I have just read an article that points out that the most bacteria in a kitchen reside in the sink, I guess due to the moist conditions.
With that in mind I have been eying up the dishcloth with a little more disdain than usual.
I throw them to the wash twice a week I guess but am now wondering if that is enough.
No one here is unwell and I do think that some bacteria is good for us but then again I don't want my kitchen to be a health hazard.
As kids I am sure the kitchen sponge lived in the sink until it fell apart, although possibly mum did soak it in Janola at times.

How often do you change/wash your dishcloth?

To be honest, I just chuck the sponge and any tea towels in the washing machine when I run it. If no one is getting is sick, let that be your measure. I would have thought twice a week is absolutely fine. You will always find someone or some media reporting its not right, but personally I am with you on the whole bacteria thing.

I absolutely refuse to counting the days I have used something or when I got a fresh something out of the cupboard.......life is too short.

I chuck mine in the dishwasher - mine has a flat top rack for cutlery alone, and I sit it in there whenever the dishwasher goes on, and if I think it is particularly manky, then they go through the washing machine

Just editing... as I remember Mum had the one chopping board that did veg, meat, fish, chicken - you name it, it was chopped on it. Dish clothes - maybe a sponge - I can't remember. But no soaking in bleach or anything. I think they were used until they died.

Which makes me to wonder if that is why we have all these food allergies and more apparent health problems now? (ducking for cover)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2016 10:08AM by Irene Field.

I think I agree, I make sure to rinse/wring mine out when used, and then hang them over the taps to dry (the drying is important, most bacteria cannot survive in a dry environment). I chuck my scrubby thing through the dishwasher when I run it, and put the dishcloth in the wash two-three times per week, or if I think it is slimy or smelly.
I use one big chopping board for everything and wipe down with my cloth (which is then rinsed and wrung out) after using for chicken/meat...we never get gastro (jinx).
I also refuse to use 99.9% sprays, and use hot water with dish soap for most things, all the evidence says that soap is very effective at killing harmful bacteria without increasing resistance.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/22/2016 12:40PM by Griz.

I put mine in the washing machine about twice a week, but every day after doing the dishes that must be done by hand and then wiping down the benches, I rinse it out and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.
Does of good job of keeping it sanitized.

I'm similar to Griz but I've never put my dishcloths in the washing machine. I rinse/wring them a lot during use and years ago used to hang them on the taps to dry but got sick of how they're in the way there so put a little rack next to the taps specifically to hang the dishcloth on, where it dries out completely every night. But I don't have a dishwasher either (personal choice) so our dishcloth is immersed in dishwash detergent whenever I do the dishes, effectively washing it at least twice a day...

I put tea towels in the wash about one per week depending on usage, sometimes more.
I throw sponges ect out rather than washing them but maybe I need to look at throwing them in the wash too.
Vanessa

I grab a clean microfibre cloth every morning. In the evening it gets thrown in a bucket in the laundry and at the end of the week they get soaked in bleach and washed. I don't wipe up meat mess with the kitchen cloth, I only use paper towels for that. I don't use sponges. Dishes are washed with a scrub brush rather than cloth, and that brush gets put in the dishwasher a couple of times a week.

I have a very large pile of tea towels and they don't get dried and reused, and again get collected in a hamper in the laundry and washed once or so per week on a 60C wash. I probably go through 2-6 per day depending on how much time I spend in the kitchen.

At my mother's house I always microwave her sponges/clothes for 3 minutes on high because they frighten me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2016 08:28AM by Jenna.

Wow Jenna, I was exhausted just reading your routine.
No germs in your kitchen, that is for sure.

I rinse my dish cloth in hot soapy water after I've washed what can't go into the dishwasher and then zapped in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. I have several of those cloths and when I wash towels (always on 60 deg C) I add them to the wash. If I have to wipe up meat juices, I use paper towels rather than a cloth. I use a large plate for cutting up meat/fish and that plate gets washed in the dishwasher. I use a wooden board for cutting vegetables and it gets scrubbed in hot, soapy water after use and then air dried.

I freely admit this is one area I tend toward compulsive behaviour. My kitchen needs to be clean or I feel very unsettled. I don't think I'm OCD toward germs in general though, my boys live in mud and chicken poop is unfortunately a regular visitor to our house. I actively avoid antibacterial soaps for general use. I was taught about the possible "dangers" of sponges way back in high school Hom Ec class, and it stuck in my head. Food safety is possibly disproportionately important to me (meaning that I very likely take things too far, not implying that it isn't important to others), and I recoil at the idea of kitchen cloths that sit on the bench for days on end. In other people's houses though, I fully subscribe to the idea of ignorance being bliss.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2016 12:49PM by Jenna.

I wash my kitchen cloth once a week with the towels, although I don't use it on dishes (we have a dishwasher) and don't cut things on the "naked" bench that's been wiped with it, and we rarely eat meat at home either. I know they say there are more bacteria on a dishcloth than in a toilet, but if that were the case surely we'd all get sick a lot more often.

My routine is almost identical to Jenna's except I use hand knitted cotton dishcloths (courtesy of my dear late mother who kept me in constant supply). I change my dishcloth daily along with the teatowels(s) and handtowel(s) and when a reasonable amount build up, I pre-soak in Sard or similar and wash at 60 degC. (on their own, never with other towels or clothes)

Like others, I don't use a dishcloth to wash dishes, only for wiping down benches and never for mopping up meat or chicken juices and I use a dish brush to wash things that can't go in the dishwasher. That too goes in the dishwasher at intervals, but I find that it has to be replaced quite often as the bristles go flat and lose their mojo.

It has been interesting to read of the various routines and to ponder whether we are in fact a little obsessed with cleanliness to the point where we are causing ourselves other problems.

Regards,

Barbara Anne

For those of you that put their dishcloths in the microwave do you put a cup of water next to it or it goes in alone?I have never done this I put mine in the washing machine, but now I want to try your way.

I just make sure it is fairly wet so there is plenty of water to heat up. Bear in mind that this only sanitises the clothes, they still do need to be washed, either in the washing machine or with hot water and soap in the sink.

Thanks Jenna got it

I used to put them in the microwave, but I can't stand the horrible smell it leaves afterwards. I now just give them a good soak in boiling water each week and dry them in the sun and throw them away frequently.