# Paper towel usage **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 31, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372 "2010-05-31T11:05:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/41 "2010-06-01T17:54:24Z")
I use paper towels only when there’s a very large spill or I’m cleaning something especially filthy, like a peed-on toilet seat or floor (my son knows how to pee standing up but sometimes gets distracted, so he turns around toward a noise). And in the case of a peed-on toilet, I’ll use a Clorox wipe more often than not because I don’t scrub my bathroom as frequently as I should. For most other things (scrubbing pots & pans, counters, etc.), I’ll use a dishrag. Oh, I also usually use cloth napkins. My mom got me a huge pile of teeny towels one day for some reason, and those work great as informal napkins. And I don’t care if I get bleach stains on them or not, so I throw them in with the rest of the kitchen laundry. ---
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/42 "2010-06-01T18:09:27Z")
I use them to dry dishes off after washing. reusing towles just encourages germs. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/43 "2010-06-01T19:11:44Z")
Our term for Paper Towels is the Roll-of-Napkins or Napkins by the yard. Using rags and towels is much better IMHO. In the Scout Troop we do not allow bottled water or paper towels. They boys are taught to use (and reuse) washcloths and to fill their Nalgene and steel bottles with water from the tap instead. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/44 "2010-06-01T19:20:03Z")
Like **Audrey Levins** , I’m a loyal Viva brand buyer. I think they’re the best, and I’ve got the select-a-size kind right now, which are great. We just used a whole bunch for washing windows over the weekend. We don’t get the newspaper so that wasn’t an option. Other than that, we generally use them for cat puke (which is fortunately pretty rare), cleaning the gerbil’s cage, and some around-the-kitchen cleaning. Whenever I use eggs, I always spray off the counter and then wipe up with a paper towel. I seem to be incapable of cracking an egg without getting at least some on the countertop so this seems to be a necessity. My husband seems to use many more paper towels than I do, but I’m not really sure where they all go. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/45 "2010-06-01T19:37:33Z")
> [@BigBertha](#): > > I use them to dry dishes off after washing. reusing towles just encourages germs. I was concerned about this, too, so I just bought a huge stack of both towels and washcloths. Both are generally one-day use only in my house because I have so many of them. If they’ve been used in the bathroom or to scrub elsewhere, they generally only get one use period before they go in the wash. When I have enough for a small load, I wash all my towels and dishcloths in bleach and detergent on hot, so I’d like to think they’re pretty clean. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/46 "2010-06-01T20:00:28Z")
> [@Sehmket](#): > > I do use them to clean one kitchen item - the George Foreman Grill. We don’t have one of those fancy ones with removable plates, so we have to do some gymnastics around the sink to get it clean. But, soak a paper towel, turn it on, so it can steam up, then let it cool back down, then scrub it out with the paper towels. I can just throw the paper towels away, as opposed to a sponge, which would just be full of grilling grode. I do this w/o the warming it back up, but by wetting (with soapy water) the p-towel and putting it in between the plates, closing the grill and letting it set for about an hour. Works a treat. I use paper towels as coasters–two folded into a square and placed under a sweating glass catch all the condensate. I also use them to clean glass and mirrors. That’s about it. Scrubbing and paper towels do not go together in my world. I see no reason to not use dish towels–of course they need to be washed. Your body can more than handle the germs present on a dish towel (unless you’re undergoing chemo or have HIV or similar). I like dish towels. I also don’t keep a roll of p-towels out on the counter. I don’t like the way that looks. I know, I’m weird. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/47 "2010-06-01T20:16:10Z")
My world comes close to resembling a paper towel commercial. For a long time, I didn’t even have a “dish towel” or know what to do with one if I did. But then, I noticed one of my friends dry her hands off with a towel in her kitchen one day. I thought it was a good idea and installed a hook in my kitchen and purchased some towels. Now, I just have to remember to use it. I don’t scrub pots with them because I have one of those soap filled scrubby wand things, and I don’t rinse my grapes in one because that’s stupid, but I use them for just about everything else. This basically includes wiping down surfaces in the kitchen with all-purpose cleaner, cleaning glass with windex, wiping furniture/leather/stainless with pledge, and cleaning the bathroom with some kaboom or similar stuff. Now, this isn’t to say that I won’t break out the sponge or magic eraser or whatever if the job calls for it, but they are not my go-to tool for everyday cleaning. And of course I use them for all the normal stuff such as cleaning up critter hork as another poster so eloquently put it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/48 "2010-06-01T21:14:14Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > This is seriously one of the reasons I cooked vegetarian at home long before I was actually vegetarian: No need to worry about the diseases found in most factory farmed US chicken. Yep, you could never have a problem with [green onions](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/nyregion/07coli.html) or [spinach.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_American_E._coli_outbreak) I’m constantly replacing the roll of paper towels. I do not do much cleaning, but cooking demands frequent wipe downs, etc. Rinse a fish fillet. . .pat dry. Quick rinse of a just used bowl. . .wipe dry. Wash grease from hands. . .wipe dry. ---
