Linen tea towels vs towelling tea towels...

[Mrs-M]

Early Morning, and I, were talking about tea towels in another thread, so I thought it would be fun to start-up a thread on teas!

To open things up, check out these waffle-knit woven teas of mine.

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=743&d=1333818625

They wear like iron, don't wrinkle, and are so absorbent! I haven't looked for replacements as of yet, because I haven't needed new teas, but when I do I'll be sure to look for a couple more of the same. Don't even know if they make waffle-knit teas anymore, as mine are quite old.

Anyhow... I've got a mix of both towel-teas and linen-teas, and all of my linen teas are next to useless when it comes to absorbency. They're good for the first few minutes, then quickly peter-out, becoming overly saturated with moisture to continue drying/using, so I tend to stick to using towel ones.

I quite fancy the look of linen-teas for hanging/show/decoration, but for utilitarian purposes, I definitely do not find them to be workhorses.

What's your experience with linen-teas vs towelling-teas? Do you have a preference?

[Florence]

Towels are the only ones I use. I have 4 of the waffle weave towels; I couldn't tell you how old they are but probably about 15 years--like you said, they wear like iron. The company that made them has probably gone out of business since no one ever needs to replace them.;)

[Mrs-M]

Yeah... my guess is my waffle-weaves are 20 years old. I haven't used them in a while, but they have seen mounds of dish drying in their day!

[domestic goddess]

I would love a few linen towels for decoration, but can't find linen.
Those waffle weaves do last forever. I think mine will outlast me! I have some other plain weave cotton towels that I like, too. Cotton is not hard to find, but where do you all find linen?

[Mighty Frugal]

Shhhh I use bathroom hand towels as my dish towels. I have one perpetually hanging on my oven door handle and use it to dry clean hands and dry freshly washed pots and pans. I find hand towels meant for the bathroom are thick and absorbent and come in a variety of colours.

[Mrs-M]

Domestic Goddess. My linen-teas are old, too... Probably about the same as my waffle-weave teas. Have you done a search online to see what's available? I'll do one later and see what I can come up with, then I'll post any results.

Mighty Frugal. What a grand idea! At the end of the day it's all about "what works"! You go girl! I'd go up against any homemaker with two of my waffle-weave (or towelling-teas), to six of their linen-teas, any day! I remember (before I was more homemaker-wise) I'd go through linen-teas by the half-dozen doing supper dishes, then I got smart!

[IshbelRobertson]

I have a large selection of teatowels - I'm a sucker for buying 'nice' ones when on holiday!

I use linen ones to clean crystal glasses - but they aren't much cop when trying to dry dishes or saucepans.

[Mrs-M]

I'm a sucker for teas, too, Ishbel!

I just couldn't resist!

http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=744&d=1333818673

[early morning]

my waffle-weaves are older than my DD (and she's 29). LOVE them. I ordered them from a company that is no longer in business... sad, because I'd like to be able to give them as gifts again! My linen towels are all old too. Most of them were purchased, long ago, as souvenirs of places we visited, or of particular scenes, mostly with horses. I find frequently washed linen very absorbent, but they do get damp faster than the others. I detest using terry-cloth toweling for dishes. Much of it I don't even like for towels - at least not the new stuff.

[goldensmom]

Waffle weave for dishes, bathroom hand towels for hands. Light color for dishes, dark color for hands. Light colored bathroom towels for pots and pans. Simple rule rarely followed (by others) in my kitchen. I've never used linen but have some of my grandmothers in an old trunk. I thought linen was something fancy to look at but not use.

[Mrs-M]

Bummer, Early Morning... that's not what I wanted to hear. I've sort of been in a panic, ever since posting this thread, over concerns of not being able to find replacement waffle-weaves.

Goldensmom. LOL, Re rules! As far as linen-teas go, I remember the women who worked in the church kitchen used them exclusively. They must have went through a lot... but they'd all have linen-teas draped over their shoulders. (That's going back some 35 plus years).

[iris lily]

Is linen absorbent? I was under the impression that it is not. I buy cotton ones from a big box store every few years.

For the first 30 years of my life, my mother used, and bought for me to use in my own house, embroidered ones at church sales. I think they were cotton. They were pretty expensive and it was a waste of money because I didn't care about whether they were embroidered or not. Somewhere along the way I learned that you could buy mass produced ones at low prices, and that was a revelation! I remember thinking, wow, you mean, someone actually manufactures these small towels for kitchen use? My family didn't go to big box stores (and to be truthful, they did not exist during the first decade of my life) so we weren't up on all of the latest gadgets, although my mother had no problem shopping in downtown department stores.

[Mrs-M]

To a degree it is, but not long-distance. I stick to fluffy cotton ones, too. They wash well, last as well as to be expected, and are absorbent, but gee-whiz, the last time I bought teas, I could not believe the price of them!

With us simple/frugal practitioners, we know how to make things last, and we tend to use things right up to and including their very last and final day (every last drop), but once the life-cycle comes to an end and it's time to take the plunge and replace with new, there's typically a shock-value tag attached to the event, because, like myself, years go by where I buy very little, so prices tend to escape me for the most part...

[rosarugosa]

I use terrycloth dishtowels for hand-wiping in the kitchen, and linen or similar "smooth" cotton towels for dishes & glasses. The linen ones are very absorbent but do get saturated fast, but I have a lot of them, so I can always pull another out of the drawer if needed.

[RCWRTR]

I bought some amazing microfiber tea towels and dusting cloths at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Previously, I purchased some very absorbent white terrycloth tea towels that were made by the same company that made my *spectacular* Egyptian cotton white bath towels, washcloths and handtowels. I, too, prefer linen for drying stemware and other glasses, Ishbel.

[Bronxboy]

Linen towels don't seem to absorb much until they are pretty well worn.

[Mrs-M]

Rosarugosa. I'm with you. Smooth/short-napped teas, or true linen ones, really do work best for fine things such as crystal. It's nice being able to get into all the cut-lines and details, and with linen you always get a lint-free finish.

RCWRTR. Note to self: Take a look at microfiber-teas next time I'm out and about.

Bronxboy. And then, as for capacity, they just can't go the mile like a heavier cotton or quality loop-napped version can. I've really grown to like my linen-teas for quick table (or lap) placements when eating crumbly or crummy things. After eating, a quick shake (outside), fold, and replace back in drawer.