Paper or cloth?

By Ed Haag

6/12/2004

The evolution from using paper udder towels to reusable ones at WSU’s 130-cow dairy has not come without some serious thought. In fact, WSU researcher Larry Fox has made it the focus of a study on whether reusable cloth towels are hygienically comparable with single-use paper towels.

Fox notes that dairy operations throughout the country are increasing in size. With every cow requiring at least one towel per milking, it is reasonable to assume that a large dairy milking 3X could be faced with disposing of thousands of wet, soiled paper towels every day.

Dairy producers who are forced to deal with these realities are turning to reusable cloth. But the question arises: How will the shift from single-use to multiple- use towels impact a herd’s udder health and a dairy’s bottom line?

Kelly Callahan, managing partner of Callahan Dairy, an 800-cow operation that has used cloth towels since the dairy’s inception in 1998, is sold on reusable towels. “If cloth towels are washed properly, they are as sanitary as paper towels,” he says. Callahan is a stickler for clean, dry udders, and therefore, prefers the texture and absorbency of cloth towels over paper.

He makes sure his milkers are provided with an ample supply of clean cloth towels. When the the towels have been used once, they are deposited in a conveniently-located hamper. After milking, the soiled towels are washed in a conventional washer using detergent and hot water. They are then machine-dried and stacked for the next shift. Callahan insists on one towel per cow. “That doesn’t mean flipping it over and drying off a second animal,” he says. “When it comes to the bottom line, skimping on towels isn’t very smart.”

If his dairy’s somatic cell count is an indication of the effectiveness of his cloth towel regimen, Callahan must be on the right track. His herd average of 120,000 is far below the state average of 250,000.

Fox’s research also supports Callahan’s notions about the effectiveness of using cloth towels. In a WSU study, terry cloth towels were laundered eight different ways. Towels were used for washing and drying of teats and then laundered. Pathogen counts were determined on laundered towels, and then compared with counts of towels that were not laundered.

In a second study at WSU, cloth towels proved more cost-effective than single-use paper by about a quarter of a cent per use.

Soon after the studies were completed, WSU’s dairy switched from paper to cloth. Ferris Forar, herd manager, saw the shift as primarily a cost-cutting measure. But he also believes that the transition did nothing to compromise udder health.

Like the Callahan dairy, WSU started with an on-site heavy-duty washer and dryer. Initially the towels were washed in hot water with a combination of detergent and bleach. The washing formulation was changed to detergent only when it was discovered that bleached towels disintegrated prematurely.

Since then, the WSU dairy is no longer drying towels, either; they are stacked and used damp. “We find the moistened towel actually cleans better than the dry one,” Forar says. “And we save on the cost of operating a dryer.”

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