How to get the most for my money in papertowel.

granolamom

Wed, Jul 25 2012, 3:55 pm

I mostly use un-paper towels
they last for years.

when I do use paper towel (for oil spills which I dont want in the dryer) I tear them in half. its very rare that I need a whole paper towel at once. if you use half a sheet it will last twice as long : )
I think bounty actually makes them perforated halfway so you can control the size of the sheet you tear off, but I dont know how they compare in price to other brands, but remember that if the cheap brand is not very absorbent you will need more towels per spill.
which is why I like my flannel. very absorbent and reusable : )

amother

Wed, Jul 25 2012, 9:05 pm

granolamom wrote:

Whats un papertowel? do you mean rags?

granolamom

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 2:13 pm

amother wrote:

granolamom wrote:

Whats un papertowel? do you mean rags?

well, I dont keep them with my rags and I treat them marginally better than the rags (only for kitchen use never for the toilets).
they are squares of cotton birdseye or flannel, hemmed around the edges. I keep a clean stack folded in the kitchen and have a small separate hamper in the laundry room for them. I wash a load of them twice/week. I've had this batch almost three years and they're still looking good. better, they work so WELL. much more absorbent that papertowels. only thing I dont use them for is sopping up oily messes, otherwise I use them all the time. love love love them.

Annie

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 2:41 pm

I have found (after much research, trial and error and price comparisons) that Bounty select-a-size, purchased at WalMart or when Target has them on sale (or with a coupon), are the best. Most of the time we don't need a whole sheet and bounty is much more absorbent than any other towel. So, they are more expensive on a per-sheet price, but since you use less, it makes your actual out of pocket expense for towels decrease. I stopped using rags in the kitchen when I read a report on germs and how they sit and fester in the kitchen towels. We have towels for dishes (clean and waiting in cabinet), and towels for hands (after washing properly - so they're clean).

granolamom

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 3:56 pm

Annie wrote:

I wonder who sponsored that report....proctor and gamble perhaps? really, I dont let my towels fester. they are used once and tossed in the hamper. every few days I wash them on hot and they are once again clean. no smell, no germs.

MaBelleVie

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 4:04 pm

granolamom wrote:

Annie wrote:

Seriously, that's great.

However, I have seen SO many people with nasty rags sitting around their kitchen. They use the same one to wash down the counters, wipe down the sinks, clean off the DR table. . . UGH. It really nauseates me. Even using it only for wiping down the counters- it should not be used more than once! Puke

ra_mom

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 4:10 pm

MaBelleVie wrote:

granolamom wrote:

Annie wrote:

granolamom, I myself have not read the report, but I know that throwing a damp rag (or anything) into the hamper is a disaster, even if you can't see it or smell it.
I use both rags and paper towels often. But hang up the rags to air dry over a pail (not on top of another rag) or on a hook in the bathroom behind the door, and make sure each is completely dry before I add them to the pile of rags that need to be washed. And I wash them often (separate load). At least 1x a week, sometimes 2x a week.

granolamom

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 6:31 pm

ra_mom wrote:

MaBelleVie wrote:

granolamom wrote:

Annie wrote:

I think I will take my chances. its a mesh hamper in a well ventilated room, the cloths rarely are more than just damp and we haven't died yet LOL

after cloth diapering for a few years, a few cloths damp from kitchen clean up doesnt really scare me

the nasty rag in the kitchen thing is really gross though, on many levels.

amother

Thu, Jul 26 2012, 11:25 pm

I shop for Bounty at costco, a package usually lasts me a year or more. I rarely use them, preferring to use a cotton rag once and then washing it out. I have been doing this for many years, and no one has gotten sick from it.
Towels in the kitchen are used for clean hands and washed often.
Towels used after a shower by the same person daily do not have to be washed every day, after a shower they are clean, aren't they? Once a week or even once in two weeks is sufficient.