Disposable towel

{{Short description|Single-use cloth towel}}

{{Context|date=June 2021}}

{{generalize|date=March 2019}}

A disposable towel is a single-use alternative to a reusable cloth towel. Disposable materials were originally designed for healthcare delivery and have been introduced to industries outside of healthcare systems, such as resorts, hotels, hospitality, exercise facilities and households.{{Cite patent|title=Disposable nonwoven surgical towel and method of making it|country=US|number=4075382|pubdate=1978-02-21|assign1=The Procter & Gamble Co.|inventor1-last=Chapman|inventor1-first=Benjamin E.|inventor2-last=Moore|inventor2-first=Danny R.|inventor3-last=Phillips|inventor3-first=Arthur F.}}{{Cite journal|last1=Campion|first1=Nicole|last2=Thiel|first2=Cassandra L.|last3=Woods|first3=Noe C.|last4=Swanzy|first4=Leah|last5=Landis|first5=Amy E.|last6=Bilec|first6=Melissa M.|date=2015-05-01|title=Sustainable healthcare and environmental life-cycle impacts of disposable supplies: a focus on disposable custom packs|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652615000815|journal=Journal of Cleaner Production|language=en|volume=94|pages=46–55|doi=10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.01.076|issn=0959-6526|url-access=subscription}}

Disposable towels are used to enhance infection control, convenience and decrease economic expenditure.{{Cite journal|last=Sbutega-Milosevićm G, Slepĕvić V, Marmut Z, Bujko M|date=January 2000|title=Importance of disposable medical materials and instruments in the prevention of intrahospital infections|journal=Vojnosanitetski Pregled|volume=57|pages=55–58}}{{Cite journal|last1=Patrick|first1=D. R.|last2=Findon|first2=G.|last3=Miller|first3=T. E.|date=1997|title=Residual moisture determines the level of touch-contact-associated bacterial transfer following hand washing.|journal=Epidemiology and Infection|volume=119|issue=3|pages=319–325|doi=10.1017/s0950268897008261|issn=0950-2688|pmc=2809004|pmid=9440435}} Disposable towels are used in fields requiring sanitary conditions for minor, precise, or dirty jobs of cleaning and drying.{{Cite journal|last1=Matsumoto|first1=Chiharu|last2=Nanke|first2=Kimiyo|last3=Furumura|first3=Saori|last4=Arimatsu|first4=Misao|last5=Fukuyama|first5=Miki|last6=Maeda|first6=Hitomi|date=2019-07-01|title=Effects of disposable bath and towel bath on the transition of resident skin bacteria, water content of the stratum corneum, and relaxation|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0196655318311532|journal=American Journal of Infection Control|language=en|volume=47|issue=7|pages=811–815|doi=10.1016/j.ajic.2018.12.008|pmid=30639096|s2cid=58595791 |issn=0196-6553|url-access=subscription}}