The Best Kitchen Towels of 2023

The phrase “dish towel” is usually used interchangeably with “kitchen towel,” and for good purpose: they’re really multipurpose. Spend a pair hours cooking, and also you’ll shortly notice you should use a dish towel for far more than simply drying dinner plates. Within the Critical Eats take a look at kitchen and at house, we use them not only for drying dishes and arms, however for mopping up spills and grabbing sizzling handles—they make wonderful stand-ins for pot holders. 

Selecting one of the best dish towel may be difficult: is it worthwhile to spend a small fortune on one thing that’s arguably (albeit quietly) one of the necessary instruments in your kitchen? Or must you go for a funds purchase, as a result of towels are supposed to be closely used? After all, there’s aesthetics to contemplate, too: dish towels are saved “out within the open,” on hooks or draped over oven door handles.

There are nice choices for each sorts of cooks, whether or not you need to spend so much on an expensive dish towel that’ll feel and look nice, otherwise you’d want to avoid wasting a buck and exchange it with larger frequency. All of it boils all the way down to how you propose on utilizing it.

To seek out one of the best all-around kitchen towel, we examined 17 towels from standard and respected manufacturers. We selected quite a lot of towel varieties, guaranteeing we included terry material, flour sack, flat weave, and waffle weave choices. The vast majority of our samples had been made out of 100% cotton, which is most generally used for dish towels, however we additionally included microfiber, linen, and linen-blended towels.

The Winners, at a Look

These towels look, really feel, and performance like those most popular by most cooks in skilled kitchens. They’re sturdy sufficient to take heavy use and thick sufficient to wrap round a sizzling pan deal with. In addition they have a stellar absorbency fee (141%!), and a really enticing value level. These towels are made to be exhausting staff, and though they aren’t as fairly as a number of the different opponents, followers of this fashion would argue that’s the purpose.

With a weave that’s neither too thick or skinny, this 100% cotton towel excelled in each job and regarded good doing it (it is available in a set of six neutral-adjacent colours). We appreciated its center-located hanging hook and pliability; it made drying delicate glassware simple and environment friendly. Though the value tag appears excessive, these towels are available in a set of six and are made out of natural cotton.

These 100% cotton towels are woven collectively in a flat crosshatch sample that’s each absorbent and pliable. They’re sturdy, sturdy towels that may deal with most kitchen duties. Though they’re not fairly as delicate because the waffle weave varieties, they’re a stable possibility—and are available in a powerful quantity of colours.

With a fuzzy terry material weave, Utopia’s bar mop is good for tossing over a spill or mess within the kitchen. Having a stack readily available cuts down on paper towel use, and whereas they’re not the fanciest wanting towels we’ve ever used, that’s the purpose—they’re simple to clean and reuse. Simply toss ‘em within the wash with a splash of bleach they usually’ll be able to go for the following kitchen catastrophe.

We liked drying our arms on these luxuriously thick, absorbent hand towels. Though they weren’t our favourite for drying dishes, the design does provide a wise improve over different terry material towels: these are reversible. You should utilize the plush aspect for arms, then put the essential cotton aspect to work for different kitchen duties. Both approach, you actually can’t beat the thickness of All-Clad’s towels. 

