Bye Bye Paper Towels, Hello Norwex Kitchen Cloths!

Update September 30, 2010  Think of this when reading the following post.  I just read an article from cbc.ca that said:  "The dirtiest item in Canadian homes is the kitchen towel, according to a study on hygiene released on Tuesday.  I don't have to worry about that anymore!"

2nd in line (after the Enviro Cloth) for my personal top 5 fave Norwex microfiber products is the Kitchen Cloth.  It is awesome at it's job of keeping my kitchen clean and being able to pick up and hold 7 times it's weight in water AND it's saved me and the environment from rolls and rolls and rolls of paper towels!  

The texture of these cloths is like terry cloth but of course they are microfiber.  They are a bit lighter weight than the body cloths which is to allow for easy rinsing and super fast dry time.  They are antibac.  They rock!

"The cloths are super soft, absorbent, fast drying, and fantastic for wiping up kitchen counters, table tops, stove tops, cleaning out the fridge, and dealing with kitchen spills." -- Norwex product description.

True!  First thing I do in the morning is make coffee.  There is always something to wipe up during that!  Drips on the counter.  Drips down the cupboard door.  Coffee grinds.  Instead of grabbing a paper towel I now grab my Kitchen Cloth.  I use it damp and it works great.  Guess what, it actually grabs and holds the coffee grinds!  With anything else (cotton cloth, paper towel, sponge) you basically gather up the grinds and wipe them off the counter into your hand. Not with these!

I used to go through about 3 rolls of paper towels a week and felt super guilty about it.  I did it anyway because nothing else did the job well enough.  Sponges and cotton cloths don't absorb or clean as well and stunk after a couple of days.  I did try them.  But I felt like I was just spreading dirt and germs around with them while cleaning poorly.

• These kitchen cloths have made it possible for me to reduce my paper towel consumption by 100% in the kitchen!  
• They clean better than anything I have ever used.  
• They wipe up spills quickly and easily.  
• They are pick up EVERYTHING rather than spreading it around.  
• With the paper towel savings these cloths paid for themselves in a matter of weeks.

I grab a fresh cloth after 2 days use.  I have to admit that with my very first one I tested it's limits by using it for a week.  No smell!  They are very easy to use.  Simply wet, squeeze out excess water, wipe up, rinse really well, squeeze out as much water as possible and hang to dry.  Because there is food and grease in the kitchen you have to be more diligent about rinsing them really well after use.  

One key thing I have learned is that if I have a really greasy job to clean up, like after frying bacon which is pretty much the only example I have, the cloth needs to be retired after rinsing well and sent to the laundry.  Grease does not rinse out well enough no matter how hard you try with just water.  It will prevent the cloth from drying quickly and also coats the silver in the cloth preventing it from doing it's job of self sanitizing.  So if not laundered the cloth will soon smell as the bacteria will increase in the cloth.

The Kitchen Cloth (32 x 26 cm) comes in 3 colours: Beige, Olive Green and Golden Fleece which looks like butter to me.  It can be purchased in a set of 3 (one of each colour) or as part of a Tea Towel Set of one Kitchen Cloth and one Tea Towel (32 x 64 cm)  I love the Tea Towel so I have purchased 3 of the Tea Towel Sets, one in each colour!  LOL  My frustration with cotton tea towels drove me to stop using them many years ago.  It was nearly impossible to find one that would actually absorb water and not just smear it around on your dishes.  If you did find one that would absorb it never seemed to last.  I now know that is because of the fillers in laundry detergents and the fact fabric softeners (liquid or dryer sheets) coat fabrics and make them water resistant.  Then there was also the smell cotton would get after being in a cupboard or drawer.  To top it all off it would also hold on to fur (3 cats) so I would be smearing water and cat fur on the dishes if I tried to dry them!  Argh!  Now I have these Norwex microfiber ones and all those problems are gone.  Imagine a Tea Towel that ACTUALLY DRIES!!!!  I have one up as a hand towel for drying my hands after washing and another for drying dishes if I need to.  I also use one as a hand towel next to the sink in the bathroom.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THEM!  Ok, I'll shut up now!  LOL : )