You Need to Be Washing Your Kitchen Towels Way More Often Than You Think, Says Disturbing Study
Kitchen towels are underappreciated workhorses of the kitchen. While you might love changing them up with the seasons, it’s important to consider just how many things they’re used for: drying dishes, wiping your hands, placing over freshly cooked food to trap warmth, wiping down countertops, acting as a stand-in place mat for drying dishes, to clean produce or food on the dinner table, and much more. Clearly, these multitaskers need to be cleaned regularly to keep you and your food safe and healthy. But how often should kitchen towels really be cleaned — and what happens when you don’t?
“Kitchen towels often get overlooked, but their maintenance is essential for hygiene,” says Josh Miller, CEO of cleaning company Clean Carpets. Most kitchen towels are made of cotton, but you’ll also find linen and even microfiber towels as well. And cleanliness is essential for each type of material.
Why It’s So Important to Wash and Replace Your Kitchen Towels Often
Whether you wash your kitchen towels separately or just toss them into the wash with the rest of your laundry, it’s crucial to wash them regularly. If you don’t, Miller says it “allow[s] concentration of dangerous bacteria like E. coli and salmonella, which are capable of being passed to hands and surfaces, potentially resulting in infections or diseases.”
There are a number of studies that confirm this, including a study published in the journal Food Protection Trends, which found that coliform bacteria, which can be harmful to humans, was found in 89% of kitchen towels tested, and E. coli (fecal bacteria) was present in more than 25% of those towels. Yikes!
How Often Should You Wash Kitchen Towels?
The best way to avoid illness from cross contamination thanks to dirty kitchen towels and washcloths is to clean them regularly. “A kitchen towel should be laundered every one or two days preferably, or at least immediately after being used for handling uncooked food, or when wet for too long,” Miller suggests. And if used frequently within a household with numerous activities, it’s not over the top to replace and clean them daily.
How to Keep Kitchen Towels Clean
The beauty of kitchen towels and washcloths is that they lend themselves to easy cleaning in the washing machine. The best way to ensure a clean kitchen without cross contamination is to purchase enough kitchen towels to ensure you’ve always got a few clean ones to use while the others are in the wash.
Miller shares his favorite tips for cleaning kitchen towels: “Wash the towels using hot water and detergent. Every few cycles, add a cup of white vinegar to aid in disinfecting the towels and reducing or eliminating unpleasant odors. Bleach can even be added to the wash cycle for white dish towels. Finally, dry the towels using a high heat cycle to kill any germs still present.”
Are you surprised by how often you should be cleaning your kitchen towels? Let us know in the comments below!
