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Should I Be Using Paper Towels?

Harpgirl

By Harpgirl
in Coping with Celiac Disease

Recommended Posts

Harpgirl Explorer
Harpgirl
Posted

And I was feeling so great this morning! :angry:

I was wondering if, when I wash my hands in the kitchen, should I be using paper towels to dry them, or (if I can get away with it from my always-in-a-hurry husband :rolleyes: ) would a designated hand towel be okay? I guess I would have to hang it up higher too. :huh: My cramping is back as bad as ever :blink: Though I could have glutened myself before lunch because I can't remember if I actually washed my hands after feeding my 1 year old some Cheerios and before making myself scrambled eggs. I think I'll tell my husband to take all the gluteny snacks to work with him (since he oh-so hates to waste food). :P

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jackay Enthusiast
jackay
Posted

I always wash my hands and dry with a paper towel when I'm going to be touching food. I feel it is the safe way to go.

sa1937 Community Regular
sa1937
Posted

I am the paper towel queen so I do use lots of them in the kitchen.

YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted

This is a tough one. Yes to the paper towels. Too bad it seems a waste of paper, however your health matters more. Be sure your hubby washes his face and hands and cleans his teeth before kissing you by the way... Be careful too of your youngster getting too close. Wash wash wash I am afraid...

You may end up needing your family to go gluten-free at home for you so you can be healthy and don't have to think about all these complications of who put their hands where. I know you are not there yet, but its a very real possibility.

Good luck!

Bea

Harpgirl Explorer
Harpgirl
Posted
  • Author

Thanks everyone :) Fortunately, Sam's Club has a good generic brand that I like. One of these days, I'll switch to BJ so I can use coupons (and get some gluten-free goodies). And yes, my husband is ever so slowly coming around the farther I get into this. Perhaps, in time, I'll be able to get the whole family to go gluten-free at home. I'm really hoping for a positive Dx, that way Hubby won't have to question the use of it all and he'd probably go gluten-free without fussing; especially when I show him the thread of "falling off the wagon" :blink: He hates medical bills when they could have been avoided! :P

jenngolightly Contributor
jenngolightly
Posted

Yes to paper towels. Young children can't contain their own gluten. Can you afford to feed him gluten-free "cheerios"? You'll be safer that way.

Harpgirl Explorer
Harpgirl
Posted
  • Author

Yes to paper towels. Young children can't contain their own gluten. Can you afford to feed him gluten-free "cheerios"? You'll be safer that way.

Yeah, I'm making more of their foods and snacks gluten free. The Cheerios were just handy at the time. I'm finding that what's "handy" at the moment, anymore kills me in the long run. I found out that except for the puffs, most of the Gerber snacks they like are already gluten-free. Though too much of that gets expensive too. Fortunately, our little one is a big fruit eater. :P

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

Corn & rice Chex work well for little ones. They break easily in the mouth and melt quickly. Also, the gluten-free Rice Krispies would be good.

You could get a couple of outrageously pink or purple hand towels so everyone except the little goober will know they are yours.

Marilyn R Community Regular
Marilyn R
Posted

I turned obsessive/compulsive about kitchen towels and dish cloths a couple of months after I went gluten-free. My sig other isn't consistent about remembering CC issues, and can be Dennis the gluten-free Menace.

I purchase cloth dish towels and cloths by the stack at a discount store, and change them out ever day or as needed. (Sometimes twice a day.)

If I wonder what could have happen with that cloth since I touched it last, it's history and tossed in the laundry bin.

I don't know if this is better for the earth or not. I've never done a dedicated laundry load for dishcloths, I just add them in with other loads of laundry. I probobly use more water and drier time, but that's what I do. I have paper towels. I keep them on top of my refrigerator so that it needs to be a conscience decision to use one.

