I Tested 20 Kitchen Towels to Find the Best All-Purpose Ones
I Tested 20 Kitchen Towels to Find the Best All-Purpose Ones
Terry cloth, a weave made from thick, looped cotton, is often used in bath towels, thanks to its plush feeling and impressive capacity to “drink in” a lot of water. It’s understandable to assume they’d make great kitchen towels for these reasons. But my testing revealed they do only one thing—dry hands—very well. They’re not great at drying dishes because the looped weave leaves behind a lot of fibers, especially on glassware. They’re also slow to dry when saturated: In my dry test, the All-Clad Reversible Towel, which has a terry cloth weave on one side, took six hours and 30 minutes (the longest of any towel) to feel dry to the touch. I also found their thickness to be a detractor in many tasks. These hefty towels struggled to slide in between narrow pot lid handles and felt clumsy when used in place of an oven mitt.
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That said, terry cloth towels are stellar at drying hands quickly and completely. If you prefer to keep separate towels for dishes and hands, it’s worth considering a terry cloth towel or two for whenever your hands are wet.
Waffle Weave Towels Were a Great Choice, Depending on the Weave
The towels that had fibers woven together in a waffle-like pattern were top performers in the absorbency, maneuverability, and general use tests. The waffle pattern makes these towels very flexible and malleable, which means they excel at protecting hands around hot cookware and drying dishes.
The waffle weave towels I tested were either 100% cotton or a cotton-linen blend, although you can also find 100% linen towels. Overwhelmingly, I preferred the 100% cotton towels, due to their lower price point. Linen fibers, while more durable and less prone to pilling over time, become crinkled and accordion-like around the edges, which reduces their usability—unless ironed.
A waffled towel can be deep or shallow, which is represented by how raised the edges of each individual weave are. Although deep, loose weaves feel luxurious and drink up a lot of moisture, they tend to be more expensive, which makes me hesitant to use them for messy kitchen jobs. These were also more prone to slight unraveling and fraying at the edges and within the exposed fibers. One of my favorites, from Coyuchi, had a short, tight weave that felt easy to control, and stood up well to two cycles of washing and drying.
Too-Absorbent Towels Weren’t So Great
A super high absorption rate means you’ve got a great towel on your hands, right? Not so fast. I was wowed by the absorbing powers of some of the contenders, especially in the side towels category. But a towel that picks up lots of water will take longer to dry, especially if it has a dense, thick weave. That was the case with the Cotton Craft Ultimate Kitchen Towel, which boasted an impressive 163% absorption rate. But it took almost an hour longer to dry than the other side towels, like the ones from Utopia.
Flour Sack-Style Towels Were Too Thin to Be Truly Useful
Flour sack towels—sometimes called tea towels—were once made from actual flour sacks. Now, they’re simply super thin, lightweight cotton. Although they dry quickly when wet, they’re too flimsy to be useful as a makeshift pot holder.
When are they nice to have around? Owing to their no-shed texture, they’re super at polishing glassware. Embroidered or pattern options can be a nice “just for decor” option, too.
It’s Not Worth Buying a Very Expensive Towel
It’s tempting to splurge on a gorgeous towel. After all, they’re decor-adjacent. But for most cooks, it’s a better investment to buy towels in a pack, spending less per towel. It’s worth noting too that a high price point doesn’t automatically translate to a better towel. The most expensive towel I tested, the Weston Table Laguna Towel, wasn’t as absorbent as my top picks and didn’t stand up well to being laundered. Your budget will dictate what defines an “expensive” towel, but, generally speaking, I'd recommend not spending more than $10 per towel.
What Was the Best Material for a Kitchen Towel?
My tests revealed that cotton was preferable for dish towels, owing to its high absorbency, low cost, and flexibility. In fact, all of our winners are 100% cotton. Linen is an excellent option as well, although it’s more expensive and prone to wrinkling and rumpling in the dryer. Microfiber is another common material that doesn’t leave behind lint, but it’s not ideal for drying hands or swapping in as a pot holder, so I don't recommend it.
The Criteria: What to Look for in a Kitchen Towel
The best dish towels are multipurpose and can be used for more than just drying dishes. Look for towels with a strong, tight weave that can stand up to hot cookware, as well as handle a wash/dry cycle without any fuss (although some shrinking is unavoidable in almost all towels). Cotton is favored over linen for its more affordable price point and resistance to rumpling around the edges. Low-pile threads are ideal because they leave behind minimal lint, and make for a more maneuverable towel. If aesthetics are important in your kitchen, choose colored and patterned towels that can hide stains. Finally, don’t spend a fortune on any dish towel: the pricier it is, the less likely you are to actually use it.
