Tea towels.
Why do people own tea towels? They're disgusting clothy havens of germs. What's wrong with leaving dishes to drip dry? Why would I want to wipe a freshly scrubbed saucepan with a rectangle of fabric that's been draped over a chair gathering grime, that people have dried their hands on, that's been slung over someone's shoulder when cooking and that's covered in food stains and grot?

Air dry ftw. Same principle apparently applies to genitals.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 13:50, 13 replies)

You've obviously never had a tea towel flicking fight with a sibling.
Best fight evah!
( girlinthehole, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 14:06, closed)

EUPHEMISM ALERT

( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Fri 26 Mar 2010, 21:30, closed)

"tea towel holders" can be equally filthy.

AKA "the one eyed brown barking spider".
(wheelspanner is cleaning the dead flies off his helmit on, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 14:11, closed)

Don't know about you
but I don't like water marks on my wine glasses, so I still keep one.
Other than that, I agree.
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 14:13, closed)

People drying their hands on tea towels
Wrong wrongity wrong wrong wrong.
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 14:28, closed)

Yarrr.
We have a teatowel for drying that gets changed for fresh whenever it's had anything other than plain water on it, and a hand towel for drying hands and impersonating an oven glove.

A friend's lodger got invited to leave for using the teatowel to wipe his face after cycling home...
( Fronds are waving gently on, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 16:15, closed)

You need an arsenal of three
One tea towel for dishes - never use this for anything else.
One tea towel as an improvised oven glove - this doesn't require as much care, but don't let it touch food.
One roll of kitchen towel/roll for drying hands after washing them - easy to use then bin.
Always hang them up somewhere clean.
Yell at guests that get it wrong ;-)
(mmmm curry doesn't really understand this sig lark, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 14:28, closed)

Tea towels are for drying dishies so you don't get water marks or left over bubbles drying on.
You're supposed to use a separate hand towel for the rest. And wash things regularly.
( vix0r was not Matthew on, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 15:59, closed)

Rinsing gets rid of bubbles.
I have a hand towel and a dishwasher so that solves most problems.
( crackhouseceilidhband Fuck off back to Mumsnet, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 17:20, closed)

Of course, all this is only strictly necessary...
...if one actually does the washing up. Ever.
(Falstaff's Spiritual Successor, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 19:03, closed)

You just gave me an idea.....
You can get cheap disposable paper plates and plastic cutlery at 99p stores or similar. Perhaps I shall just buy those once a week and save effort & money on water bills/washing up liquid/paper towels :D
(Asharin Stabby stab stab, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 20:24, closed)

For no adequately explained reason
people seem to think that you can use a tea towel for weeks on end and it magically cleans and purifies. In my house, I use a fresh tea-towel every day, for the drying of anything that needs to go away now rather than air dry.
( Fathter Puddytat Kill Kill dat widdle boid is mine on, Thu 25 Mar 2010, 20:16, closed)

A tea towel is by definition the cleanest thing in the house
After all, it only ever touches things just after they've been washed.
(potato123, Fri 26 Mar 2010, 13:26, closed)