Cleaning jobs no-one ever taught me the "proper" way of doing... Can you help?!

[PurpleTreeFrog]

Here are a few random jobs, mainly kitchen related, that I never really figured out how to do properly. Some of these also cause disagreements between me and DH about how they should be done.

I know there's no "official" way to do household chores but let's pretend this is housewife school (yuk, I know) and someone tell me the proper way to do these things!

• How to clean a kitchen counter that is covered in dry crumbs or flour? I always thought it seems odd to use a damp cloth to smear the dry stuff around, but wiping with my bare hand feels yukky. Dustpan and brush followed by antibacterial spray and a wipe down seems like the most efficient option, but it feels unhygienic to use a floor brush on the kitchen counter, even though I'd use antibacterial afterwards?!
  

• Is it okay to hoover crumbs/dry-ish food waste off the kitchen floor? I have a toddler so bored of constantly sweeping up after his meals, but always worried that food crumbs don't "belong" in the hoover where they might fester...
  

• How many times do you use tea towels and surface cleaning cloths before washing? What temperature do you wash them at?
  

• Where do you store the damp ones in the mean time while waiting to be washed? Can they wait in the washing machine and go on a 40 degree cycle with the next load of normal washing?
  

• Do you use a dishcloth/microfibre type cloth to wipe kitchen counters clean? DH prefers to use the same sponge we use to wash up with. He thinks having a damp microfibre cloth lying around for this purpose is smelly and disgusting. I disagree as I obviously try not to leave them out long enough to get stinky!
  

I'm sure I've got more but those are the ones that occurred to me while washing up just now... Help!

[ArriettyMatilda]

I also suspect I should not hoover up rice and cheese with my hoover, as it smells a bit and the nozzle looks dirty. I think dry crumbs are OK. I can't be bothered to sweep up with a toddler either

[ArriettyMatilda]

For crumbs we use a wet dish cloth to sweep them into our hands, ideally daily with the washing up cloth. The washing up cloth is then used around once a week or fortnight to clean the kitchen using some kind of kitchen spray. The cloth is washed when it looks dirty or once used for kitchen cleaning once or twice. I wouldn't wash dishes with it once I use spray with it. Bathroom cloths are used once before washing and floor or wet dusting cloths are used a couple of times. I've called them different names, in reality it is exactly the same cloths washed at 90 degrees. I just wash the cloths by themselves with bio liquid, no other clothes or fabric softener. Tea towels are used for a few days (no more than a week), dish tea towels are relegated to hand tea towels after a few uses on dishes. If towels are used to mop up spills or wipe sides I would not use them again before washing. I wash them with our bath and hand towels on a 40 degree wash. I'm not sure if that's hot enough. I hang tea towels over chairs to dry and then they go in the same laundry box as everything else. Cloths are also left to dry before going into a carrier bag or plastic box.

I love the answers here. Confirms I'm doing OK. I'm sure I have some equally burning questions re housekeeping, can I add some?

[PurpleTreeFrog]

Catphrase , are you going to go full retro and get a mangle as well then?

[Doilooklikeatourist]

just sling the cloths in the washing machine , and wash them with the next load , they dont need to be stored
40 degree wash with bio will kill germs anyway , wont it ?

[wiltingfast]

But how long are they in your basket OP? Surely not that long? I don't really get the angst about all the dirty stuff hanging out together

Why don't you just make sure you have loads and dump them into your basket every day? Then surely they'll never be so dirty to worry you?

Or else keep them in a tub out of sight under the sink?

[Passthecake30]

wow, I wash everything at 40'c, tea towels, dishcloths, knickers, pants...all mixed up together...

Obviously a slattern, I blame my mum

[Catphrase]

I've got a little flat dustpan and brush that fits in my kitchen drawer, it's tiny and perfect for the crumb job - I got it in morrissons.

Tea towels changed every 3ish days depending on use (I understand this should be daily)
They are all washed together at 90 with white vinegar once a month or so. They are kept in the washing basket but I put them in dry.

I have a seperate cloth to the dishwashing sponge. I also have a second sponge for scrubbing non food stuff, so hob, draining board.


I'm going to buy a copy of the 1930's housewife manual they would get as a wedding present, purely because I haven't a bloody clue about how often and what I should be cleaning.

[e1y1]

Agree Rabbit

Would never wash my underwear alone on a 40 degree, and never and I mean never would I wash kitchen cloths with clothing, even on 95.

As far as washing up, have dishwasher so not too often, but I normally don't use sponges, but if I do, it's a new sponge every time.

[PurpleTreeFrog]

Ooooooh, my thread has generated a teeny bit of controversy! I'm actually glad there is disagreement as it confirms I'm not a total nutter for asking.

I should add, my house is always clean, I suppose my real reason for starting the thread is that I'm trying to find the most efficient and hygienic way to do these things. And these questions always occur to me when I'm cleaning up and thinking "Why am I doing it this way? No-one taught me this... I'm just making it up... Is there a better way?!"

Also, I have a toddler who generates constant kitchen mess so that's why all this matters to me.

Personally I think doing the tea towels at 40 with the other washing is probably fine as long as they were just used to dry freshly cleaned dishes/surfaces and haven't subsequently been hanging around too long before washing. If they've been hanging round long I prefer to do them seperately on a hot wash though...

On the other hand... I am not keen on putting any kind of damp towels or cloths in my linen basket with my normal washing while waiting to be washed... surely the dampness alone is enough to go mouldy or smelly? I did have a seperate plastic basket for this purpose on the kitchen floor but it's not exactly attractive to have a basket of damp cleaning rags lying around all the time.

[needastrongone]

I am laughing so much at this. Everything gets washed at 30 in our house and only whites and colours are separated. Two adults and two teens. We is alive and remain so for the decade I have being doing this!

