I’ll Implement This New Kitchen Rule Starting TODAY

Every day it seems there are medical reports and research studies that come out suggesting that we change our habits.  They're meant to guide us to eating differently, exercising better, and making better choices.  I'll admit, I usually ignore most of those stories but I can't ignore the one about dish towels.

I didn't realize that they should be replaced every day!  The new study, which was presented at the American Society for Microbiology in Atlanta, Georgia, shared findings after testing towels that had been used for a month.  The study found that 49 percent of the kitchen towels had bacterial growth, including the kind that can lead to E. coli and a type that can cause staph infections.  Eeeeewwwww!

So starting immediately, since I don't want to risk food poisoning or some other illness, I'm going to put my dish towel in the laundry basket at the end of each day.  Honestly, I have a drawer full of towels but generally just use the same 3 over and over.  I probably wash them once a week but that research has convinced me to use a new one each day.  If you don't have enough towels for daily replacements, you can pick up some new ones at the dollar store or your favorite discount or department store.

If our towels are being used for hand-drying, wiping spills, grabbing pots and pans and drying them off, it makes sense that they could become breeding grounds for bacteria.  Especially if they don't get to dry out completely.

So who else is with me?  Who else is going to start using a fresh dish towel each day?