Heh..rhome, I've had trouble with this very issue in the past as it seems a lot of folks have...you just never know. Some of the things people have brought up here are questions I've always wondered the answer to, but never thought to ask. Love it!

Live and learn and try and pass on wisdom :)

rhome - If you haven't already, you might try posting this on the laundry forum. Lots of great responses here, but someone on the laundry forum may have an answer we haven't thought of. I too, use waaaaay too many paper towels, its a bad habit to grab those instead of a dish towel. Like to know the $$ I spend in a year on those things. I probably go thru at least 2-3 rolls per week :(

WOW!! Cat Mom, are those birdseye?? I've been looking for cotton birdseye towels for years and years.

"I thought I'd get just a couple responses, at best, on what seemed like a goofy issue to bring up."

see ya never know! if you're wondering about it, most likely others are also!

plllog--I'm sorry to say that I don't know what "birdseye" is, but I hope they are since you seem so excited at the prospect! :-)

They used to sell these towels at BB&B, and I'd tried them years ago on a whim (had started hated my terry towels at that point). Never went back to anything else, even after BB&B stopped selling them. They work great, IMO. They dry out well too, hung on a bar inside my sink cab. The site I linked is the site I got them from most recently (about 2-3 years ago).

I have the all-white ones (wash those w/ my whites using bleach), and the black and white check ones (wash those with light colored things). They wear like iron, and last for years.

yes, microfibre! and you know those super luxurious-hotel quality-ultra plush bath towels? yeah, good luck trying to dry off with one of those. give me a light, scratchy towel to absorb water and exfoliate my skin, thank you very much.

Flour sack---another vote. I have lots of microfibre cloths, mostly the highly touted ones from Solutions and I love them for heavy cleaning and buffing. But I find the flour sack just as absorbent and tactilly the 100% cotton is MUCH nicer than microfibre. I get them in Target. They used to carry organic cotton ones which I use in the kitchen and regular white ones that I use as handtowels in the powder room but they don't seem to carry the organic (a beiger color) any more. Darn!

I'm thankful to helpful strangers for 2 things--my flour sack cloths and the coffee I drink. In both instances I got unsolicited advice from a nearby shopper when they noticed me analyzing my selection. They really believed in the product and I can see why.

I also keep a drawer full of rags in my kitchen (which are't very raggy but used only for major clean up or cleaning.) My favorite is a stack of diapers. Unfortunatley I tried to refresh my supply recently and couldn't find the type of diapers I used 20 years ago when my kids were babies. They are a thick cotton but thicker in the middle 2/3 down the entire length of the diaper. I can find cloth diapers but they aren't nearly as nice.

Thank you, thank you, all. The Wonder Towels look and sound great. Way more $$ than I usually spend on towels, but maybe that's my problem...and if they last for years, that's something to consider. I will also check out Costco and Target again and see what they have.

Plllog, you made me remember that I think I have some birdseye cotton in my boxes of fabric somewhere! (Meant to try making my own diapers once...Ha!) I will have to cut and hem some of it up and see how it works.

rhome410-
If detergent build up is the problem, I just wanted to warn you that the first load of laundry you do with vinegar will probably need an extra rinse. When I started using vinegar in my laundry, it also got rid of all the detergent build up in my washer. There was so much detergent build up that the first load of clothes still had foam on them when the cycle finished. (It was an old washer we inherited with our first house).
If I am using vinegar for its cleaning properties in the wash, I use about a cup in the wash cycle. It kills yeast and other yucky stuff, too. DON'T mix it with bleach!
I usually use it in the fabric softener cup-it works great for that, too, without all the chemicals.

Thanks, Timber.J. The washer was new when the house was (15 months ago), and I am stingy with detergent, so I don't think it could be too bad...But an extra rinse never hurts!

See me doing the toddler-stomp Snoopy-joy happy dance. Just at the thought that they might be birdseye. I first found Kilian when I was looking for cremone bolts. Who knew they had towels? I've just bought a few on spec.

Thanks, Cat mom!!!

I don't know if I can describe it well. It's a loose weave in a diamond pattern--the "bird's eye"--kind of a medium weight. It's nigh on impossible to find birdseye tea towels anymore and they're the best!

