guest at the dinner table — are made of 100% cotton. Compared to the above pick, this is a value pack of 15 towels for nearly the same price, though they are smaller in size. A herringbone weave on these towels increases their ability to absorb, but they're also lightweight enough to dry quickly and avoid any issues with mildew. These towels do not have a hanging hoop.
Though white like most kitchen towels, these are more versatile thanks to their size and simple, attractive design with a blue stripe. Unlike some bar mops that are totally utilitarian in their appearance, these kitchen towels look as good as they work. They might even remind you of the ones at your favorite trendy restaurant. Plus, these are highly rated with more than 3,000 reviews.
A helpful review: "I love these towels. They are durable and versatile. I use them to dry dishes, as napkins, for the bread basket, and wiping the counters, stove, and whatever needs to be cleaned after cooking in the kitchen. I have many so that I can use 2-3 clean ones each day. They also are lint-free."
- Dimensions: 14 by 25 inches
3The Best Terry Cloth Kitchen Towels
These terry cloth towels are super absorbent and yet dry quickly with their mostly cotton and polyester blend. This 12-pack of towels offer drying that won't leave your dishes covered in streaks and reviewers say they are lint-free after a few spins in the washing machine. These towels don't have a hanging loop, but with more than 2,000 reviews, shoppers commented they completely replaced the use of paper towels with these reusable towels.
Though these towels may appear thin on arrival, the terry loop stitching provides extra surface area for increased absorbency while making it lightweight enough to dry quickly and avoid developing an odor from staying wet. All towels should be washed before use, but reviewers repeatedly commented these are extra soft, fluffy, and lint-free after washing.
A helpful review: "I've had my set for over 3 years now. I LOVE these towels. I bake for a living and these towels go through a lot of wear and tear, including food coloring spills and some nasty clean up jobs after I've done a large order. I use them like crazy. I throw them in the washer with a little bleach and they STILL smell fresh and clean and are still very white! ... I've got everyone else hooked on them too!
- Dimensions: 16 by 19 inches
4The Best Dish Towels For Drying Dishes & Hands
This 15-pack of flour sack dish towels is a perfect set for drying dishes or covering bowls of proofing bread with its extra-large square size. They're made of 100% ring-spun cotton and, according to the manufacturer, they absorb up to eight times their own weight. These classic white and lightweight towels fit in with any kitchen, and reviewers commented that these are really soft. These napkin-style towels do not have a hanging loop.
A helpful review: "If you've not used flour sacks as dish rags or kitchen rags you are missing out. These are the best ever. Always wash them to increase absorbance even if they say pre-washed because they're always better after washing."
- Dimensions: 28 by 28 inches
5The Best Microfiber Towels
These highly rated microfiber towels are thicker and softer than others you might find, and reviewers report they hold up really well after several washes. So they're a bit pricier than other towels, as microfiber tends to be, but they're built to last. These more luxurious microfiber towels are also soft enough to dry your hands on.
These towels are made of polyester and polyamide, and reviewers commented they love how quickly the microfiber dries. The pack of eight comes in striped variations of blue, gray, green, or yellow, and each one has a handy loop for hanging.
A helpful review: "Old school cotton towel user reads reviews and decides to try these microfiber towels thinking cotton is the best. What an unsuspected surprise. Never go back to cotton! These towels efficiently absorb water, dry quickly and are easily cleaned, no staining. Amazing!"
- Dimensions: 26 by 18 inches