For context, new cleaners yesterday remarked this was one of the cleanest houses they had ever been in, I ain't no minger

[wiltingfast]

I don't how I survive.

[rabbit123]

You are somewhat delusional if you think this

You are somewhat filthy if you think it's acceptable to plunge cloths that you have wiped over dirty kitchen work tops, sinks, floors, kitchen bins etc into a warm, damp drum with all your clothes. You're transferring any bacteria from your kitchen onto the clothes you're wearing and vice versa.

[RudeElf]

wash at 90

[duracellmummy]

germs are killed by soap not by heat unless you have a home autoclave.

60 degree washes in w. machines are a myth...they don't stay at 60 for long enough to give any additional germ killing benefit (might help with grease though) (see Which? report on the temperature washers get to).

It would be more useful to dry the cloths in UV light (ie the sun) for additional antibacterial action than to focus on the temperature of the wash...and has the additional benefit of bleaching out the stains a bit too!

[NotCitrus]

Even if there are some bacteria or virus left on a cloth or your pants after washing at 40, you or at least I then dry them - which will destroy pretty much all bacteria from water loss.

I'm pretty slobby in the kitchen but insist on any cloths being squeezed and hung to dry after use, and definitely not wodged in a ball to go slimy as some people do, even very houseproud ones.

[WishICouldThinkOfACoolUsername]

I have a mini brush and dustpan bought and used specifically for the worktops. I would definitely not use my normal brush and pan there though!

One tip that I was given by a colleague that I've always stuck to is to regularly use zoflora citrus to disinfect my cloths/sponges. I bung them in the sink with boiling water (just enough to cover whatever I'm soaking) and then add the zoflora (make sure it's not one of the flowery ones though!) and when you go back to the kitchen the whole room smells fabulous and fresh.

[wiltingfast]

wiltingfast I care. I don't want germs from DH's sweaty boxers or my kids dirty PE kits breeding in my washer and then wiping down my kitchen surfaces with them. I'm no germaphobe...I don't use antibac sprays and hardly ever buy bleach. Washing cleaning cloths seperately just seems like basic hygiene to me, sorry. Washing dirty cleaning cloths with clothes is like blowing your nose with a loo roll you've just wiped your arse with.

It is in no way like blowing your nose on loo roll you've wiped your arse with.

You are somewhat delusional if you think this

It beats me, why somehow soap and warm water is good enough for my hands, which go into my mouth and which I eat with, but not good enough for sheets, towels and cleaning cloths, which I never so much as lick frankly. Up to everyone to do what they think best, but I have to say i have not experienced any issues whatsoever with washing everything together, at 40.

None.

No mould.

No smells.

No illness.

Just clean laundry.

The 40 wash is clearly perfectly adequate for the typical home environment.

Spreading the industry bs about needing germ free textiles is just feeding into their greedy paws imo. Sorry!

[WhoKn0wsWhereTheMistletoes]

The kitchen cloths are used to wipe up crumbs and maybe a bit of spilt tea or coffee, not floors, not toilets and they are washed within 24 hours then tumble or line dried. We do not prepare food directly on the countertops or eat off them and those are the only places the cloths are used. They go in whichever wash is next, that might be 40 or it might be 60.

We always use bleach based detergents, do at least two 60 degree washes a week (towels, sheets and non-kitchen cleaning cloths) and one 90 degree wash a month (with bleach or vinegar), the door is open for ventilation the whole time the machine is not in use so opportunities for biofilms and sludge are minimised. It smells fresh as a daisy and the drawer is spotless.

Of course if anyone is ill clothes would be washed separately at 60, however we practically never get ill so I think our germ control is working.

[Gwlondon]

Kitchen surface cloths get used for about a day or two. I have microfibre cloths for proper cleaning and white dish cloths for wiping things down quickly.

[rabbit123]

But the clothes and other things get all churned up in the washing machine and the germs go away with the rinse water. No?

Bacteria aren't like little spiders or something crawling over your laundry that is rinsed down the drain. Bacteria is a growth and will spread all over the seal, door, drum and outter drum on your washer. It takes the hot wash to actually kill it. That's constant cool washes on 40 and below and no hot washes causes mold build up on the seal. Bacteria thrives in warm, wet atmospheres.

[Gwlondon]

I put my dirty dish cloths and cleaning cloths in a plastic box as I can't think what else to do with them until I have enough to do a hot wash.... I did wonder if I was the only person to do this though. Probably twice a week the lot gets washed. I have a toddler too and I use a fresh cloth every time I clean the table, then high chair and floor last. (I work down!)

[rabbit123]

wowfudge, girl, you are speaking my language! I use hot soapy water for everything and completely agree about antibac sprays. I try not to use anything that house that's overly scented. I read somewhere that perfumes used in cleaning products and the chemicals used to activate them are some of the most dangerous products you can bring into your house. So I stick with my plain-Jane cleaners if I can.

[wowfudge]

I really don't want to wash my clothes with the cloths that have wiped whatever it was off the bog/floor, etc thank you very much.

[wowfudge]

I agree rabbit - towels and cloths get washed on a 60 degree cottons wash in this house. Towels have a tendency to be less than fresh smelling over time if only washed at 40 or 30 ime.

And I never use anti-bacterial sprays - most bacteria is harmless anyway, but they are overkill. Linked to increases in asthma because people don't build up natural immunity. Hot soapy water deals with most things. In fact, buying a pair of rubber gloves is more useful because they'll protect your hands so you can use hotter water for washing up and cleaning the worktops.

I change tea towels and dishcloths weekly - we have a dishwasher so they don't get used much. Separate hand towel in the kitchen for drying hands.