I have flour sack, which are great for glasses, but get soaked too easily for my other uses, huck, which are great for pots and general purpose, but are very heavy and don't wad up well. Linen, which are great for dishes, but not for general purposes, and also aren't great at wadding until they're washed to death. And I've been babying my beloved cotton birdseye towels because there's just nothing else that will do sometimes.

Rhome, let us know how your diaper weight towels work out. That's always an alternative... :)

BTW, I haven't had the detergent build up problem -- I think it comes from the kind of water you have. A lot of quilters swear by using Orvus on their towels (sold for washing horses and needlework) for making their towels fluffy and absorbent.

Seems GW thought this thread was Twitter worthy:

Here is a link that might be useful: It's the Great Kitchen Towel Cospiracy!

I got my mom some nice microfibre kitchen towels at Costco. They're pretty big though, not sure what size you are looking for.

For my towels I've found that as I use and wash them they get softer and more absorbent. I do the vinegar trick too - actually I use it instead of softener for all my laundry, I just pour some into a Downy ball. :)

Floursacks, most definitely. We have stacks of dozens of 'em (the large unbleached kind) and haven't purchased paper towels in months.

Do you have a water softner? Water filter?
We have both and I find this can have an effect on
the laundry.

I use microfiber towels in the kitchen.
A great deal from TJ Maxx.

My microfiber isn't very absorbent. I use it on the granite, but it pushes water around if there is much on it. It has gotten worse over time, while my terry towels have improved. Go figure.

This is actually not the first time this topic has come up!

No water softener, no filter...Still looking for the birdseye cotton I have somewhere... :-) Well, I would be if I'd get off the computer!

One more thing about detergent buildup...it tends to be worse with liquid detergent than with powder, so the extra rinse that timber.j recommended is a good one, especially if you use liquid detergent.

So, who puts the threads on Twitter? I found my DR furniture thread on Twitter a couple of weeks ago....

I use microfiber for all clean ups, but for dish towels I use 100% old fashion cotton ones from Restoration Hardware. They aren't terry, just plain cotton. They have to be ironed if a little mis shape after washing bothers you, but other than that they are indestructible and are very absorbent.

Make sure you aren't using fabric softener or a detergent that has fabric softener. That will cause the towel to repel the water.

I find that the bath towels I've bought in the last year or two (Costco, T.J. Max) are not absorbent, thought they are 100% cotton. They are usually touted as "soft," and I tend to think they have to have been treated with something that mimics a soft texture. Makes me mad because it takes quite a few washes for them to feel more normal to me, and I hate the idea of wiping myself off with some unknown substance. Anyway, my point is that perhaps they are doing the same thing to kitchen towels, as cawila suggested.

zelmar, do you by chance live in the bay area, anywhere near Campbell? If so, try the Tiny Tots diaper service store on Railroad Ave. in Campbell--they sell cloth diapers along with clothes and toys

Plain old powdered Tide and bleach...So no liquid and no type of softener. I don't think they were ever any better, so I'm kind of doubting that it's detergent build-up, but it won't hurt to try the vinegar. (bleach wouldn't prevent detergent build up?)

The birdseye cotton I have stashed somewhere is eluding me. It was stored with several yards of terry cloth (insert some scary chords of organ music here), so maybe it's part of the Great Towel Conspiracy...

I found these Ritz cotton towels on Amazon. Do you think they are the same as the Wonder Towels or just a cheaper/maybe lesser quality version?

Here is a link that might be useful: Ritz kitchen towels on Amazon

Some similar color names, but the weave looks like twill!!!!!

I'm sure the color names are the same because they are both made by Ritz...From what I see on Amazon, Ritz has lots of things in all the same colors (hot pads, etc.) that match the towels for a whole ensemble. But having not heard of them before, I don't know their range. All high end, or some 'value lines' that really aren't a value at all? The reviews are decent.

Those are different rhome410, so I couldn't tell you how well they'd work or not. I've only had experience with the ones I'd linked above, and I really swear by them. I am on my second batch of them (I believe; if not second, then third, but I don't think so) in at least 15 years. I have about 10 towels (+/- 2), and on avg. we go through about 2 or 3 a week (we only use them to dry clean dishes--no wiping counters with them, and it gets hung up to dry on the towel bar under the sink between uses--so it is perfectly dry, no mustiness or anything, when we need to use it again). We go through more towels before and after a large gathering, as one would expect.

