Talk to me about cleaning your cleaning cloths

[orchidee]

For which jobs do you use non-disposable cloths, and how do you clean them?

I tend to keep a pile of used microfibre cloths etc until it seems worthwhile running the washing machine fir them, which I double-up as the machine's maintenance wash.

I dislike having dirty/used cloths lying around, so often use kitchen paper for jobs. I've a toddler at home so have to be careful where the cloths are drying out after being used, before being stored and washed properly.E.g. today, after doing the insides of my windows. The microfibre cloth was grubby even after rinsing out.

So what do you do?

[Themobstersknife]

Bunbaker that is an excellent tip! Are there any kind of cloths you can't do this with?

[squaredog]

Yeah, but surely you wouldn't put DUSTERS, (micro-cloth ones), in with your towels would you?

Mine end up quite manky, even after one 'go', what with polish an' 'stuff'.......

Or am I being too precious with my towels?

[BornToFolk]

I have a small lidded bucket that I sling all cleaning cloths/tea towels in. Either they'll go in with a normal wash, or with towels at 60. Or sometimes I'll sling them in when I'm doing a 90 degree service wash, especially if they are really dirty.
I use a microfibre cloth for washing up and that goes in every time I do a load, so every other day minimum.

[nannyl]

I have several ecloths for the kitchen

i use one a day and stick it in the machine after and wash with whatever i wash next (except nappies, i dont wash anything else with nappies)
if it got really gross (which hardly ever happens) id use another on the same day.

because they are washed daily (my WM goes on nearly every day) they are never that manky and never smell of manky cloth either.

my cleaner brings and launders her own microfiber cloths which are used for other areas of the house (though i have my own supplies too, all different to kitchen ones, so they would never get mixed up)

[KatyTheCleaningLady]

Gemdoll, I use the same microfibre cloths for toilets as I do for everything else. But, I am very careful to never use a cloth on a toilet and then something else. Basically, I use the cloth to wipe down the sink, and then I wipe down the toilet, starting with the top of the cistern, the handle, and then down to the lid, then the seat, then the rim, and finally inside it. The inside will have had toilet cleaner working while I'm cleaning the room by the time I brush it around then wipe it, it's pretty clean. If there are hairs or lint on the toilet, rather than push it around with a cloth, I'll wipe it up with a couple squares of loo roll and flush it down.


That cloth is probably not really any nastier than cloths used elsewhere in the house. There are a LOT of chemicals used in the bathroom and toilet that probably kill everything.


Anyway, I wash those cloths along with all the other cloths on hot water then tumble dry on hot air. I'm confident that they're clean.

[Duritzfan]

I wash my cleaning cloths separately so the cleaning solutions are kept separate from clothes ....

[dikkertjedap]

I use cloths in the kitchen and separate ones obviously in the bathroom and for dusting rooms etc. I clean the toilets with paper.

I wash the cloths after use and in the kitchen if I cleaned a lot then wash it otherwise replace them at the end of the day. I wash them at 90 degrees with bio powder plus oxy vanish. I don't wash them with other clothes as I use a general cleaner which contains bleach, so it would leave marks on other things if washed together.