The Exams

• Absorbency Check: We weighed every towel on a digital scale and recorded the load in grams. After weighing one cup of water (118 grams), we poured the water onto a sheet pan and lined it with a towel. After ready two minutes, we then transferred the towel to the dimensions and recorded the brand new weight. We consulted Gregory Petrics, a Ph.D. in Arithmetic, to give you the calculation [weight after water/weight before water*100-100] to find out the absorbency proportion of every towel. 
• Drying Time Check: As soon as the towels had been dampened and weighed, we draped each over a picket drying rack, guaranteeing every towel was laid flat with no wrinkles, and didn’t overlap every other towel. We checked the towels each quarter-hour to evaluate for dryness; we recorded the period of time it took for every towel to really feel dry to the contact. 
• Maneuverability (Ease of Use) Check: As soon as all of the towels had been completely dry, we evaluated how simple they had been to make use of as dish drying towels. For every towel, we washed two wine glasses. After rinsing them, we set them upside-down in a drying rack for 30 seconds to take away extra moisture. Then we dried each glasses utilizing the towel. Right here, we took notice of thickness, pliability, and whether or not the towel left behind any streaks or lint on the glass.
• Staining and Cleansing Check: We examined the towels’ ease of care by smearing 1/2 teaspoon of mustard and 1 tablespoon of ketchup on every towel. After ready one hour, we washed the towels based on their particular producer’s directions. We then inspected every towel for indicators of staining, in addition to shrinking, fraying, wrinkling, and common sturdiness after one wash/dry cycle.
• Normal Use Check: After finishing the above assessments, we selected seven standouts for our last take a look at. We used every successful towel for one week in our kitchen, placing it by way of a rigorous number of duties: we dried dishes and arms, used it to deal with sizzling cookware, wiped spills and messes, and hung it on each wall-mounted hooks and oven door handles. After one week, we washed it once more based on the producer’s directions and took notes on texture, thickness, versatility, sturdiness, and ease of care.

What We Discovered

The Greatest Kitchen Towels Had been Multipurpose

The most effective towels had been persistently helpful at quite a lot of duties: drying arms, drying dishes, mopping spills, serving as a potholder or oven mitt, and even performing as cleansing rags. Towels that carry out brilliantly in a single or two classes weren’t ok to face as much as the true multipurpose workhorses. To decide on a towel that may do all of it, search for thick (however not plush) cotton, a versatile texture that may be maneuvered round tight areas, and a value level low sufficient to justify shopping for a couple of.

Dimension Mattered: Larger Was Not Higher

If we had been utilizing kitchen towels solely to dry our arms, we’d be all for the XXL sizes. However the bigger towels—accounting for each dimensions and thickness—had been awkward to make use of for many duties. Drying a fragile wine glass with a big, thick towel was a nerve-wracking expertise, and we discovered that very massive towels weren’t splendid for utilizing round open flame (for apparent causes)!

Hanging Loops Had been Good to Have

Not all towels we examined had cloth loops for hanging the towel. Though this wasn’t a deal breaker—you may at all times drape it over a hook or your oven door deal with—a dangling loop was appreciated, particularly in kitchens the place a number of towels are in use at any given time. We docked factors for hanging loops that had been too thick to be simply used, and gave commendations for loops located within the middle of the lengthy fringe of a towel, somewhat than in a nook. (Nook loops require the towels to dangle awkwardly lengthy, probably grazing the countertop or workspace.)

Save the Terry Material for Hand Towels

Terry material, a weave made out of thick, looped cotton, is usually utilized in bathtub towels, due to its plush feeling and spectacular capability to “drink in” loads of water. It’s comprehensible to imagine they’d make nice kitchen towels for these causes. However our testing revealed they do just one factor—dry arms—very nicely. They’re not nice at drying dishes, as a result of the looped weave leaves behind loads of fibers, particularly on glassware. They’re additionally sluggish to dry when saturated: in our dry take a look at, the All Clad Reversible Towel, which has a terry material weave on one aspect, took six hours and half-hour (the longest of any towel) to really feel dry to the contact. We additionally discovered their thickness to be a detractor in lots of duties. These hefty towels struggled to slip in between slim pot lid handles and felt clumsy when used instead of an oven mitt. 

That mentioned, terry material towels are stellar at drying arms shortly and fully. When you want to maintain separate towels for dishes and arms, it’s price contemplating a terry material towel or two for every time your arms are moist.

Waffle Weave Towels Had been a Nice Alternative, Relying on the Depth of the Weave

The towels that had fibers woven collectively in a waffle-like sample had been high performers within the absorbency, maneuverability, and common use assessments. The waffle sample makes these towels very versatile and malleable, which implies they excel at defending arms round sizzling cookware and drying dishes. 

The waffle weave towels we examined had been both 100% cotton or a cotton-linen mix, though you can too discover 100% linen towels. Overwhelmingly, we most popular the 100% cotton towels, as a result of their cheaper price level. Linen fibers, whereas extra sturdy and fewer susceptible to pilling over time, turn out to be crinkled and accordion-like across the edges, which reduces their usability—except ironed.

