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And yes, it’s important that you do.
I’ve picked up a few tips in the restaurants and food service jobs I’ve worked at over the years. Most of them pertain to actual cooking (things like the best tips for juicy chicken or par-cooking veggies to keep them bright and fresh). One habit that I’ve picked up from restaurant life is that any time I use a dishcloth, it’s getting tossed in the laundry.
Why Replace Kitchen Towels Daily
“Kitchen towels are contaminated with all the different bacteria, viruses, and fungi found in the kitchen,” says microbiologist Jason Tetro, host of the “Super Awesome Science Show” and author of “The Germ Code” and “The Germ Files.” That means foodborne illness from bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter can start with dirty dish towels.
Brian Hedlund, a microbiologist from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas adds that towels are the perfect breeding ground for microbes. “Simply stated, the food residues that end up on kitchen towels are food for microbes, especially if the towel is wet for long periods of time.” Those microscopic bits of food, whether cooked or uncooked, allow germs to grow.
Of course, there are exceptions. If the towels in your kitchen are only used for hand drying, replacing them every day isn’t necessary. “Dish towels will build up microorganisms as they are used, and the extent of that will depend on how they are used (the types of soils/foods encountered vs. just water, and how they are dried),” says Martin Bucknavage, an expert in food safety in the Penn State Department of Food Science.
In my house, even if I designate one dish towel just for hand drying, it inevitably gets used for a quick swipe across the counter or to clean up a bit of egg yolk that dripped out of a bowl. For me, tossing the dish towels in the laundry after they’ve been used post-dinner is easier than trying to remember how they’ve been used in the past few days, or when the last time I washed them even was.
Ideally, your kitchen towels should be washed separately from other laundry with hot water, detergent, and bleach to kill germs before being dried in the dryer on high heat to kill germs. “High temperatures with detergents and oxidants (e.g. Oxiclean) would generally kill microbes more effectively than cooler water, not using detergents, and not using oxidants,” Hedlund says.
When I committed to changing out my dish towels more frequently, the first thing I did was ditch my cute and occasionally seasonally themed dish towels. I replaced them with a stack of classic white dish towels. I keep about 15 in my kitchen, like that they’re easy to clean, and are a good size. If they get stained, I don’t care. I keep a few looking very fresh in case I have company coming over, but otherwise, I use them for anything and everything in the kitchen.
Read the original article on Simply Recipes