**Author:** ![atomicbadgerrace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@atomicbadgerrace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atomicbadgerrace)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/49 "2010-06-01T21:36:58Z")
Paper towels are a godsend. I use them for just about all cleaning activities, for coasters under beverages, for napkins, etc. The best part, of course, is that I can toss them when I’m finished. I haven’t really noticed anything odd about paper towel commercials in terms of their use… maybe I don’t watch enough of them? The people in the ones I can recall seem to be using them for the same things I do. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/50 "2010-06-01T21:55:19Z")
> [@taxi78cab](#): > > My husband seems to use many more paper towels than I do, but I’m not really sure where they all go. I posed this paper towel question at work and learned that paper towels are a bachelor’s best friend. Not only are they used as napkins, placemats, makeshift plates and cleaning tools, they can be folded and used as shims! While you should never give them as a Mother’s day gift, if you show up on Father’s day with a pallet-size pack from Costco, you’ll be the heir apparent. Plus when you’re invited to a cookout and you show up with 2 rolls of paper towels, you achieve some sort of god-like status moreso than if you bring beer. Who knew?? I guess your husband was a bachelor once, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/51 "2010-06-02T14:49:40Z")
I use them to blow my nose in. They’re much more…substantial than Kleenex. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/52 "2010-06-02T14:54:27Z")
…so is that a roll in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me…? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/53 "2010-06-02T16:20:27Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > And making bread kills wheat! Do you limit your bread usage? > > This is such a specious argument. Paper towels are made from farmed trees (or, often, recycled paper), just like bread is made from farmed wheat. Trees are planted, cut down, used, and more trees are planted in their place. Got a cite on that? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/54 "2010-06-02T16:33:51Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > This is seriously one of the reasons I cooked vegetarian at home long before I was actually vegetarian: No need to worry about the diseases found in most factory farmed US chicken. [hijack]It’s my understanding that produce is a common carrier of foodborne illnesses as well. After all, many people use manure to fertilize soil; people harvesting food often take a crap in the fields (there generally aren’t a whole lot of bathrooms in the middle of, say, a large corn field); not everyone has the same water standards we do; and many countries from which we export food don’t have the same food safety requirements we do for planting, maintenance and harvesting. That doesn’t even include chemical treatments and preparation-related illnesses. If you look at this [link](http://www.fightbac.org/content/view/14/21/), you’ll see that virtually all foodborne illnesses can be found not just in meat, but in produce, milk or other unpasteurized products. Only two of the ten most common are found in meat only. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/55 "2010-06-02T17:18:37Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > [hijack]It’s my understanding that produce is a common carrier of foodborne illnesses as well. After all, many people use manure to fertilize soil; people harvesting food often take a crap in the fields (there generally aren’t a whole lot of bathrooms in the middle of, say, a large corn field); not everyone has the same water standards we do; and many countries from which we export food don’t have the same food safety requirements we do for planting, maintenance and harvesting. That doesn’t even include chemical treatments and preparation-related illnesses. > > If you look at this [link](http://www.fightbac.org/content/view/14/21/), you’ll see that virtually all foodborne illnesses can be found not just in meat, but in produce, milk or other unpasteurized products. Only two of the ten most common are found in meat only. [/hijack] Even though I usually wash them, I _have_ eaten veggies straight from the store. I don’t know any sane person in the US that would eat raw chicken. The risks just aren’t comparable. “Can be found in” is not the same as “is usually found in.” Also, I don’t know that I’ve ever consumed unpasteurized milk. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/56 "2010-06-02T17:37:33Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > I don’t know any sane person in the US that would eat raw chicken. The risks just aren’t comparable. Would you eat raw artichoke? I would not, nor would I eat raw chicken. In both cases I would cook to improve palatability. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/57 "2010-06-02T17:39:59Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Would you eat raw artichoke? I would not, nor would I eat raw chicken. In both cases I would cook to improve palatability. Sorry, you misunderstand. We were talking about the risk of disease, not palatability. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372/58 "2010-06-02T17:45:35Z")
> [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Sorry, you misunderstand. We were talking about the risk of disease, not palatability. Right. And several people (myself included) mentioned food borne illness could arise from vegetables. See: > [@kayaker](#): > > Yep, you could never have a problem with [green onions](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/07/nyregion/07coli.html) or [spinach.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_American_E._coli_outbreak) You then mentioned that you would eat vegies right form the store, but you would never eat chicken raw: > [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](#): > > Even though I usually wash them, I _have_ eaten veggies straight from the store. I don’t know any sane person in the US that would eat raw chicken. The risks just aren’t comparable. I was just pointing out that even if poultry was bacteria free, palatability demands cooking, just as it does with artichoke. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paper-towel-usage/541372.md?page=2)