Genius House Hacks · a GopherCentral & PulseTV publication
Household Hacks & Cleaning · Apr 07, 2022 edition

Four Places You Should Never Use a Paper Towel

From the Genius House Hacks archive.

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Paper towels are a go-to for a huge range of cleaning jobs around the house — arguably too many. For these four common jobs, save the paper and reach for a sponge or microfiber cloth instead.

Electronic Screens

Keep paper towels away from your TV, laptop, and phone screens — the fibers can permanently etch the surface. Use a gentle cleaning product with a microfiber cloth made for screens, and avoid pressing too hard, which can damage the crystals inside an LCD.

Mirrors and Windows

Professional cleaners reach for microfiber cloths over paper towels for windows and mirrors — they work just as well, if not better, and they're reusable. Newspaper or a paper bag works in a pinch too. None of them leave behind the lint a paper towel can.

Eyeglasses

Raw paper is rough enough to scratch lenses and will leave lint behind. A microfiber cloth cuts through the oils that cause smudges and wipes them away cleanly.

Car Interiors

A dry paper towel never fully removes interior dust, and a cleaning product on paper leaves a sticky residue that attracts even more dust. Microfiber's grooves actually capture and remove the mess instead of just moving it around.

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