Our Favorite Kitchen Towels
What we liked: Towels in this style are known as side towels in professional kitchens. They’re coveted (and sometimes hoarded) among chefs for good reason: they’re incredibly useful for multiple jobs. They’re a great choice for mopping spills in lieu of paper towels; in my absorbency test, they soaked up 141% of their weight in water. They didn’t leave any lint when used as a dish-drying towel. Best of all, I liked their relatively petite size, which wasn’t unwieldy and lent itself well to use as a makeshift potholder. These towels are among the least expensive I tested and come in a large pack. "I still reach for a Zeppoli towel every day. While they've shrunk a bit after many, many washes, they're no less absorbent," says Riddley, who's been using them for a year.
What we didn’t like: These towels are surprisingly thirsty and do become saturated easily. With drying times that can reach hours (during my test, it took five hours to feel fully dry), you’ll need to have a bunch on hand while cooking. They stain easily and have a thinner weave than my other top picks, which means they will have to be replaced with greater regularity.
Key Specs
- Material: 100% cotton
- Dimensions: 14 x 25 inches
- Care instructions: Machine wash warm; tumble dry low
- Hanging hook: No
What we liked: If you’re looking for a durable, versatile kitchen towel—one that can dry, clean, and act as a pot holder in a pinch—you’ll be happy with the ones from Zeppoli or Utopia. They’re both inexpensive, but Utopia is cheaper ($1.66 per towel for Utopia versus $2.00 for Zeppoli). The Utopia towel had thin, delicate seams that didn’t get in the way when drying delicate glassware, and it was a great combination of absorbent and fast-drying. Like the Zeppoli towel, I didn’t feel bad about using the Utopia to clean up messes and spills, and it held up well after a few spins in the washing machine.
What we didn’t like: Like all side towels, the Utopia Dish Towel is not the most attractive or festive choice. But nobody asked it to be!
Key Specs
- Material: 100% cotton
- Dimensions: 15 x 25 inches
- Care instructions: Machine wash, tumble dry
- Hanging hook: No
What we liked: These towels are fantastic for drying hands. They’re soft and thick and soak up a lot of water. They’re good stand-ins for pot holders when maneuvering sheet pans in and out of the oven. All-Clad’s towels were a strong competitor in my staining and cleaning tests, leading me to believe these sturdy towels will last for years.
What we didn’t like: They’re thick to a fault when confronted with certain tasks. I was hesitant to use them for drying the bowl and stem of delicate glassware, and they were a tight squeeze into narrow lid handles. At $10 a towel, they’re pricier.
Key Specs
- Material: 100% cotton
- Dimensions: 17 x 30 inches
- Care instructions: Machine wash warm, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry; warm iron as needed
- Hanging hook: No
What we liked: This towel hit all the marks. It's made with a low-profile waffle weave for maximum flexibility and maneuverability. It has a strong hem around all sides, which helps it resist warping and becoming misshapen when washed and dried. The generously sized hanging loop is affixed to the center of a side, which makes it easy to hang and keep out of the way when not in use. It dried relatively quickly when wet (three hours and 45 minutes), and hid stains well, thanks to its waffled pattern and neutral-ish color. It also looks nice and is made from organic cotton. I've been using them daily for over a year, and aside from an operator-error-generated burn mark on one (pro tip: don't leave your towels close to the stovetop), they're barely any worse for the wear.
What we didn’t like: Coyuchi's towels are on the expensive side, with each one costing close to $10. There was considerable shrinking when washed (three and four inches from either side). I was slightly hesitant to use it for dirty or messy tasks, to keep the aesthetics intact.
Key Specs
- Material: 100% organic cotton
- Dimensions: 20 x 30 inches
- Care instructions: Machine wash cold on gentle cycle, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry low or line dry; cool iron as needed
- Hanging hook: Yes
What we liked: These towels are simple and, as the name suggests, truly classic. They’ll seamlessly merge into just about any kitchen’s design style, and they’re hardworking towels I don’t feel like I have to baby or protect from messes. Although some towels with a flatter weave tend to lag in the absorbency department, the crosshatch stitching here meant these towels could handle liquids, whether it was drying dishes or mopping up a spill. Choosing a color is fun, too—Williams Sonoma has many nice hues.
What we didn’t like: In my absorbency tests, it couldn’t compare to the impressive performance of the terry cloth varieties—but it did dry quicker. The texture is a little rough, and not quite as pliable as the Coyuchi. The hanging hook is attached to a corner of the towel.
Key Specs
- Material: 100% cotton
- Dimensions: 20 x 30 inches
- Care instructions: Machine wash warm, non-chlorine bleach; tumble dry; warm iron as needed
- Hanging hook: Yes
What we liked: These towels have an absorbency rate of 160%. They’re perfect for use instead of paper towels, and they’re made to be tossed around—no need to keep them in pristine condition. They come in a set of a dozen and are a basic, white color (unless you opt for a different hue), and have a “no fuss” vibe that can be brightened with bleach.
