It’s no argument paper towels are a handy household item, but if you’re trying to be environmentally conscious and truly eliminate germs from your house, it could be time to make the switch to microfiber.

Just how many rolls of paper towels do you use when cleaning, drying your hands or wiping up spills? One roll a week? Two rolls a week? It’s no argument paper towels are a handy household item, but if you’re trying to be environmentally conscious and truly eliminate germs from your house, it could be time to make the switch to microfiber.
At Castle Keepers, we use PerfectClean microfiber towels and mop heads from the umf Corp. These towels can absorb nearly eight times their own weight in liquid (I’d dare say that’s more than a regular paper towel).
The towels have more than 300 miles of microfiber cleaning surface in a single cloth and are patented with built-in antimicrobial protection.
While you can purchase microfiber products where you pick up groceries or other cleaning supplies, they often aren’t the same kind of product. It’s worth the investment to get a high-quality towel that you know is helping you fight germs and bacteria and can be tossed in the washing machine time and again.
While microfiber towels are great to use for everyday situations – cleaning the bathroom sink, making the countertops sparkle or even wiping off grimy fingers – it’s OK to keep a roll of paper towels in the pantry for certain situations (let’s say the dog has an accident in the kitchen or you just stepped on a bug and need to wipe off your shoe).
When you do buy paper towels, be sure to pick up the recycled ones. According to the blogOne Drop of Rain Campaign, “if every household in the U.S. switched even one roll of paper towels to recycled, they would save approximately 544,000 trees.” 
Also, purchase the rolls that allow you to select a particular size. Oftentimes, you don’t need to use a full-size paper towel for the job when a half-size sheet will do quite nicely in many situations.
Having a hard time breaking the paper towel habit? Check out the Paper Towel Challenge from Tree Hugging Family, which lays out a four-week process for weaning your family off paper towels.