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

funkymonkey849

Sorry I meant to say that I have tried soaking them in boiling hot water or boil on the hob with soda crystals, and then they go in the washing machine with the clothes at 30.

I should think they are germ free by this stage but they look soooooooooooooooooooo manky!

Maybe I will have to use bleach, won't this make them fall apart?

bargainbird

i always boil with towels, and drop of stardrops too

Olliebeak

I like to leave my dishcloths soaking in boiling water with a drop of bleach added overnight. Rinsed next day and then chucked in with the next white/pale wash.

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.

Agutka

Olliebeak wrote: »

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.

:rotfl:
That's how OH puts out clothes to dry! I've never let him near hanging out washing ever since he made a pile on a wooden dining room chair. Tons of vinegar saved the clothes but the chair had to go to the tip.

dizzypink

I always soak mine in a small amount of bleach topped up with cold water to cover them. Never had a problem with them falling apart.
My Mum always used to swear by denture tablets, just dissolve them in water and soak over night. ( cloths not teeth :rotfl:)

I have switched to home made knitted dish cloths. Found these to be brill.

Hope that helps.

Olliebeak

For anybody who likes knitting dishcloths, there's lots of websites out there. This is one of my favourite sites: http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/dishcloths.php

nanokitten

To get the stains out you will probably need to use some kind of bleaching agent (hence the name).
There are alternatives to chlorine based bleaches if you don't like it - ie 'oxy' products which are peroxide based bleaching agents (eg vanish oxy and generic versions which are much cheaper) cooking up with a bit of non-bio washing powder may help as it contains bleaching and optical brighteners (which will help to counteract yellow colours).
You could also try sterilising fluid which is dilute bleach, but pretty safe to use (and smells less stongly) if you follow the instructions for dilution and wont leave a resudue like house hold bleach (most of which are designed to be hard to wash away).

Rikki

I've never heard of washing dish cloths in a washing machine and to be honest I never would. I only ever leave mine in bleach and water over night.

maman

Personally I am extravagant and use jcloths but my SIL puts hers in the dishwasher (spread out on one of the racks/shelves) and it seems to work well.

Butterfly_Brain

I leave mine overnight in a sink with 2 steradent tablets Milton works well too