What we didn’t like: The looped fibers are relatively loose and won’t last forever. When saturated, this towel is heavy and takes a long time to air-dry. If used to dry dishes, it will leave behind lint.
Key Specs
- Material: 100% cotton
- Dimensions: 16 x 19 inches
- Care instructions: Use cold water, bleach safe, wash separately from dark colors; dry immediately
- Hanging hook: No
The Competition
- Sur La Table Washed Waffle Kitchen Towels: I liked this thick and soft towel—and appreciated its durable hanging hook—but its weave was loosely threaded, and started to show signs of wear after two washes.
- Williams Sonoma All Purpose Pantry Towels: Williams Sonoma’s All Purpose Towels are an average performer without much to hate…or love. They’re a bit rougher than some of my other picks, and just a bit too thick to be my go-to for drying delicate dishes.
- All-Clad Textiles Kitchen Towels: A decent terry cloth option for drying hands, this towel is moderately priced and quite absorbent. But it left behind a lot of lint on glassware and began to look disheveled after just one wash.
- Zeppoli Flour Sack Towels: Although this was my favorite among the flour sack options, it doesn’t lend itself to use as a pot holder, which nixed it early from further rounds of testing. They have since been discontinued.
- Weston Table Laguna Kitchen Towel: This 100% linen towel is a looker, but at $24 per single towel, I was hesitant to bring it near anything that could stain, tear, burn, or fray it. It’s well-made and pretty and would work best as a decorative or “hands-only” towel.
- Now Designs Flour Sack Kitchen Dish Towels: This set of three towels earned smiles for its cheery colors, but the towels were low performers in every test. They’re so thin, they’re see-through—a quality that stopped me from testing them as pot holders for hot cookware.
- Aunt Martha’s Flour Sack Dish Towels: Although Amazon reviewers love these as a blank canvas for embroidery, I struggled to find their usefulness in the kitchen. They’re supersized to a fault, and many in my package had odd dimensions. They’re also not as absorbent as my other flour sack test subjects.
- Hyer Kitchen Microfiber Kitchen Dish Towels: I love a towel that leaves no trace (these don’t deposit any lint), but these aren’t great multitaskers owing to their unique texture and thin composition. I'd keep a stack close by for cleaning and polishing the kitchen, though.
- Hawkins New York Essential Dish Towel Set: Hands down (and dry), these $14-per-towel set smoked the competition in the “looks” category. But their XL length made them awkward to use for most tasks, and I was reluctant to use them for messier tasks because of the price.
- Magic Linen Waffle Kitchen Towel: Although I enjoyed the luxurious feel of this linen-cotton blended towel and its deep, thirsty waffle weave, its $18-per-towel price tag made it impractical for everyday use.
- Five Two Utility Towels: These simple cotton towels were decently absorbent and almost as versatile as the Zeppoli Classic, my top pick. However, at over $15 more per towel (at the time of testing), it was hard to justify the splurge.
- Royal Kitchen Dish Towels: The Royal Kitchen towel was a decent side towel, but its weave was too thin to stand up to messes, spills, and drying big batches of dishes.
- Cotton Craft Ultimate Kitchen Towel: This towel was incredibly absorbent, but it took a long time to dry.
- Lane Linen Kitchen Towel Set: This towel left behind an unforgivable amount of lint on glasses.
FAQs
What’s the difference between dish towels and tea towels?
Tea towels are thin, flexible towels made from cotton or linen—they’re sometimes called flour sack towels, and often printed or embroidered with designs or patterns. Although you can use tea towels for dish towels, they’re less versatile, and often used as decoration. They are, I'll add, pretty great at drying glassware, due to their lack of lint. (The phrase “tea towel” has its origins in high society; these towels were used to insulate teapots and keep baskets of scones warm).
What's the best size for a kitchen towel?
I found 20 by 30 inches to be a good size for all-purpose kitchen towels. Side towels and bar mops are usually closer to 15 by 20 or 25 inches.
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 ideal for mopping up spills on wet surfaces. But they become quickly saturated, which makes them far from ideal for use as pot holders. They also leave behind a lot of lint when used as a dish-drying towel.
What’s a side towel?
A side towel is restaurant lingo for a basic, low-cost dish towel that can be used for a variety of kitchen tasks.
What’s the best way to wash dish towels?
Beyond “according to manufacturer instructions,” you mean? Jokes aside, dish towels should be washed in cold water and tumble-dried on the lowest heat setting to avoid shrinking. All cotton and linen towels will shrink up to four inches after the first wash/dry cycle, although if you’re concerned about that, you can hang-dry them to minimize surface area loss. If your kitchen towels get stained, treat them immediately with a stain remover and wash them on cold. If the stain remains, try treating and washing it again before putting it in the dryer; heat will “set” the stain. Most manufacturers note that if bleach is used, it should be the non-chlorine type.