Cloth, Microfiber or a Rack? The Paper Towel Alternative for Each Job

A busy kitchen can go through a roll of paper towels in a few days: spills, wet hands, greasy counters, a plate of bacon. Most of those jobs can be done with something you wash and use again, and the switch is easier than it sounds if you match the cloth to the job.

This guide covers the paper towel alternative for each of those jobs, from a roll of cotton cloths that sits on your existing holder to restaurant bar mops and a rack that lets bacon fat drip away. It is also honest about the one job where food safety guidance still points to paper.

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Why people look for reusable towels

• Cost over time. A pack of washable cloths is bought once; paper is bought every week.
• Waste. Used paper towels go in the trash. Cloth goes in the laundry.
• Running out. A drawer of clean cloths does not run out halfway through a spill.
• Better at some jobs. A terry bar mop holds far more water than a single sheet of paper, and microfiber handles a greasy stovetop well.

Quick verdict: the best paper towel alternative

Five reusable swaps side by side

Our five picks, one per job, with what each maker or listing states.

Which reusable towel for which job

Paper towels do half a dozen different jobs, and no single cloth is best at all of them.

Spills and wiping counters

Small spills and daily wiping are where a cloth pays off fastest. A sponge cloth, whether microfiber like Libman’s or a cellulose Swedish dishcloth, soaks up a puddle and wipes the counter dry. Our guide to the best Swedish dish cloths compares the plant-based kind, and dish cloth vs sponge explains when a cloth beats a sponge.

Drying hands and dishes

For wet hands and dishes, cotton is the right material. Tasting Table’s Emilee Unterkoefler notes that flour sack and tea towels are thin cotton or linen and do not shed lint the way terry cloth does, so they suit glasses; a terry bar mop soaks up more but can leave fibers behind. Our best dish towels guide covers both kinds in depth.

Grease on the stove and counters

Microfiber is a common choice for wiping a stovetop and greasy counters, and it is easy to wash. Keep it away from very hot surfaces and wash it without fabric softener, which is general care advice for microfiber. Our best microfiber cloths guide has more options.

Draining bacon and oven-fried food

Instead of cooking bacon in a pan and blotting it on paper, cook it on a rack set in a sheet pan in the oven, so the fat drips into the pan as it renders. The same works for wings and oven fries. This is a cooking-method change rather than a straight swap, and for stovetop deep-frying many cooks still drain on paper.

The job that still calls for paper

The FDA’s food safety advice for cleaning says to consider using paper towels to clean up kitchen surfaces and then throw the germs away with the towels, and that if you use cloth towels you should launder them often in hot water. It also warns not to dry your hands on a towel that was used to clean up raw meat, poultry or seafood juices, because those juices may carry harmful bacteria. So the honest answer is to keep a small roll of paper for raw juices and use cloth for everything else.

Our picks for the best paper towel alternative

How to switch without running out of clean cloths

• Buy enough to rotate. Plan on a day or two of cloths in use, a day in the laundry and a day clean in the drawer.
• Keep a basket for used cloths. A damp cloth left balled up on the counter starts to smell; a small open basket lets it dry until wash day.
• Wash hot when you can. The FDA advises laundering cloth towels often in hot water. White cotton handles hot washes best.
• Use colors to separate jobs. One color for dishes and counters, another for floors or the bathroom.
• Keep paper for raw juices. It is the one job where throwing the towel away is the point.

How we chose these five alternatives

We listed the jobs paper towels do in a home kitchen, then looked for one reusable product per job from a maker we could identify, read each listing for size, material and care, and confirmed every pick was in stock with a new offer. Food safety points come from the FDA’s cleaning guidance. We skipped products already recommended on our other cloth and towel guides, which we link instead, and we did not use or wash these products ourselves; care instructions are the makers’ own.

Paper towel alternative questions, answered

What can I use instead of paper towels in the kitchen?

Cotton flannel or flour sack cloths for wiping and drying, terry bar mops for big spills, sponge cloths or Swedish dishcloths for the sink, and microfiber for grease. A rack in a sheet pan replaces paper for draining oven bacon.

Are reusable paper towels sanitary?

They are if you wash them often. The FDA advises laundering cloth towels often in hot water and not drying your hands on a towel used for raw meat, poultry or seafood juices. Use paper for those juices and throw it away.

How many reusable towels do I need?

Enough to cover the days between laundry loads plus a spare day. For many households that is two dozen cloths of mixed kinds, but count how many paper towels you use in a day and start there.

Do reusable paper towels fit a paper towel holder?

Some do. Marley’s Monsters says its cloths roll onto an included kraft tube that fits most standard holders. For holders themselves, see our best paper towel holder guide.

What about bamboo or recycled paper towels?

Those are still disposable paper, just from different fiber. If you want to stay with paper, our best kitchen towels paper guide compares rolls, including recycled and tree-free options.

Our final word on cutting back on paper towels

You do not need to give up paper entirely to use a lot less of it. A roll of cloth on the holder, a stack of bar mops and a few sponge cloths cover most of what paper towels do, and a rack in a sheet pan takes care of the bacon. Keep one roll of paper for raw meat juices, as food safety guidance suggests, and use cloth for everything else. Start with whichever job uses the most paper in your kitchen.

And if you would rather skip the cleanup tonight, see the menu or call to order.