Anonymous
12/14/2025 20:50
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at people that think towels are the culprit -
At a party one will touch the stem of a glass that has germs, serviceware handles -
The disposable towels aren’t going to be the biggest spreader of germs.
I think OP wants guests to have a more dry, than soggy hand towel. Change the towels out. If average stay is 3 hours - I bet half the guests will need to use the toilet. Won’t be a line waiting.
While I agree that serving utensils spread germs, I personally avoid them by sticking to passed appetizers or simply using a clean fork to pick up food.
A lot of savvy hosts realize this and plan accordingly.
Having purell accessible near any buffet is wise and tremendously appreciated.
Nobody wants to get sick right before Christmas.
I had no idea people obsessed over things like this. I never think about them, never get sick.
…said the woman whose family is sidelined from holiday festivities thanks to the dreaded stomach bug.
Look, nobody is obsessed. Savvy people simply take steps to avoid germs.
For example, whenever we have a catered event at work or attend big conferences with countless events that include cocktail receptions or buffets, tons of people get sick…except for those of us who take steps to either avoid touching shared touch-points or carry purell in our pockets.
I haven’t used a shared hand towel in many years. And I can’t understand why anyone would.
You are weird. I never used hand sanitizer in my life, travel a lot and very rarely get sick (got my first covid in 2024 even though I am unvaxed).
Anonymous
12/14/2025 15:28
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at people that think towels are the culprit -
At a party one will touch the stem of a glass that has germs, serviceware handles -
The disposable towels aren’t going to be the biggest spreader of germs.
I think OP wants guests to have a more dry, than soggy hand towel. Change the towels out. If average stay is 3 hours - I bet half the guests will need to use the toilet. Won’t be a line waiting.
While I agree that serving utensils spread germs, I personally avoid them by sticking to passed appetizers or simply using a clean fork to pick up food.
A lot of savvy hosts realize this and plan accordingly.
Having purell accessible near any buffet is wise and tremendously appreciated.
Nobody wants to get sick right before Christmas.
Before a party, I wipe doorknobs, light switches, utensil handles, etc. down with Microban cleaner to help with this.
Anonymous
12/14/2025 14:43
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at people that think towels are the culprit -
At a party one will touch the stem of a glass that has germs, serviceware handles -
The disposable towels aren’t going to be the biggest spreader of germs.
I think OP wants guests to have a more dry, than soggy hand towel. Change the towels out. If average stay is 3 hours - I bet half the guests will need to use the toilet. Won’t be a line waiting.
While I agree that serving utensils spread germs, I personally avoid them by sticking to passed appetizers or simply using a clean fork to pick up food.
A lot of savvy hosts realize this and plan accordingly.
Having purell accessible near any buffet is wise and tremendously appreciated.
Nobody wants to get sick right before Christmas.
I had no idea people obsessed over things like this. I never think about them, never get sick.
…said the woman whose family is sidelined from holiday festivities thanks to the dreaded stomach bug.
Look, nobody is obsessed. Savvy people simply take steps to avoid germs.
For example, whenever we have a catered event at work or attend big conferences with countless events that include cocktail receptions or buffets, tons of people get sick…except for those of us who take steps to either avoid touching shared touch-points or carry purell in our pockets.
I haven’t used a shared hand towel in many years. And I can’t understand why anyone would.
I had Covid in 2021 and gave not had a single cold or illness since. I do not carry hand sanitizer. I touch serving utensils. I have never thought about hand towels until today. I wash my hands regularly but generally think our bodies are designed to be near other people and their germs
Anonymous
12/14/2025 10:28
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at people that think towels are the culprit -
At a party one will touch the stem of a glass that has germs, serviceware handles -
The disposable towels aren’t going to be the biggest spreader of germs.
I think OP wants guests to have a more dry, than soggy hand towel. Change the towels out. If average stay is 3 hours - I bet half the guests will need to use the toilet. Won’t be a line waiting.
While I agree that serving utensils spread germs, I personally avoid them by sticking to passed appetizers or simply using a clean fork to pick up food.
A lot of savvy hosts realize this and plan accordingly.
