Bounty/Business Insider
- Paper towels are one of the most underappreciated commodities of modern life.
- They help out with everything from kitchen cleaning to car washing to personal hygiene to baby care.
- You might not think about them often, but you'd miss them if they were gone. The Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels are our top pick because they're absorbent and tough, yet soft enough for delicate tasks.
- See also: The best cleaning supplies for kitchen and laundry appliances
How many times have you already used a paper towel today? Chances are that you can't even remember exactly because you probably take them entirely for granted. But try to imagine the acute absence you'd feel the next time you spilled a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and no paper towels were there to help sop up the mess. Or imagine cleaning the kitchen or bathroom without a roll of trusty paper towels at your side. And good luck getting the inside of the microwave spic and span without them. Or the windows streak-free. And so on.
Long story short, we take paper towels for granted even though most of us depend on them multiple times a day. Just over a hundred years ago, people didn't even have the option of casually dismissing paper towels. The Scott Paper Company marketed the first paper towels in the year 1907, apparently after cleverly re-branding a shipment of improperly produced toilet tissue that was too thick and coarse to use for cleaning nether regions. Disposable paper towels quickly caught on, both for their basic convenience and because these single-use products could prevent the spread of illness as opposed to the reusable fabric towels theretofore used in restrooms.
Today, paper towels are as ubiquitous the world over and are used in homes, businesses, restaurants, auto body shops, schools, hospitals, and everywhere else human beings do, well, anything. Since you're going to use paper towels almost every day of your life, it's great that you're taking a moment to consider which brand of paper towels best fits your needs and lifestyle.
For while all paper towels are made from pulped wood and are designed to be absorbent, durable, and disposable, they're not all identical. We've assembled a lineup of great paper towels that differ based on size, feel, production method, cost, and more. But don't worry, any of these paper towels will help you clean up that coffee spill, which you might want to address before you read on...
Here the best paper towels you can buy:
- Best paper towels overall: Bounty Select-a-Size Paper Towels
- Best recycled paper towels: Seventh Generation Unbleached Paper Towels
- Best low-cost paper towels: Plenty Ultra Premium Paper Towels
- Best paper towels for personal hygiene: Kleenex Hand Towels
Updated on 10/29/2019 by Mara Leighton: Updated pricing and formatting. Added a few related links. We are currently testing new products, so we'll update this guide soon.
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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Insider Picks team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. We frequently receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising sales team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at insiderpicks@businessinsider.com.