Kitchen Hand Towels – A Major Source of Bacteria

Many people may not realize it but kitchens are chock full of bacteria – particularly if you do not use proper food handling techniques.      In a recent study testing kitchen towels used by families.    49% had significant bacterial growth with the highest levels of bacteria on towels used by larger numbers of family members.

When families used towels for multiple reasons such as wiping utensils, drying hands and wiping surface there was also a significantly higher level of bacterial growth compared to families who used towels for a single purpose.   The following specific bacteria was found:

Bacteria	Amount Found
Coliforms	36.7 percent
Enterococcus spp	36.7 percent
Pseudomonas spp	30.6 percent
Bacillus spp	28.6 percent
Staphylococcus aureus	14.3 percent
Proteus spp	4.1 percent
Coagulase-negative staphylococci	2 percent

Using Paper Towels

Although using paper towels may result in cleaner hands, the amount being used can contribute to rising amounts of toxic chemicals and reduction in natural resources.   To reduce the number of paper towels you need to use shake your hands 10 – 15 times to throw off as much water as possible then fold the paper towel in half which increased it absorbency dramatically.