Cleaning Cloths/Sponges - what to use and when!

[Yuckyyuckyuckity]

I feel like I go through an unbelievable number of cleaning cloths, sponges, wipes etc and maybe I'm not using the best tools for the job? I'm a very diligent cleaner but maybe I'm set in my ways and not being the most efficient I can be. Also DH and I get into the most petty disagreements about what to use to clean toilets (yes I know, we need to get a life) so please can I know the following:

What do you use to clean toilet seats/lids etc - a sponge, a cloth, other? What kind? If you use a cheap sponge what do you do with it after? Wash it or bin it? (And please no discussions about toilet brushes, yes I use one for the actual toilet bowl and no I'm not going to change that!)

What do you use for dusting?

What do you use for cleaning kitchen surfaces?

What do you use to wash dishes with as I keep seeing stories about those standard kitchen sponges being really unhygienic? (I've tried silicone ones before and thought they were terrible but maybe I didn't get a good brand).

I'm fine with what sprays and cleaning fluids to use, it's more the actual cleaning tools I want to know about.

I know this is the most boring thread in the world but... Anyone?

I use a dish cloth to wash up with. New one every day, washed in the machine. Also use a (different) dish cloth to clean the kitchen sides etc.

I use a microfibre cloth and a microfibre feather duster to dust with. Or a sock worn on my hand like a mitten!

Clean the toilet with a wipe

Any other really dirty jobs I either use a wipe or a jay cloth

Toilet - I use anti bac wipes. I also have one of those stick things that you add a sponge loaded with bleach, whatnot, that are also disposable.

Not very 'green' but its what works for me.

I don't wash up either. Everything goes in the dishwasher.

Dusting - a pledge fluffy thing
Mop - flash speed but with reusable pads and method mop stuff
Bathroom "dust" with toilet roll - sink and bath with one of those minky pads
Toilet - wipes or spray and an old flannel, I wash it after (the flannel, not the toilet!) also remove the seat and sometimes just spray and rinse
Kitchen - minky pad again or old flannel
Washing up - sponge, it's drowned in boiling water and washing up liquid

Basically I do most stuff with old flannels as I have a stash of them! Every time my face or body flannels get worn out, I get new ones in a different colour for my face and old ones go to cleaning pile

I mainly use various microfibre cloths and they get washed at 60 and reused afterwards. I use them both wet and dry for dusters. Like you a loo brush for inside the loo. I find they work for almost everything.

All reusable cloths, no sponges and I have a lot of them. Kitchen dish cloths are washed with tea towels and hand towels specifically used in the kitchen. All bathroom cloths are washed together.

Everything from those two categories goes on a hot wash with Dettol laundry and tumble dried. There was an ask me anything on here by a laundry detergent chemist and they said anything in contact with bodily fluids is 60 and tumbled. I add the Dettol as I like to kill all the bacteria.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/AMA/3308661-I-developed-laundry-detergents-AMA?postsby=LapinR0se

I do have the dreaded toilet brush but it is silicone not bristle. I also have a scrub Daddy for cleaning the sink if the cloth isn't cutting it, he goes into the dishwasher regularly.

Hang on a sec, I'll just ask my maid. 😊

Washing up brush for dishes. Yellow cloth for sides. Dusting (rare) a damp microfiber cloth. Toilet cleaning, bathroom, washing skirting boards and other jobs I have a stash of old cotton dishcloths that don't look good enough for kitchen use but still use able and a stash of cut up old cottons tshirts/vests that I use for those jobs. All go in the machine or sometimes a soak in washing aoda/sodium percarb if wanting a deep clean. Check out Nancy Birtwhistle she has all the info you need...

I just use cotton dishcloths on most surfaces , eco products, soap based for a lot of things, you can get biodegradable sponges which I use in the sink, beeswax polish and a cotton cloth. I'm trying to remove as much plastic as possible including microfibre. I wash them. Loo brush in the bowl (I don't get the politicking about this), cloth around the rest of the bathroom. Rinse and wash at 60 with the sheets.

I like Home things and Dip brands. Dishcloths are just dishcloths as long as they're cotton. Old t-shirts are fine. Newspaper is best for mirrors. We don't buy them anymore in print so I get my neighbours!