Having purell accessible near any buffet is wise and tremendously appreciated.
Nobody wants to get sick right before Christmas.
I had no idea people obsessed over things like this. I never think about them, never get sick.
…said the woman whose family is sidelined from holiday festivities thanks to the dreaded stomach bug.
Look, nobody is obsessed. Savvy people simply take steps to avoid germs.
For example, whenever we have a catered event at work or attend big conferences with countless events that include cocktail receptions or buffets, tons of people get sick…except for those of us who take steps to either avoid touching shared touch-points or carry purell in our pockets.
I haven’t used a shared hand towel in many years. And I can’t understand why anyone would.
Anonymous
12/14/2025 10:21
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s fairly common for people to have paper towels on a nice stand in the powder room…because nobody uses the germy hand towels. Put out dial soap (hand pump), purell, and hand lotion.
The disposable “hand towel” napkins inevitably overflow the trash basket (and some moron will flush one).
Dial? Blech.
Doctors use dial in their offices…because it kills germs.
If you are hosting a bunch of people at your house, you want to use dial and disposable towels/paper towels…unless you want everyone to get sick right before the holidays.
My pediatrician was the one who told me to ditch hand towels and put paper towels by every sink in my house, and that was 25 years ago (long before covid).
I don’t want anything in my house to be reminiscent of a doctor’s office, but you do you.
You do realize Dial makes a variety of soaps appropriate for home use. Nobody is suggesting using what surgeons scrub with prior to surgery.
Regardless, commonsense dictates disposable paper products are sanitary while shared hand towels simply are not.
Anonymous
12/14/2025 10:19
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I use the Kleenex hand towels in our powder room for guests. Recently, I started putting a set of cloth hand towels out as well for those who have environmental concerns. Most of our guests seem to go for the paper towels. I have a very nice cover I found on Amazon that covers the ugly Kleenex box.
I feel like it’s a mix when we go to others homes. My sister offers both. A few friends and relatives only offer cloth. In that case, it’s nice when there are multiple towels put out and someone changes them out at some point. When I go to my SILs, she puts out one single cloth towel. There will be 20 family members and one soaked towel. It’s really gross and sometimes visibly dirty. I have attempted to rewash my hands in the kitchen before eating and lo and behold she doesn’t have paper towels there either. It bothers me to the point I don’t want to eat dinner there.
It’s always the woman’s fault.
Not all all. But in this case it is just my SIL making that decision. She has always been environmentally conscious going back to HS. She won’t allow anything disposable. She even tried to do cloth diapers until she realized that wasn’t going to work well.
Anonymous
12/14/2025 10:14
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I have to laugh at people that think towels are the culprit -
At a party one will touch the stem of a glass that has germs, serviceware handles -
The disposable towels aren’t going to be the biggest spreader of germs.
I think OP wants guests to have a more dry, than soggy hand towel. Change the towels out. If average stay is 3 hours - I bet half the guests will need to use the toilet. Won’t be a line waiting.
While I agree that serving utensils spread germs, I personally avoid them by sticking to passed appetizers or simply using a clean fork to pick up food.
A lot of savvy hosts realize this and plan accordingly.
Having purell accessible near any buffet is wise and tremendously appreciated.
Nobody wants to get sick right before Christmas.
I had no idea people obsessed over things like this. I never think about them, never get sick.
Anonymous
12/14/2025 10:13
Subject: What's your hand towel solution at a big party?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:It’s fairly common for people to have paper towels on a nice stand in the powder room…because nobody uses the germy hand towels. Put out dial soap (hand pump), purell, and hand lotion.
The disposable “hand towel” napkins inevitably overflow the trash basket (and some moron will flush one).
Dial? Blech.
Doctors use dial in their offices…because it kills germs.
If you are hosting a bunch of people at your house, you want to use dial and disposable towels/paper towels…unless you want everyone to get sick right before the holidays.
My pediatrician was the one who told me to ditch hand towels and put paper towels by every sink in my house, and that was 25 years ago (long before covid).
I don’t want anything in my house to be reminiscent of a doctor’s office, but you do you.