How To Properly Wash Dish Towels To Remove Bacteria And Odors

No kitchen is properly stocked without an abundance of sturdy, fabric kitchen towels. Though there are certain messes fabric towels should never touch, having them close at hand to sop up spilled drinks or disinfect your counters is both convenient and environmentally friendly. Plus, they're good for much more than just cleaning up messes. Used properly, kitchen towels can help you make the fluffiest rice you've ever eaten or replace potholders when pulling things out of the oven. They're also great for protecting homemade bread while it's proofing, or acting as a buffer between hot pans and your counter or kitchen table.

Of course, all this exposure to liquids, disinfectants, and even the occasional food spill obviously leaves your kitchen towels less than sterile. Even after cycling through the washer and dryer, you may notice they're still a bit dingy, stained, and may even still carry the smell of the messes they cleaned up. This isn't great, because bad odors can indicate bacteria build-up, meaning you may need to take extra steps to ensure your kitchen towels are fully disinfected.

Fortunately, there's a simple, old-school way to sterilize your kitchen towels and make them smell fresh again. All you have to do is boil them in hot water with the disinfecting additive of your choice. While boiling water alone kills lots of germs and can even lift some stains, additions such as baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and even liquid dish soap help ensure your towels are as clean as they can possibly be.

The first thing to note when cleaning your kitchen towels this way is that you should choose a specific set of kitchen tools to use only for this purpose. Once you boil water in a pot with caustic cleansers such as bleach, they're no longer considered food-safe. For this reason, you may want to thrift a stainless steel stew pot, tongs, bowl, and colander to avoid ruining your favorite vessel for making hearty white chicken and navy bean chili.

The next step is to put your kitchen towels in your chosen pot and fill the pot with water. Use the tongs to ensure the towels are fully saturated and submerged. Next, add a little bit of one of the following cleansers or cleanser pairs: hydrogen peroxide and baking soda, OxyClean powder, white vinegar and dish soap, or chlorine bleach. It's worth noting that bleach should be used with caution — follow package instructions to the letter and never mix it with other cleansers since this could create toxic substances. Additionally, rubber gloves protect your hands from the cleansers and hot water.

After boiling for a few minutes, use the tongs to move the towels to a bowl and rinse with cool water using the colander until the water runs clear. You can then wring them out lightly and either air or machine dry them. For machine drying, there's no need to dry them on the hottest setting — just use the regular setting for fresh, clean, fluffy towels.