A waffled towel may be deep or shallow, which is represented by how raised the sides of every particular person weave is. Though deep, free weaves really feel luxurious and drink up loads of moisture—they usually are typically dearer, which made us hesitant to make use of them for messy kitchen jobs. These had been additionally extra susceptible to slight unraveling and fraying on the edges and inside the uncovered fibers. One in every of our favorites, from Coyuchi, had a brief, tight weave that felt simple to manage, and stood up nicely to 2 cycles of washing and drying.

Flour Sack-Model Towels Had been Too Skinny to Be Really Helpful

Flour sack towels—typically referred to as tea towels—had been as soon as made out of precise flour sacks. Now, they’re merely tremendous skinny, light-weight cotton. Though they dry shortly when moist, they’re too flimsy to be helpful as a makeshift pot holder.

When are they good to have round? Owing to their no-shed texture, they’re tremendous at sprucing glassware. Embroidered or sample choices is usually a good “only for decor” possibility, too. 

It’s Not Value Shopping for a Very Costly Towel

It’s tempting to splurge on a stunning towel. In any case, they’re decor-adjacent instruments. However for many cooks, it’s a greater funding to purchase towels in a pack, spending much less per towel. It’s price noting too {that a} excessive value level doesn’t routinely translate to a greater towel. The most costly towel we examined, the Weston Table Laguna Towel, wasn’t as absorbent as our high picks, and didn’t get up nicely to being laundered. Our general favourite, from Zeppoli, are available in a pack of 15 and value simply $1.73 per towel. Your funds will decide what defines an “costly” towel, however, usually talking, we’d suggest not spending greater than $10 per towel.

The Standards: What to Search for in a Kitchen Towel

The most effective dish towels are multipurpose towels that can be utilized for extra than simply drying dishes. Search for towels with a robust, tight weave that may stand as much as sizzling cookware, in addition to deal with a wash/dry cycle with none fuss (though some shrinking is unavoidable in nearly all towels). Cotton is favored over linen for its extra reasonably priced value level, and resistance to rumpling across the edges. Low-pile threads are splendid as a result of they depart behind minimal lint, and make for a extra maneuverable towel. If aesthetics are necessary in your kitchen, select coloured and patterned towels which may disguise stains. Lastly, don’t lay our a fortune on any dish towel: the pricier it’s, the much less possible you’re to truly use it.

What we appreciated: Towels on this fashion are often known as “aspect towels” in skilled kitchens. They’re coveted (and typically hoarded) amongst cooks for good purpose: they’re extremely helpful for a number of jobs. They’re an incredible alternative for mopping spills in lieu of paper towels; in our absorbency take a look at, they soaked up 141% of their weight in water. They didn’t depart any lint when used as a dish-drying towel. Better of all, we appreciated their comparatively petite dimension, which wasn’t unwieldy, and lent itself nicely to make use of as a makeshift potholder. These towels are among the many least costly we examined and are available in a big pack.

What we didn’t like: These towels are surprisingly thirsty, and do turn out to be saturated simply. With drying instances that may attain hours (throughout our take a look at, it took 5 hours to really feel totally dry), you’ll must have a bunch readily available whereas cooking. They stain simply, and have a thinner weave than our different high decide, which implies they must get replaced with larger regularity.

Worth at time of publish: $19.

Key Specs

• Materials: 100% cotton
• Dimensions: 14 x 25 inches
• Care directions: Machine wash heat; tumble dry low
• Hanging hook: No

What we appreciated: This towel hit all of the marks. It’s made with a low-profile waffle weave for optimum flexibility and maneuverability. It has a robust hem round all sides, which helps it resist warping and turning into misshapen when washed and dried. The generously-sized hanging loop is affixed to the middle of a aspect, which makes it simple to hold and preserve out of the best way when not in use. It dried comparatively shortly when moist (three hours and 45 minutes), and hid stains nicely, due to its waffled sample and neutral-ish colour. It additionally seems to be good and is made out of natural cotton.

