Do you wash your dish cloth and tea towel every day?

[RecursiveMoon]

I change my dish cloth and tea towel every day, and just wondered whether other people also do this?

At the moment, I have a relatively empty white wash on because of this though... Could I soak the dishcloth in something (Milton?) instead, then wash it when I have a full white wash?

Sorry, I know it's a silly question but wet dish cloths make me stressed.

I'm an everydayer too. Sometimes more, if DD gets a hold of them .

If there isn't a white wash to go into I soak them in the utility room sink, but there is usually a wash ready in this house!

Yes, I change mine every day. I have loads of them so it's no problem saving up the dirty ones until there's a full whites load.

don't tell me, I'm happy not caring knowing!

I do some sort of wash most days and it's easy enough to stick a dishcloth in. I wash at 40 and so don't really bother with doing a separate white load very often, just add a dishcloth/teatowel in with the rest. We have a dishwasher though so there isn't often a dishcloth out.

I have a big supply of both, so after the day is done, I chuck them in the basket to be washed.

I couldn't care less about germs unless they were actually making me ill. None of my family have had a day off work/school/uni through ill health for at least 5 years so I must be doing something right. I have dozens of Tea towels and dishcloths, j cloths and sponges. I use each one a couple of times and then put it in a heap in the utility room and wash the whole pile once a week. You can put kitchen sponges and even the cheapest of J cloths in the wash and they come out fine. Everything except the sponges goes in the tumble drier, then I'm set for the next week.

Tea towel when it looks grubby. Chuck the sponge when the abrasive bit wears out, so every month or so. Chuck the jcloth when it has holes, so every 2 weeks ish. No food hygiene related illnesses here.

I wash mine after use

Yes. I even iron them

Everyday, when I'm tidying up after breakfast I lob the old ones on the floor by the washing machine and they go in with the towels when they're being done.

It's not difficult.

I use a dishwasher mostly but on occasions when I wash up in the sink I use a brush and/ or brlllo pad. Wipe down surfaces using sponge pad thing (separate one for highchair) and normally 2 or 3 teatowels on the go. I also keep a flannel in kitchen for wiping DD face after meals and have floor cloth. I wash flannel, soft bibs, tea towels, floor cloth and sponges on 95 degree wash every week; brush and plastic bibs go in dishwasher weekly and replace brillo pad when needed.

We use t towels for everything - wiping hands/ spills / hot pots etc rarely for drying pots! So they go in the wash when used or damp ( when my mum is here there are wet t towels on the cupboard handles - that's rank!!).

Dishcloth - washed every time it's icky or there a wash going on ( so mnmm of daily).

We aren't ever I'll and I think this is why.

Dishcloth gets washed when manky, but I use for highchair, dd face surfaces, then in wash. Go through several a day.

Stuff these days gets washed far too much, and that's why there's so many allergies. Too much use of stupid anti-bacterial sprays/products, IMO... What's wrong with basic disinfectant and washing up liquid to clean stuff.

Dishcloth -new one every day. Towel - new one every time to actually dry anything up (rare) but one every couple of days if just using to get stuff out of the oven and to dry hands.

I keep them in a bowl in the cupboard where I keep the detergents until doing a towel wash at 60

Don't worry lovechoc, my house isn't too clean . I still worry about dish cloths though.

I'm another that uses about 6 tea towels a day...floors, spills, children, drying hands. I never dry pots or wAsh them that's the machines job.
E clothes a couple a day.
It sounds wasteful but i tend not to use kitchen roll for those jobs and anti bac wipes would cost me a small fortune the amount of cleaning i do. ( children!!!!)
Bathroom hand towels, fresh every day.

I wash the dish cloths when they start to smell because that means bacteria is starting to grow in there. Tea towels get washed when they look grubby, but we tend to use them more for emergency wiping up spills and as oven gloves than to dry clean washing up, just let stuff air dry. I will get a clean one from the cupboard if drying up a load of stuff.

If one needs changing I hang it on the edge of the laundry basket or washing machine door and by the time I go to sort out a wash load it's dry so can go in with the other dirty washing waiting to be washed.

I do a specific wash with towels, dishcloths, tea towels, bedding and sanitary towels if I've used them, about once a week. On 60 to kill bacteria, or sometimes 90 if there's nothing coloured in there.

Tea towels washed daily
Dishcloths get soaked in bleach daily.

When they look or smell dirty.

"Stuff these days gets washed far too much, and that's why there's so many allergies. Too much use of stupid anti-bacterial sprays/products, IMO... What's wrong with basic disinfectant and washing up liquid to clean stuff."

i agree with you about anti-bacterial cleaning products - i don't see the need. i mainly use basic detergents and things like bicarb and white vinegar.

i disagree that washing cloths/tea towels daily is too often. i think it is basic hygiene to control bacteria levels without using uneccessary anti-bacterial products.

I wash stuff when it looks dirty. I also don't change my jeans every day for the sake of it. I wear them until they look like they need a wash. My family have never come down with illness because I don't wash tea towels and dishcloths every day. Washing tea towels every day is a bit OTT, IMO.

I pop my wet dishcloth in the microwave every morning for 3-4 minutes, it will kill germs/bacteria and then the microwave is easy to wipe clean afterward too. I also wash/change the dishcloth every few days too.

What I have wondered for a long while after this sort of thread on mn, is how on earth any of you every go on holiday?

How do you pack enough tea-towels, hand towels, sheets, pjs etc. when you go away if you change them all every day?

I know MOST people don't change their sheets every day, but it seems like a lot of people on mn change tea towels, normal towels, pjs, and children's clothes after every use.

Do you need a minibus to take your stuff away in?