Kitchen roll is a staple of any finely-tuned kitchen. Where mess is ever-present, a good absorbent paper towel will soak through spills and leave your kitchen sparkly clean. This also thankfully eliminates the risk of your family slipping up and hurtling down, or even worse, dragging the mess through the rest of the house.
These days there's a surprising amount of scope for what has come to be defined as kitchen roll. From inexpensive offerings at Asda and Tesco to big saver-packs on Amazon and even reusable bamboo kitchen roll, there's plenty to be discovered. Brands like Regina, Plenty and Scottex are leading the way in creating a spill and slip-free environment for every British home, and our guide is here to help you choose between them.
Quick List - Top Kitchen Rolls
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The main objective of kitchen roll or 'paper towel' is to soak up unwanted liquids through the kitchen and home. This is why it's imperative to take a quick look into what makes one roll superior to another. With every sheet's detail being accounted for, this buying guide will shed some light on this sometimes overshadowed cleaning sidekick.
When looking at kitchen roll, it pays to understand the intricacy of the individual sheet alongside its overall stature in the roll. Once you consider these integral parts, both the economy and cleaning prowess of each roll will unravel themselves. Here's what to look for.
When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of kitchen roll, it's a unanimous decision that yes, size does matter. With many brands boasting about their upgraded sheet sizes, it's a competitive market where the size of a sheet could just sneak a brand over the buyer's line.
The standard size for a kitchen roll sheet is commonly a no-frills size of between 21 and 23 cm in both width and length. This is seen to be the minimum size that'll enable a firm hold and a strong cleaning game at the same satisfying time.
Other brands have listened to the people and given us much more, with generous sheets in the 25 to 30 cm range. Choosing these larger sizes will make bigger spills a breeze, giving you time for the more important things in life, like everything else.
A kitchen roll needs to offer enough to keep your kitchen clean when the tweens have entered the building. There's no use having the best kitchen roll in the world if it's under 50 sheets per roll, as you'll be running for the tea towel cupboard quicker than the spill in question is spreading itself thin.
Kitchen rolls to rely on will have upwards of 75 sheets per roll, giving you plenty of spillage scope before the last sheet is drawn.
Where bamboo reusable rolls are concerned, however, the scale for sheets per roll goes way down. You'll find most reusable rolls sit between 10-20 sheets, but don't be put off – when matched up against their use-per-sheet potential, this actually makes perfect sense.
Half-size sheets are the answer to every household watching the pennies and watching how much kitchen waste they produce. Halving the size of a typical sheet will make your kitchen roll last longer and it's better for the environment, as you'll be able to do away with small spills with half the amount of paper.
While this is only a design feature of disposable kitchen roll, these sheets are super versatile, enabling you to have a sneaky tearable bit down the middle or to rip at the full size if needed. The split sheets normally come in at 15 cm in length, allowing you to sit back and watch as your kitchen rolls slowly goes down at your desired pace.
The ply of the sheet refers specifically to paper rolls, whereby each ply gives an added layer of protection against the nastiest of kitchen spills. Every kitchen roll sheet will feature between 1 and 3 pieces of ply, with 3-ply standing the best chance against liquids and 1-ply being seen as a budget roll, destined to break on spill-impact.
These days most top-shelf kitchen rolls will be 3-ply as standard. 2-ply is still in circulation if you do want a bit more bang for your buck, but seeing as it is somewhat of a false economy, 1-ply kitchen roll is really on the archaic side and has been for the most part discontinued, done and dusted.
With the environment in what can only be described as dire straights, it's great to see that reusable kitchen roll is a real and thriving thing. Eco-focused brands are now putting a foot down and challenging the status quo with reusable bamboo kitchen rolls.
These formable, absorbent bamboo sheets can be washed and reused time and time again, making them both economic and eco-friendly. Their downsides are that a little attentive care is needed to wash and dry them, as well as the fact that their price point is high in comparison to disposable rolls.
However, this initial investment is easily understood when you discover that one roll of bamboo kitchen roll can replace up to 60 paper rolls. With one sheet being used up to 120 times, this makes for a staggering maximum of 2,400 uses for a 20-sheet roll. If living consciously is your goal, it's a no brainer.
Is there anything more defeating than reaching for the kitchen roll only to realise it's down to the very last unusable sheet? To do away with this life-altering kitchen mishap, brands, especially when sold online, have created multi-packs that'll have your back.
You can now find kitchen rolls packs to run anywhere from two rolls up to a cupboard-crushing 24. Obviously, you'll need a space big enough to house such a collection, but if you have kids or a large household you'll no doubt make it work.
As an added bonus, buying in bulk online is ultimately destined to save you money at the checkout without having to cart everything home from the supermarket, which nobody is going to argue with.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Regina XXL Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | The Best Value, Best Performing Kitchen Roll on the Market | |
2 | Tanness Bamboo Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | Top Choice for Machine-Washable Bamboo Roll | |
3 | Scottex Half Tear Kitchen Roll | ![]() | Uniquely-Designed Rolls With a Half-Tear Option | |
4 | Ora Round Sheet Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | Circular Sheets That Stand Out From the Kitchen Roll Pack | |
5 | Care Matters Bamboo Paper Towels | ![]() | Sustainable, Reusable Bamboo Sheets With a Cleaning Glove Included | |
6 | Regina Wish Handy Size Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | Waste-Saving Rolls With Half-Sheet Rips for Small Spills | |
7 | EcoBees Reusable Bamboo Kitchen Roll | ![]() | Reusable Bamboo Towels to Make Disposing a Thing of the Past | |
8 | Plenty White Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | A Top-Shelf Wringable Roll That's Worth the Extra Cost | |
9 | Waitrose Essential Kitchen Towels Decorated | ![]() | Delightfully Decorated Kitchen Rolls From a Quality Own-Brand | |
10 | Asda Smartprice Kitchen Rolls | ![]() | Cheap 2-Ply Kitchen Roll From the SmartPrice Asda Range |
Regina had to be the top choice for this kitchen-crumbling deal of XXL kitchen roll at a sub-zero price. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on disposable kitchen roll, not to mention that each sheet is slightly larger in size than other disposables at 24 x 26.5 cm.
