I had been seeing reviews for Skoy cloths as substitutes for paper towel here and there around the blogosphere, and my interest was definitely piqued. As I was awaiting a sample for my very own, I guess I was expecting some sort of fancy microfiber cloth cousin. That’s so far from the actual outcome!
I wasn’t sure what I was looking at when I opened the package. Skoy cloths are kind of weird little buggers, to be honest. They come flat and stiff, 8-inch squares of an unknown material that feels a little like a cross between boxboard and schoolroom brown paper towel.
To use a Skoy cloth, you first wet the stiff square, and it magically melts into a soft, flexible fabric-feeling material. Wring it out and you’re ready to absorb 15x its weight in messes.
Skoy can be tossed in the dishwasher OR washing machine and dryer to clean, and you can also rinse and microwave for 2 minutes to kill bacteria.
Why Use Skoy?
Skoy cloths are reusable and biodegradable. They meet the world of cleaning head on and fall in the middle of paper towels and cloth rags or microfiber cloths. “Real” rags or microfibers are not as biodegradable when eventually they become too nasty to use anymore. And paper towels can only be used once.
One Skoy cloth is supposed to be used as many times as 15 rolls of paper towels. That’s a lot of waste saved from the landfills, biodegradable or not! I’m thinking people are more likely to compost the Skoy, too, because you take more effort when you’ve reused something. It’s a tool, not a disposable piece of paper. It also takes fewer resources to make and transport one Skoy vs. 15 rolls of paper towel.
Skoy is a great product for Decreasing Disposables in December. The comments at yesterday’s post about using the Real Thing instead of disposables are amazing, and so many people want to move away from paper towels. This is one way to do it. See next week’s Monday Mission for more cleaning ideas to reduce our waste.
How Skoy Replaces Paper Towel
| You Might Use Paper Towel For… | Would Skoy work? |
| Wiping up a spill on the floor | Yes |
| Cleaning baby’s face | Yes |
| Soaking up moisture in a bag of cut greens | Yes (my favorite use for it!) |
| Greasing a cast iron pan | Yes, but only for one time use |
| Killing a spider | Yes, but see above |
| As a napkin substitute | No |
| To hold a piece of toast | No |
| Cleaning counters and floors | Yes |
| Cleaning mirrors and glass | No, too wet |
| Drying your hands | No |
| Anything else you use paper towel for?
Note: Skoy is a great dishcloth/sponge! |
Skoy is basically an eco-friendly substitute for paper towel or sponges, and you could use one as a washcloth for dishes, too. I was confused as to why Skoy would be any better for the earth or my cleaning than an old rag, washcloth, or a microfiber cloth, so I emailed the company for help. I received the following reply:
I understand your question from an environmental stance. Both washcloths and Skoy are machine washable and dryer safe. Therefore they have approximately the same life.
For us the advantages are the following:
1. Skoy absorbs at least twice as much as a washcloth – 15x its own weight. When wiping down a counter or table, the Skoy actually dries as you wipe –leaving little to no streaks.
2. From a health perspective – Skoy dries much faster than a washcloth. Thus being wet longer, a washcloth will then grow bacteria at an easier and faster pace and then get that horrible smell.
3. From a environmental perspective – If your washcloth gets smellier faster, then you have to wash it more often.
4. A Skoy cloth in the kitchen looks much more fashionable with the colors and design.
My Experience: The Product Review
I have a confession: I’m in love with microfiber cloths. Perhaps because I already have a good option to avoid paper towel, I found it difficult to adapt to the Skoy, which acts differently than a towel in many respects. The hardest part was where to put them. You can’t stick them on the paper towel roll/stand, and you can’t just put them in the closet because they’re wet or stiff. I’m always so slow to integrate new things into my routine!
I did run a little absorbency test with a Skoy cloth vs. a microfiber that I cut in half and use as a washcloth. It is less absorbent than my other microfibers because I send it through the dryer. The washcloth is exactly twice as large as the Skoy, so two Skoy cloths vs. one microfiber towel was the fair game. Both of them did a marvelous job mopping up the ¼ cup water I poured on my counter. (What I do for my readers, you see. Do you know how odd it feels to purposely pour ¼ cup of water on your counter? My 18-month-old daughter was helping and looked at me with scorn, thinking, “And you tell ME not to pour my water on my high chair tray???”)
