Tea towels! Help settle a debate between DH and I

[teatoweltroubles]

Lighthearted!

One of us uses tea towels to dry dishes and dry kitchen sides AFTER they have been cleaned.

One of us uses tea towels to soak up spilt drink on the floor, to dry off potatoes after they've been rinsed before making chips or roasties, to wipe sides of spillages before they've been cleaned.

Who is right?

Both, but after using first jobs like the second ones I would pop straight in the wash

we have a towel-task hirarchy

fresh towel to dry dishes
after that it's used to dry hands
then to use as general cleaning cloth (including the floor)

then they go in the wash.

Can I just throw in the fact that I iron all my tea towels! We have a dishwasher and unless I'm baking and want to put things like the mixer straight away most things I hand wash are left to air dry. We still go through several tea towels a day! They are used for everything, so I would get a fresh one out use it to dry up, then if a spill occurs use it to mop up and chuck it in the wash, got some food stuff that needs drying I'd get a clean one out, then use that to dry hands on, it gets wet and in to the wash it goes. A roll of kitchen roll will last me months!

And you need a separate hand drying towel

They are certainly used in the part of the UK where I live. I find teatowels being used as rubbing rags - and wiping up cloths - really weird. Don't know anyone who does this.

Fresh clean one to dry potatoes/other veg then into washing machine. One used to dry dishes but prefer to let drain to dry. Seperate old cloths to mop up spills on floor. Kitchen roll to mop up surfaces, wipe down with dish cloth which is rinsed then put in microwave to clean. I live with someone who uses tea towel for everything (except floor I hope)and so cloth should go into washing machine but gets left on the side for me to sort out !!!!! Also argue about using tea towel to dry hands I say should be hand towel

Why are you all drying potatoes?

After I caught my ex using a teatowel to clean his rugby boots I rarely use them to dry anything at all, I prefer to air dry. However they are NEVER used for any 'dirty' jobs, ever. Wet jobs are done with a sponge or J cloth. Mopping up spillages or drying surfaces are done with kitchen paper.

They're fine for all those things but they would need to be washed after some of them before being used to dry dishes.

Tea towels are for drying cleaning things. A dish cloth is for wiping down surfaces, kitchen roll for drying off potatoes if you must use anything

Environmentally awful but I prefer to use kitchen roll for the majority of the jobs you’ve listed.

Tea towels are mostly used for drying hands - we only have them because they’re school ones

I do both but there's a direction of travel.

Dry dishes, dry worktops, mop spillages on worktops, soak up a floor spillage. If I dry off the spuds with a clean towel, it then goes straight to floor spillage.

And at any point they can be joining a washing machine load, so they don't necessarily travel through every stage.

We keep a stock of old tshirt rags for floor spillage but use teatowels for the other purposes you mentioned. They go for washing afterwards.

Sorry - for cleaning things I’d use a kitchen sponge

For drying things kitchen roll

Both! The end.

Tea towels for drying dishes here.. if you use them for mopping spills, dont they get stained?

You're both wrong, tea towels only used for dishes here, either things that have been hand washed or which still have a bit of water in from the dishwasher.
Wiping surfaces- wiping up cloth
Spills- kitchen roll and or floor/surface cloth depending where spill is
Drying potatoes etc- kitchen roll
Drying hands- hand towel

Well I am not authorised to speak on this matter anymore apparently. I was at my best friends bbq over the summer with various other friends. I done the dishes and asked where the tea towels were and was told that they didn’t have any, they don’t use them, they let thee dishes drip dry. Everyone else agreed and said they don’t use them either. I have two lots. Ones for drying dishes and ones that are older and used for all the other stuff (spills etc) and thrown in the wash. Apparently I stand alone!

We have a dishwasher and every tea towel in this house is used for wiping the worktops, spills etc. (Not the floor though)

Used to drive me nuts as I buy only poncey tea towels - Sophie Allport, Scion, Emma Bridgewater… but I’ve stopped caring and just replace them often.

Home made chips here. Dry them before putting on tray and oiling. 😁

I use them for both purposes, but clean ones!

Both but once used to mop a spill on the floor I would put in the wash

Same story in my house -

Me: tea towels are for drying things and occasionally drying hands.

Everyone else: tea towels are for drying, wiping, cleaning, polishing and mopping up spills.

I’ve made my peace with it 🤣

We let dishes dry naturally but I presume they were intended for that

I don't like drying dishes with one unless it is a one off as I need to use it immediately

Definitely! I use cotton tea towels and the terry (?) type towels for hands.