Terry, Waffle or Knit: Which Are the Best Dish Cloths?

Every restaurant kitchen runs on wet cloths, and home sinks do too. A dish cloth is the small one you wash with, not the large towel you dry with, and the difference between a good one and a bad one is how it scrubs, how well it wrings out and how quickly it dries.

This guide covers cotton dish cloths for washing dishes and wiping counters: terry, waffle, knit and scouring. If you want a cellulose sponge cloth, see our guide to the best Swedish dish cloths, and for large drying towels, the best dish towels. We say “not stated” where a listing is silent, and many of these listings say little.

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Quick verdict: which dish cloth to buy

Dish cloth, dish towel or Swedish cloth: what each one does

The names overlap, and listings use them loosely. Here is how we use them.

Five dish cloths side by side

Our five standout dish cloths, one for each job at the sink. All eight are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Materials, sizes and care are as the makers’ Amazon listings give them, except where we name retailers; check the listing before you buy.

Our picks for the best dish cloths

These eight cover the real choices: ribbed or mesh for scrubbing, terry or waffle for wiping, one knit, and an organic option. Each pick explains who it suits and gives one honest reason to skip it.

How to choose a dish cloth

Decide what the cloth does most

Scrubbing plates, wiping counters and soaking up spills want different things. A ribbed or looped cloth handles a mix. For stuck-on food, look for a mesh or looped scrub side. For counters and spills, pick plain terry. If you only want one type, a textured terry such as the Ripple is the best compromise.

Judge how fast it dries

This matters more than softness. A cloth that stays wet for hours soon smells sour. University of Nevada Extension says that sour smell comes from bacterial growth. Thin waffle dries faster than thick terry, so a humid kitchen may do better with waffle.

Look at the fiber

Most cloths here are 100% cotton. KitchenAid’s Albany says only “cotton rich”, and the Ritz Scouring cloth does not say what the mesh is made of. If you want to avoid synthetics, read the listing line by line.

Read the care label before buying

Some of these cloths give no wash temperature. The KitchenAid set says cold. If you plan to wash cloths hot, choose one that does not rule it out. Check the label on any cloth with a mesh side too.

Buy enough to rotate

The cheapest way to keep a cloth fresh is to have another. Plan on a clean cloth a day, so a set of three will not get you through the week. Michigan State University Extension recommends a clean dishcloth daily. Eight cloths, or two smaller sets, is a sensible start.

How we chose these eight dish cloths

We started with what a sink needs from a cloth: it should scrub without scratching, wring out easily and dry between uses. We then looked at cotton dish cloths sold on Amazon in the United States from identifiable makers, confirmed each was in stock using Amazon’s product data, and took material, size and care from the listings. We kept out the Swedish sponge cloths and large drying towels that our other guides cover.

We did not find an independent head-to-head of these exact cloths, and we did not use Wirecutter’s or Good Housekeeping’s reviews for this guide, so the claims here are the makers’, labeled as such. We have not used these cloths ourselves. The food-safety notes come from university extension services, which we cite in our research notes and name in the text.

Dish cloth questions, answered

What are the best dish cloths for washing dishes?

The best dish washing cloths have texture. The Now Designs Ripple is our first choice, and the Ritz Scouring cloth is better for stuck-on food. If you want a thin, flexible cloth for jars and glasses, try a knit.

What is the best kind of kitchen cloth?

It depends on the job. Keep a textured cotton cloth for dishes and a plain terry for counters and spills. For the best kitchen cloths for wiping, a cellulose Swedish cloth is another good option, and our Swedish guide covers those.

Which dish cloths are the most eco-friendly?

Any cloth you wash and reuse in place of paper towels helps. Among these picks, the Full Circle Tidy is the one sold as organic cotton, though its listing does not name a certifier. Some Swedish cloths are sold as compostable, and our guide to them gives each maker’s claim.

How often should you wash dish cloths?

Often. University of Nevada Extension says to wash dishcloths and sponges frequently and that a hot laundry load reduces sponge bacteria sharply, and Michigan State University Extension recommends a clean dishcloth daily. Do not leave a wet cloth bunched in the sink. Hang it open, and follow the maker’s care label.

Are dish cloths better than sponges?

They do different things, and each needs regular cleaning. Cloths wash and rotate easily, while sponges hold more suds and scrub harder. See our guide to dish cloth vs sponge for the full comparison.

What is the difference between a dish cloth and a dish towel?

Size and job. A dish cloth is usually about 12 inches square and used wet for washing and wiping. A dish towel is larger and used to dry dishes and hands. Our dish towel guide covers the large ones.

Our final pick for the kitchen sink

Start with a set of Now Designs Ripple cloths for everyday washing, and add the Ritz Scouring cloths for stuck-on food. That pair covers almost everything a sink will ask of you. After a long night of tamales, a clean cloth and a hot rinse will deal with the masa; for the tamales themselves, read what tamales are.

Related guide: Best kitchen gloves.

Related guide: Best scouring pads.

For the rest of the sink, see the best dish racks and the best dish drying mats. And if you would rather skip the dishes tonight, see the menu or call to order.