What we didn’t like: It’s on the costly aspect, with every towel costing near $10. There was appreciable shrinking when washed (three and 4 inches from both aspect). We had been barely hesitant to make use of it for soiled or messy duties, to maintain the aesthetics intact. 

Worth at time of publish: $58.

Key Specs

• Materials: 100% natural cotton
• Dimensions: 20 x 30 inches
• Care directions: Machine wash chilly on mild cycle, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry low or line dry; cool iron as wanted
• Hanging hook: Sure

What we appreciated: These towels are easy and, because the title suggests, really traditional. They’ll seamlessly merge into nearly any kitchen’s design fashion, they usually’re hardworking towels we don’t really feel we’ve got to child or defend from messes. Though some towels with a flatter weave are inclined to lag within the absorbency division, the crosshatch stitching right here meant these towels may deal with liquids, whether or not it was drying dishes or mopping up a spill. Selecting a colour is enjoyable, too—Williams Sonoma at the moment has a handful of springy hues on provide.

What we didn’t like: In our absorbency assessments, it couldn’t examine to the spectacular efficiency of the terry material varieties — nevertheless it did dry faster. The feel is a bit tough, and never fairly as pliable because the Coyuchi. The hanging hook is connected to a nook of the towel.

Worth at time of publish: $22, relying on colour.

Key Specs

• Materials: 100% cotton
• Dimensions: 20 x 30 inches
• Care directions: Machine wash heat, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry; heat iron as wanted
• Hanging hook: Sure

What we appreciated: These towels are extremely absorbent (with an absorbency fee of 160%). They’re excellent for utilizing as an alternative of paper towels, they usually’re made to be tossed round—no must preserve them in pristine situation. They arrive in a set of a dozen and are a primary, white colour (except you go for a unique hue), and have a “no fuss” vibe that may be brightened with bleach.

What we didn’t like: The looped fibers are comparatively free, and gained’t final eternally. When saturated, this towel is heavy and takes a very long time to air-dry. If used to dry dishes, it’s going to depart behind lint.

Worth at time of publish: $18.

Key Specs

• Materials: 100% cotton
• Dimensions: 16 x 19 inches
• Care directions: Use chilly water, bleach protected, wash individually from darkish colours; dry instantly
• Hanging hook: No

What we appreciated: These towels are unbelievable for drying arms. They’re delicate and thick, and absorb loads of water. They’re good stand-ins for pot holders when maneuvering sheet pans out and in of the oven. All-Clad’s towels had been a robust competitor in our staining and cleansing assessments, main us to consider these sturdy towels will final for years.

What we didn’t like: They’re thick to a fault when confronted with sure duties. We had been hesitant to make use of them for drying the bowl and stem of delicate glassware, they usually had been a decent squeeze into slim lid handles. At $10 a towel, they’re on the high vary of high-priced.

Worth at time of publish: $30.

Key Specs

• Materials: 100% cotton
• Dimensions: 17 x 30 inches
• Care directions: Machine wash heat, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry; heat iron as wanted
• Hanging hook: No