I use reusable cloths for everything

washing up - minky ‘pads’ & dish brush (latter goes in dishwasher)
bathroom- similar (dedicated) pads, use those for loo seat & silicone brush for pan
washable mop heads too
surfaces: mix of microfibre cloths & cotton

kitchen/washing up cloths (incl tea towels, hand towels) - wash them together or with my clothes

bathroom cloths: obviously are more ‘dirty/germy’ - I wash them with the mop heads (in a bag as apparently loose mop bits are good at destroying machines), also bath mats etc in a dedicated ‘dirty’ wash with some disinfectant

I understand why you might want to use a wipe for loo etc but i try not to

I do keep old rags for ant particularly dirty jibs which then get binned

PS - if loo seat is dirty, can generally clean it by spraying with cleaner & using the brush then rinsing with bidet tap

my cloths are colour coded : bloo for loo (bathroom), pink for sink (kitchen/general cleaning of other rooms)

OK so it seems no-one uses sponges any more!

I use microfibre cloths for dusting, cleaning kitchen, dining table etc. For bathroom/toilets it's a combination of a sponge and/or microfibre cloths (specific cloths are used for toilet only). I used to use wipes for the toilet but felt like I was getting though so many in each sitting.

I've literally never used dishcloths for washing up, it feels like an alien concept tbh! I feel like they wouldn't generate enough friction to scrub off tough stains?

I think actually the main thing I struggle with is where to put the dirty, wet cloths before they go into the wash. For example if I've just cleaned the toilet, I wouldn't want to put that cloth into a normal clothes wash but I wouldn't wash it by itself or with just a couple of other cloths, I'd want to wait until I've got enough other 'grim' items to wash together to at least make a somewhat fuller load. So where do I put the dirty toilet cloth in the meantime!

@Yuckyyuckyuckity : in a nappy bucket!

or any large-ish container (potentially with a lid). I use 1kg yogurt pots with lid & it all goes in my mop bucket as then I wash with the mop heads

I have a socktopus hanging in the utility room - cleaning cloths hang there until dry and then thrown in to laundry bin. All of our cleaning cloths, tea towels and hand towels are white, and when there's a full load, it all goes on with a scoop of washing soda added.

I use cotton cloths for everything. The washing up ones are slightly different and I use them for wiping down worktops too. Older scruffier cloths for cleaning and after cleaning sink etc, I use it for loo. Old towels for washing or drying the floor, but mostly use a mop.

I change all hand towels, dishcloths etc daily. Cleaning cloths just get put in when the rest goes in for washing.

I have a stack of reusable cloths (not microfiber though), and i've cut up old baby muslins for mopping up small spills etc in the kitchen. They are so absorbent.
I have brush for rubbing the sink with, but I put it in the dishwasher regularly.

Anyone using wipes, just use a piece of kitchen roll, spray it with antibacterial and flush it afterwards. Better than the horrible wipes.

I use microfiber cloths for most jobs, but I colour code them. Blue for the loo, pink for the sink, yellow surfaces, green kitchen cloths etc. For glass I use the green minky glass cloths.

For washing up, I use spontex brilliant scourers. They're like a flat sponge, but silver. They last forever! I just pop it in the dishwasher every night to clean it. Shout if you would like a link.

For bathroom cleaning, I use minky pads.
I have a tub to store all dirty cleaning cloth, mop heads and pads etc. I wash them all together once per week at 60 with some dettol.

I use torn up old towel for everything and let the cleaning chemicals do the hard graft.

Dishes I use those cheap sponges with the little pan-scrub attached. They get a final rinse in the anti-bac washing up liquid and clean running water. Replace about once a week. They cost £1 for 20 and if you want to be really economical, cut them in half!

I struggle to see how different cloths for different things can make a difference to how clean something will be at the end and think all the microfibre, antibac, static dust grabbing products on the market are just gimmicks to part you with your money.

“I think actually the main thing I struggle with is where to put the dirty, wet cloths before they go into the wash.”

I give mine a final rinse in soapy bleachy water then allow to air dry. When I have enough I bung them on a boil wash with wash powder only - the boil wash kills any bacteria the bleach missed and keeps the washing machine mould free. Any really soiled/manky cloths just get thrown away or relegated to outdoor muddy cleaning, before they're relegated to the bin.

I use the cheap yellow and green sponges to wash up. Once they're too grotty to wash up with, they get chucked in a hot wash with the towels and dishcloths. They then get reused to clean the bathroom a few times, when they're too far gone for that, I'll use them to clean the toilet, then they get binned.

I have a plastic hamper just for wet towels and cloths in the bathroom. I like to keep them separate from clothes, as I find that clothes can pick up that damp mildewy smell if they're mixed together.