Stemware Towels

What are the best types of towel to use to dry stemware and where are they available? I'm tired of fighting the little threads that tend to be left behind by typical dish towels.

Sorry, I just use a regular, cheap dish towel. It doesn't leave fuzzies if I dry it well enough.

If there are fuzzies, I usually wipe them off with a paper towel.

I have a vague recollection of micro-fibre cloths being recommended - though our glasses are either washed and rinsed + drip-dried, or done in the dishwasher (recommended by Riedel).

regards

Ian

I bought some towels at a barware store that supposedly are the best for wine glasses. I think they are a cotton blens of some type. They work well, not fantastic, but they are absorbent and do not leave any lint behind. I know there are lots of folks on this page who put their stemware into the dishwasher with great success. I wash mine by hand, let them air dry almost all the way, they buff with these towels.

Much a matter of personal choice, but I purchase large rolls of commercial grade cotton toweling. The glasses are washed by hand, hung to air dry and then polished with those towels.

Best
Rogov

I use paper towels. Now, after reading others' posts, I'm wondering if there's something wrong with that. I've been doing it that way for many years and noticed no bad effects on the stemware.

done in the dishwasher (recommended by Riedel).

Really? Or was it "just" someone that works for Riedel who said that was what they did?

From the reading I have done on the subject, lead crystal is more likely to be damaged by dishwashers than normal glass. Although tougher, crystal is softer than normal glass. And the damage is caused both by the cleaning agents and by abrasion from food particles. Having observed damage on cheap glasses, if I were going to use the dishwasher on posh ones there would only be glasses in the diswasher, low temperatures and minimal or no cleaning agents. IIRC the guy from Riedel (on another board) did not say anything about these details.

I'd be interested in hearing more from you, Ian, and others, about precisely how you dishwasher (if I may be so bold as to verb that noun) your glasses. And what successes and failures you have had.

To answer the original question - I have a couple of linen teatowels reserved for drying glasses and decanters. Hven't noticed any problems with fibres.

I too am somewhat surprised that anyone puts Riedels or any good wine glass in the dishwasher. The dishwasher can leave "off" flavors in the glass and it defintely increases the probability of breakage. The only thing worse than the dishwasher IMHO is washing them while you're somewhat under the influence.

Thanks all for your recommendations. After digesting them I've made some notes for myself:

1. Continue to hand wash.

2. Continue to rinse and rinse and rinse and then rinse some more.

3. Let the glasses air dry as Jon and Daniel recommend.

4. Polish with cotton cloths (maybe linen) as recommended by Daniel and Steve, and try to find a barware store as Jon did.

5. Don't use the towels we use to dry dishes as they inevitably collect grease.

Howie, if your glasses are crystal, which is softer than regular glass, paper can scratch, as can the dishwasher, or maybe more specifically the soap in the dishwasher. Next time you're in town I'll show you the scratches. I should have known better as years ago I used to wipe my eye glasses with paper towels, which scratched the hell out of them.

Howie, if your glasses are crystal, which is softer than regular glass, paper can scratch, as can the dishwasher, or maybe more specifically the soap in the dishwasher. Next time you're in town I'll show you the scratches. I should have known better as years ago I used to wipe my eye glasses with paper towels, which scratched the hell out of them.

Hmmm.. I didn't know that. Most of my stemware is not crystal, but I do have about a dozen Reidels. I'm guessing the quality of water in the home would have an effect also. We have very hard water and I plan on putting a water conditioning system in my house in the near future. Somewhat related - years a go I had a job at a car wash. When cars would exit, workers would wipe down the water spots and dirty spots missed using damp towels. The towels would be washed in a washing machine and put through the spin cycle, but never dried as dry towels would scratch the paint and wax surface. Also somewhat related - when I was in Boot Camp, we were issued cotton diapers. We hand washed these diapers a few times, and then we used them to polish our dress shoes with shoe polish and water. By the end of boot camp, we actually wore our dress shoes for the first time and they looked like patent leather.