They really do hold a ton of moisture and still continue to dry, and they just last and last. A couple of my white ones aren't as pristine looking as the others--I think I'd used them to wipe down my SS sink right before tossing in the laundry, and the greyish streaks from the metal never came out (needless to say, I don't use them to do that anymore), but aside from that, they are in perfect shape in all other ways.

I don't take any special care when washing them; whites go with other whites w/ detergent and bleach, the black and white ones go in with another load using detergent and Chlorox 2. Both colors go in the dryer with a dryer sheet. No vinegar, no special care, and definitely no ironing. :-)

For those of you who use a little vinegar in your rinse cycle when doing clothes, do you have a water softener?

Thank you!

Thank you, Cat_mom. I'm glad to hear all you have to say about the Wonder Towels, and glad you were able to tell me if they were different from the Amazon ones. I admit I had to laugh when you said something about ironing, Brutuses, knowing myself and knowing that would never happen! I would definitely deal with misshapen towels before I'd take the time to iron them. They're back in the wash too fast to care about things like that ;-) --but it would be nice to have the towels look presentable in between without the extra effort. I iron when I sew, and, otherwise, our iron gets pretty lonely. (Shhh...Don't tell my MIL, who has always ironed everything, including FIL's white t-shirts! DH used to have his sheets ironed, then he got stuck with me...)

Sjerin, I was wondering the same thing...If something in manufacturing towels had changed to bring on this problem.

OK..anyone else cringe at the feel if microfiber cloths..especially when you have dry skin? Those cloths feel awful if you're hands are dry! But, they do work wonders!

Here's what appears to be a good source for the Flemish Wonder towels...6 for $20..plus shipping of course!

https://www.enasco.com/product/WA24998H

I'll let Cat_mom decide if those look the same, but what an interesting website, SLC2053! Looks like trouble for a homeschooling mom who loves to buy interesting school items... :-)

They do look like they could be the same--but not 100% sure. You could always call (and ask if they are the Ritz Flemish Wonder Towels......).

If so, the price does seem better, but I don't know how they compare on S/H and tax to Killian's Hardware, so make sure you tally it all up for both sites before deciding where to order.

If they are the same, they come in the natural color (not white) and the multi-color check, while the Killian's site appears to offer all the colors available (don't know what color you'd want).

It's funny you picked up on my no ironing comment--the joke among family and friends, is that I don't iron. Yet, ironically (pun intended!), I hauled the darned thing out not once, not twice, but about 3 or 4 times between last monht and this one! And, I actually used it! Never on my towels though! LOL

PS--slc, I'm also not too fond of the way my micro fiber cloths catch and grab my dry hands during the winter months.

Rhome

I always love your posts!

I am a microfiber towel person - but for drying dishes or decorative - nothing beats the old fashioned linen dish towels - more absorbent and no lint left behind
- I'm always on the hunt for them at yard sales, good will etc. I have even purchased vintage large linen tablecloths & cut them sew them to be the size i need
There are some higher grade microfiber towels - I thought there was one called "solutions" did a search, couldn't find it. I have a mix of them, yes there is a difference in quality

Here is a link that might be useful: differences in microfiber towels

I have always hated the way that microfiber feels to the touch. But I recently found a microfiber towel that I love. It's called Spontex. 85% polyester 15% Polymide. Very soft and I use one specifically for my $1200 eyeglasses. Love it. Can't remember where I got it. I'm thinking Menards. I hope it was ok to mention the brand name. They also have kitchen absorbent towels.

Conni

Here is a link that might be useful: spontex wiping cloth

cat mom thanks for the link! I "inherited" a towel exactly like this from my Mom, and was wondering where on earth she'd gotten it. They look so similar, I'm ordering!

spontex, I'll be on the lookout for this one.

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who hasn't had glowing experiences with all microfiber cloths. I keep reading here how great they are and I just haven't been that impressed. Now, thanks to the help here, I may know more what to look for in cotton and in microfiber. It's been a busy week, and I was out of town part of it, so I've yet to try the vinegar on the towels I have.