I don't always fold the laundered dish towels before I put them away. That bothered me at first. :D

Jenniferxgfx Contributor
Jenniferxgfx
Posted

Dishtowels are definitely more environmentally friendly than paper towels. I love the dishtowel idea.... I'm going to do this (buy lots and swap out often), because it'll break my heart to have to use paper for everything. :/

Takala Enthusiast
Takala
Posted

I have a designated dish/hand towel, hung up higher in a slightly awkward place, but don't tell anybody ;)

I am also very fond of "pick a size" type paper towels.

It's a lot better from a sanitary standpoint to wipe up areas with a dishcloth that is changed daily, so no guilt there. (When I was growing up, the dishcloth for counter wiping was sanitized daily by soaking in water with a bit of bleach). Since I use a lot of eggs, and cracking the shell sends a little dribble down the side of the bowel, I wipe up that area with paper towels, ditto if raw meat was laid out on paper on the counter top there.

We had an ant invasion last two winters because of freaky weather, and I went thru an awful lot of paper towels and sanitizing solution as they kept coming up thru the stove vent thru the crawl space and I couldn't get to the entry point, wherever it was. Finally figured it out last year, and have prepared to do some more pre- emptive strikes this year. <_< That is when I discovered febreeze type enzyme cleaners knocks 'em dead without poisoning, and then you can use the old fashioned, doesn't work so well on horses anymore pyrethrin/citronella type fly spray at the point they are trying to sneak into the house, which is less toxic than the other stuff dedicated to Insect Death.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I now have a dedicated gluten-free house so I use either. When my house was mixed I used more paper towels. When I only use them to dry my washed hands I leave the towel to dry and just reuse it either to dry my hands again or to wipe up something. If you have only used a paper towel to dry your hands and there is no food residue on it you can put it into your paper recycling bin.

mamabear272 Explorer
mamabear272
Posted

Since my dx I have subconsciously been using paper towels. Don't even give it a second thought. I trust no one! LOL Even if they don't mean to sometimes our "gluteneers" can accidentally cc us.

eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

To save money I bought 2 dozen of the white terry cloth car washing rags in the car care section of Wal-Mart. I use them as little hand towels in the kitchen and get a new one many times a day. I wash them alone with soap and bleach. Pretty hand towels are kinda expensive for me, so if you are on a budget, this works great. They are like 5 bucks for 12. Turns out they are very handy and my son loves this, so I bought another 12 for his bathroom hand towels. We also use paper towels, but this has cut down on how many we go through.

YoloGx Rookie
YoloGx
Posted

I have a designated dish/hand towel, hung up higher in a slightly awkward place, but don't tell anybody ;)

......

We had an ant invasion last two winters because of freaky weather, and I went thru an awful lot of paper towels and sanitizing solution as they kept coming up thru the stove vent thru the crawl space and I couldn't get to the entry point, wherever it was. Finally figured it out last year, and have prepared to do some more pre- emptive strikes this year. <_< That is when I discovered febreeze type enzyme cleaners knocks 'em dead without poisoning, and then you can use the old fashioned, doesn't work so well on horses anymore pyrethrin/citronella type fly spray at the point they are trying to sneak into the house, which is less toxic than the other stuff dedicated to Insect Death.

Just wanted to note that pure (or near pure) orange oil (sold as a furniture polish) kills ants just like that. Smells good too, though I guess I shouldn't touch it these days due to my salicylic acid sensitivity. Wear gloves maybe? Anyway, its another anti ant invasion remedy. We even spray it outside where the critters try to come in. Its also good against termites. I haven't tried the Febreeze... It also sounds like a great idea.

Harpgirl Explorer
Harpgirl
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for all the tips everyone! :D I'm currently just using paper towels, though this morning when I was in the middle of washing my hands my 3-year-old asked for cheez-its so I used the dish towel and rewashed after feeding him. :rolleyes: But I think I'll go out and get some designated hand towels and hang them in an inconvenient place (otherwise hubby is sure to use them). My biggest thing is not reaching for our current towel automatically ;) I'm so thankful for Crabtree and Evelyn hand cream because after all the washing, my hands are soooo dry and chapped without it!

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