How Often Do You Really Have to Wash Cloth Napkins?

Maybe cloth napkins used to be reserved for special occasions like dinner parties or holiday meals. But now, as many households keep an eye on sustainability, reusable napkins have become daily necessities. And using a cloth napkin doesn't just have to be a duty-bound, environmentally-friendly move-brightly colored or funky-patterned napkins are a fun way to spice up an ordinary weekday lunch at home.

I'd been going through family-size packs of paper napkins my whole life, until the pandemic hit. I found myself confined to a small off-campus apartment, trying desperately to turn my sterile, concrete-floored space into a cozy home. That's when I made the switch to a lovely blue linen napkin set from Etsy.

The pandemic made interior designer Victoria Cole change her napkin ways too. Tired of forgetting to order the paper variety online when she wasn't going to Costco anymore, she bought two sets of 12 white cotton everyday napkins and has been using them ever since. Now cloth napkins are a part of everyday life in Cole's home-she keeps a stack of them on a sideboard in her breakfast room, and her kids know to grab a set when they go to set the table each night. She likes that this set bleaches well and weren't too much of an investment for everyday use. And, utility aside, she notes that "it feels more elegant, more intentional, when you sit down and have a cloth napkin as opposed to a paper one." I agree-my own switch from paper napkins ended up inspiring a nightly ritual. Each night, I started to properly set the table for myself. After a day of virtual college classes, this little calming practice allowed me to transform the dining table from a multipurpose chaos surface into a special space for a meal. Thankfully, my life and apartment look different than they did in fall of 2020, but my linen napkins are here to stay.

Switching to cloth napkins may seem simple enough, but if you're going to truly use them every day, it's important to make a practical choice. And there are actually a lot of questions to consider. So many cloth napkins are prone to wrinkling-and you don't want to have to iron them daily. And, by the way, how often should you wash your cloth napkins? And how?

Read on for more information about the benefits of making the switch, answers to all of these burning questions, and some of our top picks for napkins that will transform your tablescape, no matter your household size or budget.

Care

How often should you wash cloth napkins?

There's no hard-and-fast rule here. In my house, the general rule is that lightly used napkins get folded and draped over each person's chair, to be used again-*by that same person-*at the next meal. If a napkin wasn't used at all-that is, it stayed folded neatly on someone's lap or next to their plate-we'll consider it as good as new. On the flip side, if we're eating a feast of barbecued ribs, you'd better believe those sauce-soiled napkins are headed straight to the wash.