[jeroldharter]

But don't forget the virtue that paper towels are disposable. If you wipe up a fixer spill, the fixer is gone and in the trash. If you use a cloth towel to mop up the spill and attempt to re-use it later, even if it has dried, you run the risk of spreading fixer dust and contaminating your hands. I'd prefer for spilled solutions to get wiped up with paper towels and thrown into the garbage. Ditto with drying hands which have gotten into the fixer, if that occurs.

Charles,

I use single tray processing and I must say I have never had a fixer spill. I use latex gloves if I process a batch of prints by interleaving them but my bare hands never touch the chemistry. I don't like paper towels at all in the darkroom but I think that the less "fuzzy" the surface the better if you use them.

I use these flour sack towels. They are cheap. You can buy a dozen or two. I go through many towels in a darkroom session and then wash them.

http://www.americanchairstore.com/floursacktowels.html