# Do you hang a kitchen towel on the oven and/or refrigerator handle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2020, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571 "2020-12-21T22:11:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/41 "2020-12-22T17:37:12Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > I’m still scratching my head over the fridge handle though. A towel on there would be all bunched up, it wouldn’t dry, especially where it goes through the handle; it would just fester. Gross. Do American fridges have horizontal handles or something? As a place to hang hand towels, refrigerator handles (normally vertical on U.S refrigerators) and oven handles each have their pluses and minuses. Refrigerator handles: towel is pretty secure - it _can_ fall off onto the floor, but is unlikely to. However, as you say, it’s all bunched and tends to stay damp. Oven handles: you can spread out the towel so it dries out, but it slides off easily. And even when it doesn’t, if you open the oven all the way, the towel drags the floor. So both places are less than ideal. We usually have one on the fridge handle, and once it gets damp, we toss it in the laundry basket, and get a fresh towel from the drawer. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/42 "2020-12-22T17:39:14Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I guess the next question is, how often do you change them? Fess up, we’re all friends here. I tend to wash towels every 4-5 days, and there are usually ~3 dish towels in each load. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/43 "2020-12-22T17:51:19Z")
We have a bar with hooks near the sink, so the kitchen towel for drying hands is there. I’ll sometimes put a decorative towel on the oven handle. Currently there’s a towel with a Christmas tree hanging from the bottom oven, which I don’t use as often. I never hang anything from the top oven’s handle. The fridge does not have a handle which could be used to hang something. Dish clothes and towels are washed about every 3-4 days. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/44 "2020-12-22T17:54:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The handle may looked like it’s bolted to the door, but in fact, it might be bolted to the _glass_ , which is just glued to the door, and pulling it hard enough and at the right angle will literally _peel off the entire front_ off your very expensive oven. Not to mention the door is likely to swing open if used as a grab bar. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/45 "2020-12-22T18:25:27Z")
Interesting. I have a towel hung on my oven handle, but it’s not for dishes, it’s there as a potholder. It’s a convenient place for it. If I need a dishrag, I have some old washcloths that I keep under the sink, and I toss them in the wash after I use them. I never would have thought of hanging it on the oven. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/46 "2020-12-22T19:27:58Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’ve seen them on the oven handle but in both houses so far, I’ve had a specific hook for the dishtowels. I didn’t even know people used fridge handles. We have always had a towel hanging from the fridge. But our new fridge had the freezer on the bottom, and if we aren’t careful, the bottom of the towel can get stuck in the freezer drawer. This thread had given me all sorts of ideas! > [@DemonTree](#): > > > [@SanVito](#): > > > > Kitchen towels in the UK are [paper towels](https://www.google.com/search?q=kitchen+roll&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB869GB869&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN9-_XmOHtAhXPfMAKHUA6BlcQ_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=1863&bih=1064&dpr=2) (and so go under the sink, obvs). My [tea towels](https://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-partners-coastal-striped-tea-towels-pack-of-2-blue/p4125561?sku=238064323&s_ppc=2dx92700057519884098&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CjwKCAiAz4b_BRBbEiwA5XlVVhbcOtd0srLhm9U5CRGWhi6jIgYGvpUlmwmFXXdc95uj1KCyR16_YhoC-RIQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) get draped over my oven door handle. Can’t see the practicality of using the fridge handle - it’s the wrong format (portrait). > > I assumed it meant tea towels, or maybe a hand towel kept in the kitchen for drying your hands (we have both). I’m still scratching my head over the fridge handle though. A towel on there would be all bunched up, it wouldn’t dry, especially where it goes through the handle; it would just fester. Gross. Do American fridges have horizontal handles or something? No, vertical. And it’s fine. The towel is fairly large, and we mostly use it to dry our clean hands after washing them at the sink. And we just grab the loose part to do that, the part that is looped in the door never gets damp, let alone festering. It’s very conveniently located for that, since the fridge is in easy reach of the sink, and you kinda have to walk past it to get from the sink to anyplace else. (except the stove, i guess. But really, it’s right there.) Hmm, i could move the sieve and bottle brush that hang over the sink, put in a larger hook, and hang a towel there. Or in front of the sink (although that might get in the way of opening that door, and there’s all sorts of “dirty” stuff in there, like dish soap and the compost can.) Or stick a hook on the side of the fridge. Or… All sorts of possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/47 "2020-12-22T19:46:11Z")