The Competitors

• Sur La Table Washed Waffle Kitchen Towels: We appreciated this thick and delicate towel—and appreciated its sturdy hanging hook—however its weave was loosely threaded, and began to indicate indicators of wear and tear after two washes.
• Williams Sonoma All Purpose Pantry Towels: Williams Sonoma’s All Function Towels are a median performer with out a lot to hate…or love. They’re a bit rougher than a few of our different picks, and only a bit too thick to be our go-to for drying delicate dishes.
• All-Clad Textiles Kitchen Towels: A good terry material possibility for drying arms, this towel is reasonably priced and fairly absorbent. Nevertheless it left behind loads of lint on glassware, and commenced to look matted after only one wash.
• Zeppoli Flour Sack Towels: Though this was our favourite among the many flour sack choices, it doesn’t lend itself to make use of as a pot holder, which nixed it early from additional rounds of testing.
• Weston Table Laguna Kitchen Towel: This 100% linen towel is a looker, however at $24 per single towel, we had been hesitant to deliver it close to something that might stain, tear, burn, or fray it. It’s well-made and fairly, and would work greatest as an ornamental or “arms solely” towel.
• Utopia Towels Dish Towels: At first blush, these look nearly indistinguishable from the Zeppoli Basic Kitchen Towels, our winners. However the Utopia towels had been much less absorbent, and had a stiffer, rougher texture.
• Now Designs Flour Sack Kitchen Dish Towels: This set of three towels earned smiles for its cheery colours, however the towels had been low-performers in each take a look at. They’re so skinny, they’re really see-through—a top quality that stopped us from testing them as pot holders for warm cookware.
• Aunt Martha’s Flour Sack Dish Towels: Though Amazon reviewers love these as a clean canvas for embroidery, we struggled to search out their usefulness within the kitchen. They’re supersized to a fault, and lots of in our package deal had odd dimensions. They’re additionally not as absorbent as our different flour sack take a look at topics.
• Hyer Kitchen Microfiber Kitchen Dish Towels: We love a towel that leaves no hint (these don’t deposit any lint), however these aren’t nice multitaskers, owing to their distinctive texture and skinny composition. We’d preserve a stack shut by for cleansing and sprucing the kitchen, although.
• Hawkins New York Essential Dish Towel Set: Arms down (and dry), these $14-per towel choices smoked the competitors within the “seems to be” class. However their XL size made them awkward to make use of for many duties, and we had been reluctant to make use of them for messier duties.
• Magic Linen Waffle Kitchen Towel: Though we loved the luxurious really feel of this linen-cotton blended towel and its deep, thirsty waffle weave, its $18-per-towel price ticket made it impractical for on a regular basis use.
• Five Two Utility Towels: These easy cotton towels had been decently absorbent and nearly as versatile because the Zeppoli Basic, our high decide. Nevertheless, at over $15 extra per towel (on the time of testing), it was exhausting to justify the splurge.

FAQs

What’s the distinction between dish towels and tea towels? 

Tea towels are skinny, versatile towels made out of cotton or linen—they’re typically referred to as flour sack towels, and sometimes printed or embroidered with designs or patterns. Though you should use tea towels for dish towels, they’re much less versatile, and sometimes used as ornament. They’re, we’ll add, fairly nice at drying glassware, as a result of their lack of lint. (The phrase “tea towel” has its origins in excessive society; these towels had been used to insulate teapots and preserve baskets of scones heat).

What are bar mops?

Bar mops are plush, terry cloth-style towels made with high-pile looped cotton. They’re thirsty and absorbent, making them splendid for mopping up spills on moist surfaces. However they turn out to be shortly saturated, which makes them removed from splendid to be used as pot holders. In addition they depart behind loads of lint when used as a dish drying towel.

What’s a aspect towel? 

A aspect towel is restaurant lingo for a primary, low-cost dish towel that can be utilized for quite a lot of kitchen duties. Our high decide on this evaluate, the Zeppoli Basic Kitchen Towels, are thought-about a aspect towel.

What’s one of the best ways to clean dish towels? 

Past “based on producer directions,” you imply? Jokes apart, dish towels needs to be washed in chilly water and tumble-dried on the bottom warmth setting to keep away from shrinking. All cotton and linen towels will shrink as much as 4 inches after the primary wash/dry cycle, though for those who’re involved about that, you may hang-dry them to reduce floor space loss. In case your kitchen towels get stained, deal with them instantly with a stain remover and wash on chilly. If the stain stays, attempt treating and washing once more earlier than placing within the dryer; warmth will “set” the stain. Most producers notice that if bleach is used, it needs to be the non-chlorine kind.

Are kitchen towels and dish cloths the identical? 

Linguistically, sure. Though dish towels are also known as kitchen towels and vice-versa, there’s one occasion the place we wouldn’t swap them out. Terry material towels are greatest reserved for drying arms, as a result of they depart behind lint when used for drying dishes (particularly on glassware).

Which materials is greatest for a dish towel?

Our assessments revealed that cotton was preferable for dish towels, owing to its excessive absorbency fee, low price, and suppleness. Linen is a wonderful possibility as nicely, though it’s dearer and susceptible to wrinkling and rumpling within the dryer. Though microfiber doesn’t depart behind lint, it’s not splendid for drying arms or swapping in as a pot holder.