Why did cotton handkerchiefs go out fashion?

[AfternoonToffee]

I am in the process of emptying my mother in law's house and have just washed and ironed a pile of her handkerchiefs. Some very pretty ones - embroidered flowers, lace, her initials etc, which will have been well used in the past.

I finished off, walked out the kitchen grabbing a paper tissue as I left. Hardly anyone uses handkerchiefs nowadays, yet the likes of period pants and reusable san-pro very much are. Why did we stop? Why did we start using paper tissue en masse? Figures are hard to come by - but it seems in 2019 the UK spent £179 million on facial and cleansing tissues - that is a lot of waste.

For the US it is estimated that the population uses 255,360,000,000 tissues a year. I know in the middle of a pandemic is perhaps not the best time but is the next eco turnaround this?

I will try and use them - if not all the time there are times I easily could.

I love a good hanky
But then I'm MN disgusting and sometimes wipe my nose on loo paper and put it back in my pocket.

Because of the catch it kill it bin it message. No point catching germs in a handkerchief to then carry them around with you all day.

Yep, I prefer hankies to tissues. I have some nice tartan ones!

We do live in a world where two giant corporations — P&G and Unilever — have convinced billions of people via marketing that their bodies are disgusting and that their one-use disposable items are ‘more hygienic’ than washable cloth — tissues, disposable nappies, face wipes instead of handkerchiefs, terry cloths and flannels.

Urgh. My late dad always insisted on using cloth hankies and I still have the memory of my late DM having to boil them all for him. The smell

@Angel2702

Because of the catch it kill it bin it message. No point catching germs in a handkerchief to then carry them around with you all day.

Stick a used one in a small wash bag and wash it when you get home. Same with reusable sanitary pads or nappies. Not a problem, just a small change of mindset needed.

Because washing snotty handkerchiefs - if they’ve been used for anything other than a delicate dab - is gross.

Dh has a few. Uses them occasionally. Puts them in the wash at the end of the day. How is that gross?

I still use them! Not when I have a cold etc but just for general non-infectious runny nose

Because I have chronic hayfever and I’d need millions.

I have a lot, but tbh don't tend to use them for full on nose- blowing, except in extremis.

Mostly I use them for mopping sweat off my brow (I also always carry a fan for cooling purposes) and for catching sneezes/dainty nose dabs.

Occasionally, when the dc were small, the large (always clean!) ones were used to mop up bloody knees, make a temporary bandage, wipe chocolatey faces, clean muddy hands, as a makeshift 'plate' if they wanted to put a half-eaten snack down while on the hoof, tied into a little bag to hold 'treasures' (pebble, leaf etc), mop water off a chair ...the list is endless really.

Very useful items.

I use them as does DH.
I usually have a clean one in each pocket. I have hay fever and my skin would be red raw if I used tissues all the time.
Dirty ones get put in a small wet-bag (the one I use for reusable San-pro has 2 compartments).
I wash them with the rest of the laundry, no boiling required.

I bought a load made out of cotton flannel from etsy when we had the loo roll shortages.
I have allergic rhinitis and hayfever so needed something and it made me realise how u environmentally friendly tissues are.

Rather than massive thin cotton hankies, I have lots of small ones about 20cm square make of thicker flannel which are more effective. Although the patterns have faded, cotton flannel is lovely and soft.

I keep a little drawstring bag in my handbag for dirty ones and the chuck them in with a towel wash.

They went out of fashion long before the trend for reusable items, because disposable was considered more sanitary.

Now they are almost forgotten! I have seen friends laughing about "reusable tissue" products which come up on places like Kickstarter occasionally because they say - what - a handkerchief??

But I do think the modern versions are a bit more up to date. I remember as a child carrying a hanky and being expected to keep using the same one all day, which is a bit grim TBH. But the new ones I've seen are for example stored in a tube with a separation for clean and dirty. When you use one you take a clean one from the bottom and when you've finished you tuck it back into the top. There is a separating part to prevent contamination. Then at the end of the day you take the whole thing home and chuck it in the washing machine.

Just like modern reusable sanitary towels are not attached to a loop belt, modern handkerchiefs have been redesigned for 21st century expectations of convenience and hygiene.

I use cotton handkerchiefs. I switched a few years ago for environmental reasons. I have dreadful hayfever & allergies & can get through a box of tissues in a day, so handkerchiefs are better. And cheaper.

I’m reminded of my Nan boiling up a big pan of used hankies on the gas hob and not in a good way

We moved to paper tissues in the seventies but in my household the default is loo roll or occasionally kitchen towel. I do have some beautiful old hankies and I remember them being a standard gift from relatives we didn’t know very well

@Proudmumtoday

Because I have chronic hayfever and I’d need millions.

I have about 30. I have chronic hayfever. Before decent antihistamines I had to take 6 or 7 handkerchiefs to school with me every day. All hideous by the time I got one the bus.

I take 3 different sorts of antihistamines at the current time. I’ve tried every single one on the market. I also squirt stuff up my nose and put Vaseline around and wear wrap around glasses and sunglasses. I rarely dry washing outside and I wash my clothes as soon as I’ve come home and have inside and outside clothes. I am yet to find a combination that works for me and I get hayfever from February to November so take the tablets and spray all year.

Glad you got something that works for you though.

By on the market I mean OTC and prescription.

I do carry a cotton hanky but wouldn’t blow my nose into it - I use it for dabbing my eyes as I have a condition that causes them to stream quite often. Paper hankies make my eyes really sore. If you blow your nose into it isn’t it all crusty by the time you get home? That’s what I wouldn’t like, having to wash it if it’s crusty.

I have chronic rhinitis. I've tried using hankies and after a couple of hours I have a soaking hankie and a raw nose. It's useless. I don't need a big evil corporation to tell me that paper tissues are the way for me.

Dh uses hankies - yes sometimes they come out of the wash still stuck together with snot

Somebody up thread posted a link to hankybook (thank you!) which is 3 or 6 hankies together in a 'book' with a cover. They look great, but are sent from the US. Also, not sure how it works if the hankie is attached to the others. How do you remove the hankie you want to use?

Does anyone know of a UK company which makes hankybooks, or who makes the divided tubes for storing clean/used hankies that someone else described?

I use them. I always have one in my handbag .
I do use tissues sometimes if I have a cold, as hankies would mount up, although they are much gentler on sore skin.

The hanky book is a gimmick just use a folded hanky-the hankybook just has the folds sewn in.

Urggg! They give me the shudders!

HAVE HORRIBLE MEMORIES OF GRANPARENTS BOILING THEM IN A SAUCEPAN. Bogey soup…

A washing machine isn’t any better.

Now they are almost forgotten! I have seen friends laughing about "reusable tissue" products which come up on places like Kickstarter occasionally because they say - what - a handkerchief??

That's a bit like the "washable coverless duvet" I saw recently, or as I'd call it, a quilt.

I have to say, I'm not so keen on the idea of boiling them in a saucepan — there doesn't seem enough water somehow! A wash cycle with lots of soapy hot water should be fine, surely? I put them in with bedding (60) or towels (90) mostly, but I've definitely washed them at 40 on a standard wash before.