There's no false economy here either – the brand have also upped the game by giving you strong 3-ply sheets, making for an extremely absorbent way to magic away spills and messes each and every time. Regina have outdone the kitchen roll pack yet again!
As far as reusable kitchen roll goes, this duo of 20 bamboo sheets is as economical as it comes. Each sustainably-grown organic bamboo sheet has the possibility to be used up to 120 times, which means this 40-sheet pack will provide up to a staggering 4,800 uses.
Considering you get all that waste-saving, environmentally-conscious glory for under ten pounds, this is a fantastic choice if want to try out reusable roll without spending too much. Add that to the absorbent 30.5 x 28 cm sheet size and you should have no problem wiping away the spills of the day.
The Italians sure do like a clean kitchen as this is another front-running offering coming hot off the kitchen roll press in Italy. If you're someone who likes to stock up on household essentials for the coming months, then click right this way, because this 24-roll pack offers just that.
It also pleasantly has the half-sheet tear option so you really shouldn't need to buy kitchen roll for the foreseeable future! With each 3-ply sheet coming in at 30.5 x 25.5 cm and even a quirky kitchen-inspired pattern, this is our top bulk-buy pick.
Ora have chosen to do things a little differently and we salute them for it. This is an 8-roll pack of paper discs with a diameter of 23 cm, branded as an all-round kitchen tool as the circle can be used as a disposable carry cone for chips and other snacky bits. You can also grab a sheet with one hand which is always helpful in a pinch!
The sheets themselves are thick and absorbent affair as they're 3-ply, so they should do well both for cleaning and for use in the kitchen when frying or drying. The only hitch is the price – it's around £20 for 800 sheets, which means they're the most expensive option on this list.
Carespot are another cleaning brand doing their bit for the environment by putting an emphasis on biodegradable and reusable cleaning products. Unlike disposable paper towels, this pack of two organic bamboo kitchen rolls will keep your kitchen and house covered from spills for months on end.
With 40 sheets in total and 80 uses per sheet, that's up to a whopping 3,200 uses from this washable, dryable pack. In case that wasn't enough for the money, it also comes with an electrostatic cleaning glove to help you along your merry cleaning way.
Originating in Italy in the '80s, Regina are another strong-hold when it comes to all things disposable and towel. This is their Wish kitchen roll that comes in a saver-pack of 12 rolls for a very reasonable price.
The most alluring side to the Wish rolls is the chance to use half-sheets when a small accident calls for it. As well as offering plenty of wiping potential at 26.5 cm wide, the option to tear to every 15.5 cm allows for more choice and more economy of use. Well done Regina.
Now we enter the world of the sustainable and reusable kitchen roll. EcoBees have created a sure-fire eco-friendly classic with this 28 x 28 cm 20-sheet pack. Each bamboo sheet will biodegrade within three months of being underground, and they've even forgone any plastic packaging.
As the calculations show, each sheet can be used up to 100 times – equating to 2,000 uses per pack – so you should never be left in the spillage lurch. They're also machine washable, dry-able and by all reports, extremely absorbent.
Plenty are a name synonymous with containing kitchen spills the nation over. Found in every supermarket from the Highlands to the southern tip, they're a brand that have cemented themselves firmly in the higher-end section of the kitchen roll aisle – though almost every user agrees they're worth the extra cost.
This is their newest kitchen roll that's 40% more absorbent and even wring-able, giving you the possibility to keep on mopping up a big old spill. Whether you choose a bulk-buy or a two-pack, with a hundred sheets per roll at 23 x 23 cm they're bound to keep your kitchen clean for a good while.
Still down near the bottom of the barrel, next up is the Essential Waitrose kitchen roll. With a fresh and funky plant design wrapped around one end, these rolls are at least set to bring a little flair into your kitchen.
While this is another 2-roll pack for the pleasant-on-the-pocket price of just over a pound, these 2-ply sheets come in larger at 24 x 21 cm in size. The drawback is that you only get 50 sheets per roll, making them the least generous disposables on this list. But for the considerably low price and a few plants to boot, who's counting?
Asda's SmartPrice range is all about creating low-price products for people on a budget. This is their 2-ply kitchen roll offering that comes in at just under a pound for two. At 120 sheets per roll, this is certainly down there with one of the cheapest kitchen roll deals you're likely to find.
That's not to say it's not going to wipe clean your surfaces swiftly; it may just need a couple more sheets to do the same job as the higher-end products. Add its smaller 21 x 20 cm sheet size to the equation, and this is almost a given.
Now that your surfaces are covered in the unfortunate event of spills, it's time to equip your kitchen to the best it can be. From eco-friendly cleaning products to oven gloves and trivets, why not keep the ball rolling by keeping your hands out of harm's way and your surfaces smelling fresh?
No. 1: Regina|XXL Kitchen Rolls
No. 2: Tanness|Bamboo Kitchen Rolls
No. 3: Scottex|Half Tear Kitchen Roll
No. 4: Ora|Round Sheet Kitchen Rolls
No. 5: Care Matters|Bamboo Paper Towels
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