When I pushed to 3/8 cup of water, both the Skoy and the microfiber were saturated to the point of dripping. I would say they have approximately equal absorbency. One Skoy should be able to handle absorbing just less than a quarter cup of liquid. They do wring out really well and really easily, so tackling a puddle in a few passes would be simple if the sink was nearby. If I spill an entire glass of milk, though, I’m still running for a great big towel.
UPDATE 12/23: A reader explains that microfiber is plastic and will never biodegrade. 
There’s a great reason to go with Skoy! Luckily, I already have microfibers, and they last a really, really long time, so I shouldn’t need to buy more anytime soon. I still think (so sorry, dear Earth!) that I will use microfibers for dusting and mirrors, but I’m becoming more and more convinced that Skoy is a good thing as a dishrag and wipe-up-mess cloth. Keep reading!
Pros and Cons of Skoy Cloths
Although Skoy cloths weren’t a great fit for me, I think there are some households that should surely bring some Skoy into their home (the name means “just for fun!”).
Here’s my honest breakdown of my experience trying out the Skoy, with the caveat that because I couldn’t get them into my routine well, I probably didn’t test them out as fully as I should have.
Pros:
- Really eco-friendly. I admire the company’s commitment to being good to the earth, from their production at the factory from renewable raw materials (cotton and wood) to the fact that the Skoy cloth biodegrades completely in 5 weeks.
- Absorbent. Sopped up just less than ¼ cup of water quite well. (But a microfiber cloth does just as much.)
- Dries quickly. The advantage here is that fewer bacteria will grow vs. your kitchen sponge, which means less stinky rags and less total laundry.
- Being able to microwave for sanitization instead of having to wash it every time you use it is a very simple, love-to-skip-steps option.
- UPDATE 12/23: It’s actually worth reading through the comments, even though this is a giveaway post. People have great ideas for how they’re avoiding paper towels and how they would use Skoy. I’m becoming more and more convinced that they WILL work for my family! In fact, after writing the post I’ve been using the Skoy cloth as a dishrag, and I really like it. It really does nearly dry the high chair tray and table while you wipe, and they’re less expensive than most washcloths, especially a fancy microfiber one at $5-8.
Cons:
- Where to store? They dry in whatever shape you hang them in, so you can’t really store flat for reuse like a towel, and they don’t have a roll like my paper towel. I don’t want to just use it once to wipe up a spill on the floor and then wash it. I’m sure you just need a system, but I wasn’t able to make that system work well.
- Have to get wet first – my poor, dry hands would like to avoid any more “getting wet” than absolutely necessary.
- The flower print. It’s decidedly girly.
- You can designate certain colors for certain jobs if you’re squeamish about using a cloth on your table that was on the toilet last week. However, if you follow Skoy’s recommendations and downgrade the cloth from counter to floors to outside as it gets used more and becomes lower in quality, how do you keep the colors straight?
- Comes out of the dishwasher wet, so you still have to find a place to hang it to dry.
- Too small. I had trouble cleaning my tiny bathroom floor with just one Skoy cloth. If I’m going to use something that I can’t throw away, I need to use just one for a job.
Where to Find
You can buy Skoy cloths in packages of 4 through the website for $5.99 or at Amazon (affiliate link) for as low as $3.99. That’s much less than a high quality microfiber cloth at an upscale store (often $5-8 each), but if you buy a package in the automotive section of a discount store like Sam’s Club, they’re about the same as Skoy.
Amazon has some microfibers that look similar to what I use here, 36 for $19.99 or really thick ones here, 4 for $12. Cheap dollar store microfibers are no good, and I think it’s best to be able to touch their quality before buying, so I might not go with Amazon unless I knew the brand. Holey socks, spent towels and discarded sweatshirts are free for your rag bag, to keep it in perspective.
If I was the Boss of the World
Here is what I would change about Skoy if I could:
- Larger size option, at least double if not triple
- Some with no print for boring people like me
- A Skoy storage rack that could take the place of a paper towel stand and look cute while holding your Skoys as they dry.
- A mini-primer on how, when and where to use Skoy and some tips that other people have found for how many times they use one before washing and where they store them as the cloths dry.
Free is a Great Price!
THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON!
