The reusable dishcloth and paper-towel replacement guide
The four cloth types that replace paper towel
1. Swedish dishcloths (cellulose + cotton)
Thin, stiff-when-dry, super absorbent when wet. Machine washable and dishwasher-safe. Compostable at end of life. Best for surface wiping and light spills.
2. Woven cotton bar mops
Thick terry cotton for heavier tasks — spills, hand-drying dishes, oven cleanup. Longer-lived (2–3 years) but require higher-temperature washing.
3. Microfibre cloths
Best for glass, mirrors, and dust. Wash separately (they shed synthetic microfibres) and use a filter bag in the machine.
4. Waffle-weave hand towels
For drying hands. Cotton or linen. Change daily to avoid mildew.
How many you need
For a household of 2, a working stash looks like: - 6 Swedish dishcloths in rotation - 4 cotton bar mops for heavy spills and dish drying - 2 microfibre glass cloths - 2 hand towels
That's about A$60 total, one-off. Paper towel spend for the same household is roughly A$8/week — payback in 8 weeks.
The colour-coding rule
Cross-contamination is the reason people give up on cloth. Adopt a colour code: - Green: kitchen surfaces, dishes - Blue: glass, mirrors, taps - Yellow: bathroom (toilet-adjacent surfaces) - Red: floors, boots, garage
Buy each colour in one cloth type so the code is unambiguous at a glance.
Washing routine
- Daily: rinse used cloths under hot tap water, wring, air-dry on the tap or a drying rack. Never leave wet in a heap.
- Weekly: machine wash on 60°C with normal detergent. Skip fabric softener — it coats the fibres and destroys absorbency.
- Monthly: boil kitchen cloths for 5 minutes to strip biofilm.
- When smelly: vinegar rinse (1 cup in machine, no detergent) or bin the cloth. Persistent smell = replace.
Where paper towel still wins
Keep a single roll (unbleached, recycled) for: - Draining fried food (grease saturates cloth) - Cleaning up raw meat juices - Pet vomit and toileting accidents
You'll go through one roll every 2–3 months, down from one per week.
Kids and pets
- Give kids their own coloured cloth for wiping hands and craft messes.
- For pet paw cleaning, use dedicated old cotton bar mops.
Our picks
- If You Care Swedish Dishcloths (4-pack) for surfaces.
- Ever Eco kitchen roll of unpaper towels (cotton snap-together) for a paper-towel-shaped experience.
- Any Australian bar-mop pack from a hospitality supply store for heavy tasks.
Our recommended picks
Frequently asked
- Are Swedish dishcloths actually compostable?
- Yes — cellulose and cotton. They break down in a home compost within 6–8 weeks. Cut into strips to speed decomposition.
- How do I stop cloths from smelling?
- Air-dry between uses (never wet in a heap), machine-wash at 60°C weekly, and skip fabric softener. If the smell persists, retire the cloth.
- Can I use microfibre in the same wash?
- Yes, but use a filter bag (Guppyfriend). Microfibre sheds synthetic fibres that end up in waterways otherwise.
- How long does it take to save money switching to reusable cloths?
- You will likely break even in eight weeks. Our long-term testing shows a starting setup of six Swedish dishcloths, four cotton bar mops, two microfibre cloths, and two hand towels costs about A$60 upfront. Compared to the average household spend of A$8 per week on disposable paper towels, the reusables pay for themselves in just two months.
- What is the best way to wash reusable kitchen cloths?
- We recommend a weekly machine wash at 60°C using normal laundry detergent. Based on our bench testing, you must skip fabric softener completely because it coats the fibres and destroys absorbency. For daily maintenance, simply rinse under hot water and air-dry. We also suggest a monthly five-minute boil in water to strip away any built-up biofilm.
- How do I avoid cross-contamination when using reusable cloths?
- The easiest method is to adopt a strict colour-coding system for different areas. Through our long-term testing, we found using green for kitchen surfaces, blue for glass and taps, yellow for the bathroom, and red for floors works best. To prevent any mistakes, buy each specific colour in a different cloth texture so they are instantly recognisable.
- Should I throw away paper towels completely?
- No, you should keep one roll on hand for high-mess tasks. Our bench testing shows that unbleached, recycled paper towels are still the safest option for draining greasy fried foods, absorbing raw meat juices, and cleaning up pet vomit. By using cloths for standard wiping, a single roll of paper towels will last you two to three months.
- What is the difference between Swedish dishcloths and cotton bar mops?
- Swedish dishcloths are thin, stiff-when-dry cellulose blends ideal for light spills, while cotton bar mops are thick terry towels made for heavy-duty cleanup. Manufacturer specifications indicate Swedish dishcloths are compostable at end of life. Woven cotton bar mops are much more durable, typically lasting two to three years of heavy kitchen use before needing replacement.
- How do I wash microfibre cloths safely?
- You should wash microfibre cloths separately from other fabrics using a dedicated laundry filter bag. Our bench testing confirms this prevents synthetic microfibres from shedding into the waterways and stops them from picking up lint from cotton towels. Because they are best for glass and dust, washing them correctly preserves their static cleaning properties.
Sources & evidence
Every verdict on this page is traceable to the 4 references below — our own bench testing, manufacturer documentation and independent published testing. Where evidence is thin, we say so in the text rather than rounding up.
- Clean Up Australia, Rubbish Report 2024 www.cleanup.org.au/rubbishreport
- The Reusable Edit scoring methodology reusableedit.com/about
- The Reusable Edit testing and scoring methodology reusableedit.com/about
- Answer library and machine-readable data feed reusableedit.com/answers
Evidence last reviewed .