Years of disgusting, smelly, bacteria-laden dishcloths. Years. Every summer morning, I'd pick up the dishcloth to wipe down the counter or whatever, only to take a precautionary sniff to find it once again never really dried from the night before's dishes and therefore smelled like . . . I don't know. Like a moldering dishcloth.
GROSS.
I knew this could be avoided by scalding the dishcloth with boiling water after finishing with it at night, but who wants to boil a kettle of water to scald the thing when it's 90 degrees in the kitchen? Not me.
And then I was flipping through some annoying book all about how YOU TOO CAN KEEP AN IMMACULATE HOUSE WITH JUST TEN MINUTES A DAY! (it was one of those books that sounded much too excited and way too irritating) that the MiL got at the library when I found it: Nuke the dishcloth in the microwave on high for a minute to scald it.
OHHHHH.
So simple, yet so life-changing.
So if you, too, have been plagued by foul-smelling dishcloths, this one is for you. Pass it on. We can change more lives today.
I have been nuking my sponges for years (although I do get complaints occasionally about the stench). I guess this is one of those sister household care chats that we never had. Or really ever have, I guess...
ReplyDeleteYay for no more icky smelling towels!
-moi
I don't change my life every day, but I do change my dishcloth every day (also a tip from a how-to-keep-your-house-clean book). Every night when I finish in the kitchen I put the wet cloth over the side of the laundry hamper and get out a clean one in the morning. It's even easier than nuking.
ReplyDeleteIt can also go in the dishwasher. That's what Bubba does anyway - same with the sponge.
ReplyDeleteBecause the man is a cootiePHOBE and will not use anything that is even remotely mildewy and for this I love him very very much.
No sponges or dishcloths for us. I use a scrub brush with a handle for dishes and a paper towel for wiping things down. I refuse to touch dishcloths or sponges. Too gross. Too full of bacteria. I am all about recycling and trying to put less in landfills but when it comes to using a dishcloth I just refuse.
ReplyDeleteInga
I got sick of that gross smell, too, so I just got in the habit of changing the dish towel and dish rag every morning. When I finish evening dishes I hang them up on the oven door handle and they are dry by morning. Then I toss them in the dirty clothes and get out fresh ones.
ReplyDeleteYes to all of this. Microwave, yes. Dishwasher, yes. Wash every day, yes. Scrub brush and paper towels, yes.
ReplyDeleteI mix it up. Germophobe through and through, but I can't decide which method is best. So I try them all. Set to shuffle.