Rhome
I understand your pain. I too have been having problems with cotton dishtowels not absorbing the water. I thougt I was just buying cheap towels. So I purchased 3 dishtowels at pottery barn marked down 50% and they just pushed the water around too. I've even noticed a change even in bath towels recently. Maybe its the manufacturing process. I like the flour sack towels,and they work great on glasswear.

I found this thread from 2007...

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Are all Microfiber cloths created equal?

I just received my Cat Mom approved Wonder Towels! They're not birdseye, but they're by far the best alternative I've had. I'm SO jazzed!! My washer is still in the dining room waiting, but I just want to wash 'em up and start using them!

Thanks Cat Mom!!!

And thanks Rhome, for the thread (where I also learned that vinegar is good for cleaning out the softener dispenser. I use vinegar for cleaning all the time, but never thought of that, and hot water isn't 100% effective...)

That's actually one of the reasons I quit using fabric softener...the mess it made of the washer. I may be able to use it again! I am saving up for the towels... :-)

Ugh. Mess. My mother's machine burped white glug all over my dark load. Vinegar here I come!!!

The towels are a loose weave with only a light twist, with a grid of tighter weave supporting it. Like a towel version of seersucker. It's easy to see why they're absorbent. And they feel wonderful. No awful sizing to get rid of or anything like that. You'll love 'em.

My favorite dish towels are 100% linen ones my mom bought in Russia about 10 years ago. Some of them are getting holes by now, and I am bummed because clearly there's no way I can replace those! I also have a few left of my college-days collection of thrift-store linen tea towels from the 50's and 60's... those are so much more absorbent than new ones for some reason! What's UP with towel manufacturing these days?!?

Something to watch for.... if you are buying your towels at discount stores that sell a lot of Chinese merchandise, there is a very good possibility that the towels are not cotton at all. Polyester can be made to mimic cotton exactly, but it's still plastic and non-absorbent.

An awful lot of incorrectly labelled and flat-out counterfeit goods make their way into the North American market. Somtimes this is deliberate and sometimes it's a case of ignorance on the part of the importer. Either way - it's a problem.

Oh, I do hope you'll like using them plllog! You, too when you get some rhome410. I've been using the Wonder towels for ~20 years and wouldn't consider switching to anything else. I know I sound like an infomercial at this point (!) but they really are terrific!

Happy drying (soon)!!!

FINALLY did a load of kitchen towels with vinegar today. So far I've tried a terry towel that does much better now...and a supposedly cotton one that is lumpy, kind of like seersucker, that my daughter said always seemed to just push the water around, even when new...and it still does. But I only have 2 of those, and many more of the terry, so I call this a success! Thanks again.

I'm wondering if the reason towels don't absorb anymore is because phosphates were taken out of detergents.

What an interesting thread, from long ago with lots of old names. I wonder who's still around? (Not me anymore!).

I've wondered about this, accepted that cotton just isn't cotton anymore. I've presumed it's the same way that "100% cotton blue jeans" somehow have stretchy waistbands. Clearly the modern 100% isn't quite what I think of when I think of "100%". So - I've just presumed that all these cottons are processed in some way that affects its absorption and content, even, they just don't have to declare it.

But that's just been my speculation, I don't know.

Microfiber is not the same. It doesn't absorb the way an old cotton towel does.

It could also be the dyes used commercially. If I were to really investigate this, I'd try some "organic" cotton and "organic dyes", to see if this helps. Note that you can buy "shop towels" at Home Despot that are white terry cloth, loose weave, not in any way pretty, but thoroughly absorbant as of days of yore.

All these things do matter and there is a big difference between towels I've bought in bundles from Costco (bad absorbers) from some other less boingy towels from who-knows where.

So ... I think all these variables matter perhaps?

I have just purchased 8 kitchen towels from Costco and they are 100% cotton. They have been washed two times but from the get go they have not absorbed water. I am returning them. It cannot be my water as cotton towels have always worked in my home and it can’t be detergent buildup after just 2 laundering’s. I love cotton towels but there is something strange going on here.

My mother in law bought those cotton towels from Costco too and hated them. She ended up trying the ELLY tea towels from IKEA and they are fantastic. I'd recommend them if you have one nearby, I was impressed when I tried them at her house.

Thanks for the recommendation! I will try to check that out but the nearest Ikea is 2 hours away. Perhaps I can find them online.