Alternatives That Work Almost Like Microfiber Towels
We know how much you love your microfiber towels. But you might have heard some environmental issues regarding microplastics which can be found in microfiber. So, let’s see some alternatives to microfiber towels to help save the environment.

First of all, let’s see some common uses of microfiber towels listed below. Then, we’ll try to find the closest alternatives for those uses.
- Dusting large surfaces
- Absorbing water from different areas
- Absorbing water from different body parts
- Wiping after cleaning
We could come up with 6 alternatives to those tasks performed by microfiber towels. Let’s see the list and get to know more about those alternatives below.
- Paper Towels for wiping and absorbing water
- Cotton Cloth for wiping and absorbing water
- Terry Cloth Towel for wiping and absorbing water
- Linen for wiping and absorbing water
- Flannel Wipes for wiping
- Duster for dusting
That’s it. You can stop reading here and go back to what you were doing.
But you’ll be missing some valuable information and a brief description of those alternatives.
1. Paper Towels
Paper towels are highly absorbent. So, you can use them to absorb water on any surface. Also, if you want to wipe a surface after cleaning it with water or another chemical, you can do it. It’s good to use it on a reflective surface like glass.

Paper towels are not so expensive, but they are a one-time use product and saturates pretty quickly. So, you’ll need a large quantity to do your daily wiping and cleaning.
Paper towels are made from bio-degradable material. So, it breaks down over time and doesn’t harm the environment in any way.
2. Cotton Cloth
Cotton clothes are the best water-absorbent known to men. You can use them to absorb water after a bath or spilled water in any place. You can also use them for moping, wiping, or dusting.

Cotton clothes are inexpensive as we’re talking about the old ones here. You’re using what is abundant. You can even wash and reuse after cleaning or wiping with the piece.
Cotton is purely natural. So, the piece of cloth you’ll throw after use will degrade over time.
3. Terry Cloth Towels
Terry cloth towels are closed-loop cotton cloth towels. So, they perform better in a sense than cotton cloth. You can replace your microfiber towels used after a bath with Terry cloth towel. These are good absorbent of water and are one of the best alternatives to microfiber towels.

Terry cloth towels are a bit expensive like microfiber towels but are worth the cause. They are soft, easy to wash, comfortable to use, and reusable.
As this is made of cotton, you can throw them into your backyard, and it’ll vanish over time.
4. Linen
There are very few differences between cotton and linen. Linen clothes are stronger than cotton. We all have linen clothes in our homes. So, using those old clothes for wiping or cleaning can be useful.

Linen is not as absorbent as cotton. So, they would be best for wiping or dusting. But they are not so useful in removing dirt or strains. Also, be careful as linen tends to be highly flammable.
Cotton and linen both are natural. So, you can expect linen to degrade over time after you have thrown it into your garden.
5. Flannel Wipes
Flannel wipes are also made of cotton, but they are super smooth, super soft, and highly absorbent. People use those as baby diapers, but you can use those as wipers.

They are a bit expensive. But if you have something expensive to clean or a glass surface, you should use it. These towels clean a surface without leaving any microparticles.
Anything cotton is bio-degradable, and flannel wipes are too. So, you can use them without hurting nature.
6. Dusters
For dusting, you can use Lamb Wool Duster or Ostrich Feather Duster. If you were dusting with your microfiber towels, you should try these dusters. They are simply the best at dusting. Even better than any alternative mentioned above for dusting.

These are expensive ones but very good at dusting. For more convenience, you can go to vacuum cleaners. It’ll be more efficient for you to dust anywhere.
Being made of animal feathers, you can use them without any tension. After you have used those completely, dispose of the duster properly.
Misinformation Alert
While surfing the web, you may find some people advising to use cheap microfiber towels instead of expensive ones. They are claiming it as an alternative. But how can an inexpensive microfiber towel be an alternative to an expensive one?
That’s ridiculous!
Cheap ones are even worse. They could’ve suggested a cotton towel. So, if you’re in the movement for the sake of nature, don’t fall for those. Use the alternatives that are friendly to the environment.
Final Words
The environmental activist will strictly tell you to stop using anything related to plastics immediately. But we know how impractical it would be to do it right now. The smart move would be to change the norm slowly and secure a better future.
Right now, we could find out some best alternatives to microfiber towels among which we prefer the Terry cloth towel. For different use cases, we should use various options for the best result. One thing we must keep in mind that we should use a piece of cloth as long as we can.
Starting to replace one item at a time, we can finally find a plastic-free lifestyle without disrupting our daily routine. There are many more situations where we love microfiber cloths. But keep searching, and you’ll find alternatives to plastic items like we’ve seen the best alternatives to microfiber towels here.