probably a daft question... but what do you do with dirty dishcloths/tea towels?

Patchwork_Quilt

I put up with the stains if I know they are clean. If someone really important is coming, they might get bleached.

jackieb

I use a clean one every day. I just put them in the washer with towels usually. I don't use the knitted type though - they're usually the yellow Vileda ones and they don't seem to mark.

timmmers

I saw someone on telly highllight the bacteria that grow on a nice damp dishcloth once it's a lovely environment for germs to grow....never use em now. Plastic brushes for dishes, and paper towels otherwise around food.

If you have to boil or bleach them..what the hell are they transfering around your kitchen ? :eek:

t

rach

I use microfibre cloths - the poundland 4 packs. they don't get discoloured.

I do have the same problem as others with tea towels getting stained though, I think I am going to have to bleach them as a hot wash hasn't done the job!

I believe ecover do some laundry bleach which is kinder to the environment

Olliebeak

timmmers wrote: »

I saw someone on telly highllight the bacteria that grow on a nice damp dishcloth once it's a lovely environment for germs to grow....never use em now. Plastic brushes for dishes, and paper towels otherwise around food.

If you have to boil or bleach them..what the hell are they transfering around your kitchen ? :eek:

t

That may have been what I saw on Kim and Aggie - it was quite scarey. Have to say that it WAS in a very manky kitchen and the person wasn't careful about any hygiene whatsoever at the time. Soon changed their habits after K&A 'had a go' at them.

Pretty certain, that if you practice hygienic habits like wiping worktops/cutting&chopping boards/sinks&drainers a few times during the day and give the cloth a really good rinse/HOT soak in between AND the bleach/antibacterial-disinfectant soak at night - then they don't get into that state in the first place. I actually have three on the go at the moment (two bought ones and one home-knitted one) and they are changed each morning. There's another pack of 10 SmartPrice ones under the kitchen sink for when I feel the need to dump one and start afresh (usually when DS1 has been round to clean his car :mad:),

funkymonkey849

Thank you all!

Not worried about bacteria as they are either soaked or boiled in hot water and borax substitute and then washed. I may buy some bleach or disinfectant to soak them in just to make sure.

I took some out of the washing machine today and they looked a lot whiter! Maybe they are ashamed with all us talking about them so made the effort

daska

timmmers wrote: »

I saw someone on telly highllight the bacteria that grow on a nice damp dishcloth once it's a lovely environment for germs to grow....never use em now. Plastic brushes for dishes, and paper towels otherwise around food.

If you have to boil or bleach them..what the hell are they transfering around your kitchen ? :eek:

t

Absolutely, which is why you shouldn't have 'a' dishcloth but several, so that you can start fresh with a clean one when necessary. I think I have somewhere in the region of two dozen, maybe more. I then do one big boil wash. I also use a fresh drying up cloth at least every day.

Primrose

I often use those square thin sponges instead of dishcloths which I leave overnight in a bowl of boiling water with either a little bleach or a little disinfectant. Teatowels get the same treatment. I find what makes them dirty is using them to dry roasting dishes & frying pans etc which are hand washed because they can't go in the dishwasher. Where there is no handle involved I now put these in a warn oven to dry for a few minutes instead.

babelfish

I regularly soak my dishcloth in bleach overnight or for just half an hour or so during the day. Once they are too discoloured and past their prime I use a new one. With my tea towels I find I don't use them that much because I have a dishwasher so they hang around for a bit. So I soak them in the sink with a solution of water and milton to sterilise them before washing them on a hot wash. They smell more clean and germ free this way than just washing alone.

suziewuzie

Olliebeak wrote: »

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I can't abide dirty/stinky/manky discloths and hate to see them screwed up wet/damp on the side of the sink. They need to be opened out and allowed to dry off to get rid of smells.

You sound like me - this is my daily mantra to the family (and they still leave them screwed up on the draining board!!):mad: