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Whether you’re a professional chef, bake regularly, or are often responsible for drying dishes after dinner, kitchen towels are a must-have for cleaning. A good tea towel is made from an absorbent material that dries quickly after use and, frankly, looks nice on a hook or oven door handle. But when shopping online, it’s hard to tell the good from the bad by looking at a bag. That’s why our professionals tested 13 styles to find the best kitchen towels.
Experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Textile, Paper and Apparel Lab list the best towels from brands like .css-1lx1lhv{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text – Decoration -color:#125C68;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#125C68;-webkit-transition:All 0.3s smoothly in and out;transition:All 0.3s smoothly in and out;word-break :break – word;font -weight:bold;}.css-1lx1lhv:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:#595959;} Williams Sonoma and All-Clad tested in the Textile Lab and our Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab and the Hearst Lifestyle group’s test kitchen. We’ve used our previous experience testing bath and beach towels and relied on the expertise of professional chefs to report on absorbency, size and style. When all was said and done, the tea towels ended up on top.
Our kitchen analysts loved these towels even before we tested them in the lab. This multi-pack set lives up to its “super absorbent” name, ranking second in our absorbency tests. We ranked it fifth out of 13 drying speeds. Testers across the board noted the pretty stripes and checkered patterns, although some wished for graphics on the inside as well. The same tester who had the towel set found that they washed well and said there were more towels. While they may not fit in a small apron pocket, the large size is ideal for hanging from oven door handles and for handling large dishes such as lasagne pans.
When performance and availability match up in testing, it’s the best of both worlds. These cotton terry towels cost just $6 a pair and have the best overall absorbency rating. While the towel didn’t score highly in our drying tests, our Kitchen Lab pros liked the striped design and found that the towel still dried dishes well. Other features include a super soft feel and a waffle base, but note that these tea towels are on the smaller side. This towel has a 4.7-star rating out of 1,000 Target customer reviews, so it’s safe to say we’re not the only ones who appreciate this two-pack.
As you may have noticed from previous collections, experts from the Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab and Test Kitchen almost always comment on the design of each towel. The Geometry brand goes beyond other pattern options as you can choose from nearly 100 vibrant styles! It had the fastest drying time of all 13 towels we tested. Testers also found the towels to be soft, especially after washing. One reviewer especially praised the “very nice pattern that stays vibrant after washing.” She liked wiping down the coffee maker with a kitchen towel, and another tester appreciated its large size.
Although you probably won’t dry your face with a kitchen towel, a soft towel is still preferable because it’s more comfortable. Cuisine Stripe Organic Cotton Dish Towels are the softest dish towels we’ve ever tested, and they’re also the second fastest to dry. However, their absorbency is somewhere in the middle. However, the overall impression of this kitchen towel is top notch. “It has a very soft texture and feels great to hold and touch,” said one tester. Choose from five neutral stripe colors to create a classic look that will look great in your kitchen.
Textile, Paper and Apparel Lab Product Analyst Grace Wu explains that Our Place tea towels impressed our textile professionals because they have a unique design that combines a waffle style with a classic terry pattern combined with a simple weave. Testers also appreciated the clever design and found it absorbent. We still think these towels deserve praise because they have loops for easy hanging, are thick to the touch, and come in three gorgeous colors (lavender, blue salt, and sage). It’s worth noting that some testers found the towels too large and wished they were completely waffled.
The towels featured below include models we’ve tested, as well as styles that are popular online. While we didn’t find them to work as well as the towels above, we still think they’re worth mentioning.
The experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute have tested almost every type of towel in your home, including bath towels and kitchen towels. The lab’s product analysts evaluated 13 types of kitchen towels for their absorbency and drying speed. Using a special device, we drop water onto a towel at a 60-degree angle and then observe whether there is a drain. To test the drying rate, we wet each towel with an equal amount of water and then weighed it every 30 minutes until the towel returned to its original weight.
In addition to these tests, our experts evaluate the fiber content and texture of each towel, including waffle and turkey towels. We also test washability in the lab for shrinkage or wear after 20 wash and dry cycles.
For this particular towel test, we worked with GH staff, including associate food editors and food producers from the Hearst Lifestyle Group test kitchen, as well as analysts from the Good Housekeeping Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab. These professionals spend their days testing techniques, developing recipes, and developing dishes. They use their assigned towels to perform daily tasks. They wipe down pots and pans, clean up spills, remove hot dishes from the oven, and do other things to report actual performance.
✔️ Fiber and Material Type: The most important factor when purchasing is the fabric and construction of the towel. Here’s what to remember:
✔️Absorbent: Waffle towels, plain (flour sack) towels and Turkish towels can dry quickly, but they are not as absorbent as short-fiber cotton towels or microfiber cloths.
✔️ SIZE: There are no standard sizes for kitchen towels, so it’s a good idea to think about how you plan to use the towels and where you want to store them in the kitchen. Small or medium tea towels are ideal for lining your apron or taking hot dishes out of the oven. Meanwhile, larger towels may be more convenient for cleaning up spills and drying dishes.
✔️Use: If you plan to use a small bath towel in the kitchen instead of a regular dish towel, it may not be the best choice, according to Lexi Sachs, executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute. “Dish towels, unlike other types of towels, have a texture similar to waffle weave or microfiber, which makes them lightweight and quick-drying,” Sachs explains, which is essential if your dish towels often get wet.
✔️Care Instructions: To keep your towels in optimal condition, follow the manufacturer’s care instructions and, if possible, wash your dishtowels individually. Some types of kitchen towels can pick up lint from other items during washing, causing them to look dirty or become less absorbent more quickly.
Good Housekeeping Institute contributor Jamie Ueda wrote the original article based on her more than 17 years of product development and manufacturing experience. Updates Editor Elizabeth Berry has updated this article to include new popular content and testing instructions. When Elizabeth moved into her first apartment, she may or may not have borrowed (just a few!) Williams-Sonoma tea towels from her mom.
To update this story, Elizabeth worked closely with Textiles, Paper & Apparel Labs product analyst Grace Wu, who recently tested the category. At GH Research, Grace evaluates fabric-based products using specialized equipment and data from consumer testers. She holds a master’s degree in materials science and engineering and a bachelor’s degree in fiber science from Cornell University.
Elizabeth Berry (she/her) is the Update Editor for the Good Housekeeping Institute, where she optimizes lifestyle content across a variety of verticals. Before that, she worked as an assistant editor at Woman’s Day, where she worked on everything from gift guides to cookbooks. She also has experience reviewing business articles and holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Italian from Connecticut College.
Grace Wu (she/her) is a Product Review Analyst in the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Textiles, Paper and Apparel Lab, where she evaluates fabric-based products using professional equipment and data from consumer testers. Before joining Good Housekeeping in 2022, she earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering and a bachelor’s degree in fiber optic science from Cornell University. While earning her degree, Grace worked at the Smart Textiles and Nanotechnology Research Lab and interned at the Open Style Lab and Rent the Runway.
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Post time: Jun-04-2024