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

sticher

I put out a clean tea towel most days (have a dishwasher so it doesn't always get used). Then I just put them in my laundry basket and wash them with hand towels when there are enough.

I usually do them on a hot wash, but wouldn't the fact that they are then dried kill any germs anyway?

Lizzieanne

Evenin' all.

I also put my dishcloth in the dishwasher each evening. The kitchen hand towels and tea towels are changed at least once a day, if not more. I have a small laundry bin in the utility room for them. In my downstairs loo, I have a pile of flannels instead of a hand towel and a small wicker basket to put the used ones in. When I first came up with that idea (I was fed up with Mr L leaving all sorts of dirt on the hand towel - how do they do it?!) I thought I'd have much more washing but actually I don't. The towel/teatowel loads that I do are just more full than before.
When I've washed the dishclothes into oblivion, I recycle them 'down', ie i use them for a job such as cleaning the UPVC etc.

I'll shut up now!

pigpen

I put the tea towels in the WM with the laundry.. white ones in the white load and dark ones in the dark load.. but then I do more washing than the average chinese laundry!

I don't have dishcloths, I think they are disgusting.. I buy tesco value sponges 14p for about half a million and bin them when they look/feel minging.. but I soak them in stardrops quite often..

pigpen

odds-n-sods wrote: »

BTW, you shouldn't mix bleach and soap together as it creates msutard gas! One or the other, folks!

The soap is ok (or my mother would be dead on a daily basis!!) it is bleach and harpic that creates mustard gas and lands lots of women (mainly)!! in A&E every year

mossstar

Ellidee wrote: »

I've noticed that my next door neighbour always has tea towels on the line with undies so I assume she washes them together. Eueew !

Why eueeew? I wash all our stuff together in one wash, and we're all still happy and healthy after about 8 years of that...

sandy2_2

pigpen wrote: »

I don't have dishcloths, I think they are disgusting.. I buy tesco value sponges 14p for about half a million and bin them when they look/feel minging.. but I soak them in stardrops quite often..

I'm with you on this one, dish cloths yeuk!!!!
And the thought of putting them in the dishwasher......

cheerfulness4

I also put mine in a bucket until I have a little pile. We don't have a dishwasher and I'm fantatical about clean cloths so every other day I was them on a sixty's wash. I like the occasional hot wash just to stop the WM smelling musty, which it was with all my 30's and 40's washes.

DebtphobicDeirdre

Most dishwashers are 60 degrees, that is better than a 40 degree washing machine as when I was a nurse we were told that we must never wash our uniforms at less than 60 degrees. Also infection control said to keep things dry was mega important, so I would agree with drying dirty teatowels/ dishcloths out unless you intended to soak in milton. In hospital all cloths had colour coding- one for toilets, one for general cleaning( like washing down windowsills, lockers etc.) and one for food preparation areas.

lynzpower

mossstar wrote: »

Why eueeew? I wash all our stuff together in one wash, and we're all still happy and healthy after about 8 years of that...

me too, always have done.

All the crumbs and everything have been rinsed off the cloths and teatowels first of course, but I cant see much difference in putting a teatowel in the washing machine that has dried CLEAN crockery, with the clothes that I have chuckend half my dinner down :rotfl:

Ellidee

I still find the idea of underpants, knickers and teatowels in the same wash rather ' yuck ' or is it just me ?