Would you like to try a Skoy? I know I gave a mixed review, but remember this: if you’re a sponge or paper towel user, you need a Skoy. If you use old rags, Skoy will absorb more and dry quicker. And if you already use microfiber, then you ought to get a package of Skoy cloths just because you’re so curious to run them through the head-to-head battle in your own home!
TWO WINNERS will each receive a 4-pack of Skoy cloths, enough to really decide if they’ll work for you or not.
HOW TO ENTER: Just leave a comment telling me how Skoy cloths would help you get rid of /cut down on paper towel, or how you already avoid paper towel.
(If you receive KS via email, you will need to click over to the site to leave a comment.) If you’d like more chances, obtain extra entries by doing the following. You may leave all the entries in one comment and I’ll sort them out!
- Mandatory entry: what will you do with Skoy?
- Check out Skoy’s website and tell me one thing you learned.
- Subscribe in a reader or via email to Kitchen Stewardship (or tell me if you already do).
- Share with us: What do you do already to decrease your disposables? (Or, what do you want to do next?)
- If you have a blog or website, post about this giveaway linking back to this post.
- What’s your favorite Monday Mission or Recipe? Just tell me in the comment and I’ll give you an extra entry.
- Follow me on Twitter AND Tweet about the giveaway (just click the button at the top of this post).
- Stumble or Digg this post (you can use the “Share This!” icon at the bottom of the post). (What is Stumble?)
- Email 5 friends (who don’t already read Kitchen Stewardship) about the giveaway.
- Stumble or Digg your favorite post or recipe at Kitchen Stewardship.
Be sure to tell me everything you did in your comment. There are a possible 10 entries! If you can handle completing all 10, I’ll give you a bonus entry just for being perseverant (but tell me if you do in your comment so I’m not up counting all night). If you don’t have a blog, I’ll still give you the bonus if you complete the other 9. I still trust the honor system. Just be honest about what you’ve done – giveaways should be fun!
I will use random.org’s integer generator to choose the commenters who win from my list of commenter emails. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, January 4th, and I’ll post the winners by the following day.
If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Photos are from the Skoy website.
Disclosure: Skoy provided samples for review, but didn’t compensate me in any way, nor was I obligated to write a positive review. (See this one if you don’t believe me.) Amazon will pay a small percentage if you purchase through my site using a link. I’d use Swagbucks if I were you! See my full advertising disclosure here.
Hungry for more? Related posts:
I will use SKOY for all of the things I used to use paper towels for as well as for washing dishes.
The thing that I learned and appreciated the most on the SKOY website, and had also read on your post, was how easy it is to wash/sanitize this product.
Brook´s last blog ..Blessed to be a Blessing
I am a subscriber.
Brook´s last blog ..Blessed to be a Blessing
1. I will try to get my DH to use Skoy instead of paper towels–I can’t remember the last time I used a paper towel (probably to drain bacon) but he uses them daily. He also uses our knit dishrags though he hasn’t gotten the knack of wringing them out so they’ll dry and not get nasty.
2. What I learned at the Skoy website is that your blog isn’t mentioned, and I need to suggest these to my local environment friendly home goods store!
3. I already subscribe to your blog via email.
4. I just gave a bunch of eco-friendly Christmas gifts and plan to get much better with the wrapping…and I need to work on my teenagers in a big way.
5, 7, 8 & 10. Don’t blog, twitter, stumble or digg–and don’t know how. Maybe that should be my New Year’s Resolution
6. I came to your blog via the yogurt recipe–I eat yogurt & granola every day for breakfast and have been concerned about even the packaging for the large containers of yogurt, so planned to make my own just to cut down on the packaging and transport. You made it sound so simple.
9. I will email my friends
Katie Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 7:18 am
Judy,
Katie
Welcome aboard! I hope you have GREAT success with the yogurt!
These sound like a great alternative to using paper towels to clean kitchen counters.
how Skoy cloths would help you get rid of /cut down on paper towel, or how you already avoid paper towel.
Hi! Skoy cloths will help me stop using so many paper towels for all my clean ups! I do try to avoid using too many paper towels by using rags but I’m a slight germaphobe and therefore I don’t like to reuse. lol
1. I’ll use the skoy in place of paper towels! I’ll use them for cleaning!!
2. Skoys are a European made product and 100% biodegradable. Skoys are made from a natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp.
3. I subscribe to KS via email! Love it!
4. I use old socks and t-shirts to clean with sometimes.
5. Here’s my link: http://thekhajekhronicles.blogspot.com/2009/12/skoy-giveaway.html
6. Switch to Butter
7. I’m now following you and I tweeted. I’m MrsKhaje
8. I stumbled you on FB. Hope I did it correctly.
9. I emailed: Kathie (my mom), my 3 sisters: Lydia, Yeni, and Rebecca; and one cousin, Lorisa!
10. I stumbled your Tuscan Bean soup in google bookmark. (I think I did that right).
Alrighty then, all 10 completed!! Thank you for the chance to win!!
Eden´s last blog ..Installing the Floors
1. I’ll use Skoy for kitchen cleanup
2. I found out on their website that they’re not available anywhere near me!
3. I subscribe to you in Google Reader
4. Decreasing disposables: well, I just bought a package of those microfiber cloths you mentioned, unfortunately before I saw the comment here about biodegradability. Well, at least they should last for a long time. I cleaned the patio sliding door the other day and used ZERO paper towels.
5. LOVE your cabbage soup with secret ingredient recipe.
Thanks for that comment about the eco unpaper towels. I’m thinking about trying those, too. Might make a drawstring bag with the hole in the bottom (like they make for storing grocery plastic bags – yuck!) and hanging it near the sink. Those “houses” are cute, but it’s one more thing on the counter. Right now my kitchen towel hangs on the lower cabinet door, so I drip my wet hands over the floor when reaching for a towel. Then I have to mop the floor. Too much work!
1. I would try a Skoy for dusting. I have begun to use a slightly dampened rag to dust my wood furniture. I find it cleans very well – doesn’t just move the dirt around. And it does not damage my wood furniture. But I think a Skoy would work even better because of your comment about leaving the high chair tray almost dry when you wipe it. I also think the size of the Skoy would be good for this.
2. I learned Skoy is European made
3. I already subscribe to your RSS feed
4. I never use paper plates. In fact, when I wanted to give away some Christmas cookies I rummaged through my store of old tins and boxes and used them instead.
5. I don’t have a blog so can’t do this one.
6. I just found your blog a day ago so I’m not familiar with your Monday Mission. However, I looked through them quickly and liked the one about Coconut Oil and Ghee. I use both, but would like to try making Ghee myself.
7. I don’t Twitter, so I can’t enter under this category.
8. Not ready to learn Stumble at this time.
9. I’ve been trying to eliminate sending or receiving e-mails of this sort.
10. Again – not eligible because I don’t Stumble.
2.
I am fairly new to your website, but I am a subscriber. I would like to win….so I can try to take more baby steps….this being one of them.
Would love to try the skoy – I currently use paper towels sparingly and have a repurposed napkin basket by them with folded old washcloths. I also do this in my “guest ” bathroom, its not the greeenest…..but using the washcloths for drying hands in cold season when I have herds of young adults coming through – they use them once and toss down the laundry shoot. sanitary and heck – they just go in the the towels…
I currently avoid paper towel by using kitchen towels – but those are much bigger than these Skoy clothes so end up making bigger loads of laundry. I’d love a chance to try these clothes out and see how they work for me
Deb´s last blog ..A Dog Waits
I visited the Skoy website and learned:
“We are two stay-at-home moms living in Encinitas, California.”
As a stay-at-home mom I think this is pretty cool
Deb´s last blog ..A Dog Waits
“What do you do already to decrease your disposables? (Or, what do you want to do next?)”
I rarely use paper towels these days and try to take shorter showers and use less water for things like washing dishes.
Next for me may be using cloth pads for my monthly cycle.
Deb´s last blog ..A Dog Waits
I enjoy your blog a lot. I have never even heard of Skoy clothes before this. I have been cutting back on all paper products by using rags instead. I am always wondering how did they do that before all these crazy, costly, throw away inventions!
Amy´s last blog ..Christmas $$$$ Finds
1) I told my hubby I wasn’t going to buy anymore paper towels so he finally got used to microfiber. Would love to try these for the highchair though.
2) I’m also a subscriber via google reader.
I would love to use these for the table and counters and dedicate a separate one to the floors. I like the fact that they originated in Europe rather than China. If it Skoy means “just for fun”maybe it would make cleaning more fun.
I am a subscriber via e-mail.