We have a separate hook. I got a cute one from Anthropologie. I tried the oven door, but I found it annoying when I actually used the oven – which is fairly frequently. Mainly, because if you opened the oven door, you’d have to take the towel off or it’d drag on the ground. Which, yuck. It also seemed to slip off more often. We wash the kitchen towel and the hand towels from the nearby powder room about every 3 to 4 days. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/48 "2020-12-22T22:20:48Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > One is on the oven, one is similar to [this](https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/idesign-reg-forma-reg-over-the-cabinet-towel-bar-in-stainless-steel/1014166890?skuId=14166890&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_kitchenaccessories_local&product_id=14166890&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&adpos=&creative=232742510629&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&utm_campaignid=71700000037211742&utm_adgroupid=58700004142062446&targetid=92700034063189766&gclid=CjwKCAiAz4b_BRBbEiwA5XlVVjr7-0eiw4uV4W33MfzxVqji9ZIprX3_bzX4jL1kLwoWmsm5Mz_1-xoCkDEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) so at the sink. There have been times when both end up crumpled on the counter - usually when I’m in frantic cooking mode - but mostly the towels live where they’re supposed to live. Exactly what we have for the hand towel. The dish towel is on a rack screwed into the other door under our sink. Neither our refrigerator or our oven is that close to the sink, so the towel going near the sink is the only thing that makes sense. As for when we clean them, every time we do laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/49 "2020-12-23T00:17:45Z")
Our kitchen towel is always stored on the dishwasher handle which was not one of the options listed so I answered accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/50 "2020-12-23T01:37:07Z")
Used to use oven, but installed towel rack due to the hang down to floor issue mentioned. Bonus it is above a furnace vent so towels dry well. Brian ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/51 "2020-12-23T02:01:58Z")
Other: mine is hanging from a drawer handle right next to the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/52 "2020-12-23T04:30:44Z")
I have a wheeled serving cart that generally lives under the counter next to the sink (before I moved here there was a dishwasher there.) I hang a kitchen towel from the (horizontal) handle of that. I throw it in the wash whenever I’m washing something suitable, generally once or twice a week. If it gets grubby before I’m doing laundry, I’ll toss the dirty one onto the washing machine and take a fresh one, I’ve got several. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/53 "2020-12-23T08:05:09Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I’ve read a few times how they’re the biggest harbinger of germs you can find in the kitchen (those, and the sponge in the sink), so now I throw them into the washing machine every 2/3 days. I’m sure this still isn’t enough. Yes, we’ve been here before. Cecil discusses, pointing out that the kitchen is, in fact, by far filthier than the bathroom (with a picture by Slug that is worth a thousand germs): > **[Does flushing the toilet cause dirty water to be spewed around the bathroom?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342463/does-flushing-the-toilet-cause-dirty-water-to-be-spewed-around-the-bathroom)** ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/54 "2020-12-24T01:36:37Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > We have been known to hang towels on the oven door, but we’re more likely to drape them over the pile of clean dishes in the drying rack We keep 2 towels in the kitchen. The dish towel dries dishes. We spread it over the clean ones in the drying rack. It’s dry the next morning. We also keep one on the oven door to wipe our hands while cooking. The trick is remembering to throw them into the laundry regularly. 😏 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2020, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571/55 "2020-12-26T01:50:51Z")
Back in Bangkok, we hung a hand towel on the refrigerator handle. But our place in Waikiki has a hook for one stuck to the wall, by the stove. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-hang-a-kitchen-towel-on-the-oven-and-or-refrigerator-handle/928571.md?page=2)