A dish cloth that doesn’t absorb? What’s the point?

Some of my customers have bought dishy designs tea towels and were not entirely happy with the absorbency when all I do is advertise how absorbent they are! After speaking to them I realised why.

Quick tips to make your kitchen towels more absorbent

1. Wash warm before use

Towels need to be washed in a warm cycle before use to remove any residues left behind from the production process. Only warm water can do this properly. I wash my dishy designs tea towels at 40° and they are all absorbent. Simply washing them on a cold cycle will not ‘wake up’ the absorbency like a warm cycle does.

I would not recommend anything warmer than 40° due to shrinkage but do keep in mind that some shrinkage is normal with any cotton product even if you wash on a cold cycle. Also, I use my towels in the kitchen all the time so they get dirty and only a warm cycle can remove those marks. (Be sure to wash your dishy products with like colours! All further washing instructions can be found on the care label.)

2. No Fabric Softener

Fabric softener coats washing in a layer of ‘oil’ which creates the soft effect. Oil and water are not friends so by using softener you actually make the towels less absorbent as oil repels water.

3. Wash and wash and wash

The more you wash your kitchen towels, the more absorbent they get.

I hope that the above quick tips will help you turn your dish towels into super-absorbent allies in the kitchen as there is nothing more annoying than a dish cloth that doesn’t do what it was ‘born’ to do. Unfortunately there are some towels out there where none of the above will make any real difference.

Do you have any tips or tricks to add? I would love to hear from you.