I have 5 entries! Here they are…
1. What will I do with Skoy? simple… I HAVE A PUPPY, TWO CATS AND TWO KIDS in a very icky-weathered state. Wow, I could really reduce the use of wipes and paper towels with all the icky stickies around here. I would probably use them in my little bucket by the back door where the pup comes in and out ~ to clean off his sweet little feet!
2. I learned that they are biodegradable AND adorable. I like the flower!
3. I already subscribe. LOVE it!
4. To decrease my disposables, I bought wide mouthed canning jars instead of those plasticware storage containers. Now when I have company, we just pop some leftovers into the jars and send them home with them. I love that I can use them for so many things ~ and if I need replacement lids, they come several in a little box. They also reheat soups well. Goodness, I still have ones from my Great Grandma ~ oh, and they nestle very nicely into my fridge! Bye bye Tupperstuff that melts and warps and floats out into the Pacific!
5. It’s too hard to pick just one recipe or “Monday”… I love the reducing/organizing Mondays… and I’m hungry right now, so all the recipes seem fabulous.
)
Happy New Year, and God bless you for helping all of us!
Heatherj
I am a follower via email.
I cut up my daughters’ shirts that I just can’t get the stains out of in place of paper towels.
Although I use my daughters’ shirts, I don’t have enough to fully replace the paper towels. I would use them for the tons of spills we have in our home!
I learned from the website that you can throw them in the compost and they are great for cleaning golf clubs!
favorite monday mission: can the cans! Didn’t know all of that!
I’m a bit on the clumsy side when it comes to pouring liquid anything so these would really help cut down on my paper towel use.
Debbie Smith´s last blog ..A Blanket for a Charity Auction
I have a family of 8, and we would put the skoy cloths to use with many many spills
I will use skoy to clean the counter tops in my home.
I learned that it is made with a combination of cotton and cellulose pulp.
I already subscribe to your blog.
1. I’ve wanted these for several months and have procrastinated in ordering them. I would use them in the kitchen and bath for cleaning up messes on the counter and from my kids.
3. I’m an email subscriber.
4. One thing we do is use cloth napkins, and I’m so addicted! I love the large size and absorbency. If I use a paper one, I feel deprived. We all have our napkin on our chair and use it for a few days until it gets grimey.
Mary @ The Writer’s Block´s last blog ..I Am a New-Year’s-Resolutions Kind of Girl
1. I would use it for cleaning in the kitchen (and perhaps the bathroom).
3. I subscribe via email
4. I LOVE loose leaf tea and have been using a strainer to get the tea leaves out. BUT a friend sent me a Christmas gift of lovely little bags that can be used to steep tea! I’ll be trying them out this afternoon!
6. Adding (or sneaking) more beans into meals.
I will use the skoy for kitchen clean-ups and also get some for my daughter who has made me aware of the waste involved with paper towel use only.
I will use them most in the kitchen wiping down counters & the table.
I learned on the SKOY site that you can put them in the dishwasher and I love the thought of not using paper towels.
Currently I reuse a lot of glass containers instead plastics and I make my own laundry soap. In 2010, I would like to find a local place to take my recyclables.
I love your garlic soup. I used it to get over a sinus infection.
I stumbed, facebooked and twittered!
I emailed 6 friends.
I subscribe to your rss feed.
I am a paper towel junkie in need of reform!(Thanks for bringing this abuse to my attention)
I already subscribe by email but I will twitter about your Skoy give-away.
I would use Skoy cloths for everything and then narrow it down to its best uses.
I would use skoy to replace paper towels in my kitchen. I’m a new subscriber!
So curious to try the SKOY towels!
I have 5 entries:
1. I use Microfiber and paper towels in the kitchen, and I would love to be able to use SKOY to eleminate the paper towels. I don’t like how thick and slow to dry the microfiber is, and it sounds like the SKOY is a quick-drying alternative, which sounds fantastic.
2. On the SKOY site I learned that the cloths are chlorine-free and use water-based inks. I love the lack of toxic ingredients!
3. I subscribe through Google reader.
4. As I mentioned, I use microfiber in the kitchen, as well as repurposing (to the extent possible) the random containers that food products come in. My next goal is to make some cloth napkins, as it seems we are constantly throwing the paper napkins out after one use.
6. My favorites are your Yogurt and chicken stock recipes. I just made my first batch of chicken stock last week, with great results. I hope to make the yogurt soon.