@mars @Kelownagurl my mother used to iron tea towels and dish cloths 
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This reminds me. I had a sit in SF, in an apartment in an older building with no washer/dryer facilities. Very common in SF, and I shudder to think how people dealt with it when nearly everything was shut down.
The HOs (really, ARs or apartment renters) were returning on a Sunday. There were no open, local laundromats. With their OK, I took the sheets and towels with me on my road trip down the coast, and brought them back all clean and folded a few days later. I made their bed with their clean sheets, and they had plenty of towels.
It was a hassle. I would not take a sit like that again, unless the people offered to take care of it themselves.
I donāt know what my mother doesnāt ironā¦
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I remember always having a pile of ironing to do when I was younger. Tea towels included. I donāt remember having to iron sheets, but I do remember ironing pillow cases. Now I take out my iron a couple of times a year, at the most.
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Speaking of British English? Are tea towels cloth napkins or are they kitchen dish towels or are they something else? I have some cotton cloth napkins that come out of the dryer wrinkled and I have to iron them. If I had known this ahead of time, I wouldnāt have bought them.
In my part of Canada, we call dish towels that we use for drying dishes ātea towelsā. Iāve never thought about why though. Now youāve got me thinking. Iāve texted my adult kids to see what they call them. And if they even know what a ātea towelā is.
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@mars tea towelsare what we use to try the dishes. Interesting to see they are called the same in parts of Canada @Kelownagurl !
Very English I guess it has to do with āTea Timeā ā¦
*Posh 18th Century Tea Towel
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a tea towel as āa cloth for drying dishes.ā Often made of linen, cloth, or a combination of the two, tea towels date back to England in the 18th century , when they were used to insulate tea pots at tea ceremonies (hence the name), dry fine china, and cover baked goods.
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I donāt ironā¦ anything, let alone sheets. I donāt even own an ironš¤£
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Oh now youāve brought up another difference in words, without even realizing it 
Napkins (nappies) in the UK are diapers. What you think of as napkins are often called serviettes in the UK. Iām with @Kelownagurl (both of us based in Canada) - I use tea towels to dry dishes, and thatās what my UK family call them too. I donāt know anyone who uses the term ākitchen dish towelsā. Oh and the US paper towel is kitchen towel in the UK. The list goes on ā¦
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@Debbie @mars @Kelownagurl We call them tea towels in Australia to dry the dishes, and I still like to iron them. They, and handkerchiefs, were the first items I was allowed to iron when I was young!
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Iām British.
Napkins are serviettes
Nappies are diapers
Tea towels are what you dry washing up with!
All very odd
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Iām also British and agree with @JackieX - napkins and nappies are two very different things!
Napkin or serviette can both be used in UK and are the fabric squares found on your table in restaurants that you can put on your lap while you eat.
Nappies are diapers
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Thank you community, we are loving this topic ā¦ 
Who knew that SHEETS & TOWELS would create such a great conversation ā¦ come on who has the next great āobscureā house sitting question to get all of our contributors creative juices flowing?
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I agree that your ādaipersā are called ānappiesā over here in the UK, but as far as us older UK generations are concerned ānapkinsā are the cloth version of serviettes which are usually made of paperā¦ā¦ I think the younger generations may b adopting more American terms thoughā¦ā¦
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You mentioned in another post about showing your age. Iāve done it here too. Someone corrected me when I said napkins are diapers. However, I was still technically correct, although outdated. I was thinking back to my mother (who would be 99 if still alive), who never shortened it to ānappiesā, and always referred to them as ānapkinsā. Thatās the original word that has been shortened to ānappiesā and is now in everyday use. And yes, she was from the days of cloth napkins for babies. I showed my age there too.
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And in reply to myself, itās not just an age thing. My kids know what a tea towel is. One calls them tea towels or dish towels interchangeably. The other kid, younger, is a cook and said he is familiar with the term but he doesnāt call them that at work or heād be ridiculed. 
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Where I live ānapkinsā are for the table, ādiapersā are for babies. But my grandkids in NZ wore nappies.
Hi @ Lindsay - That is too funny that you ādonāt even own an ironā. Now that I am retired, I am just about to retire my iron as well.
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On a separate forum, the debate of āno top sheetā ruffled some feathers.
Iād venture to say that the vast majority of people in the US and Canada have a top sheet (in addition to whatever covering they use).
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