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Keeping Dish Cloths Clean
The question was asked about how to keep knitted dishcloths clean and fresh, rather than musty and stinky. Well I think I'm qualified to answer this question, you all know that I absolutely love my 100% cotton knitted dishcloths and have been knitting and using them for well over 20 years. So here's how I do it.
1. A clean dishcloth every morning (and a clean tea towel too). It's simple to have 7 dishcloths and 7 tea towels in the drawer to use. It means if I use more than one in a day, I don't need to stress about getting them laundered or about having to use dirty dishcloths and tea towels.
And this will make you laugh I'm sure. When Hannah bought her house, I knitted her 7 dishcloths and made her 4 hanging hand towels. Well she loves her dishcloths, and her hand towels, but she's decided she needs 52 hand towels - one for every week of the year! I'll crochet them for her but she'll have to buy the tea towels and cotton. And it made me think of Diana in Anne of Avonlea, when she was getting married and counting her doyleys and just had to have at least 37 doilies because Myra Gillis had 37 and she simply couldn't have less.
2. Rinse and wring it out after using it. I then hang it over the centre of the sink where it dries.
3. Wash them with a regular load, and hang in the sunshine to dry.
4. If they start to look dingy, I wet them, rub them with Stain Removing Soap and soak overnight in a bucket of hot water, then wash and dry as usual.
My dishcloths never smell or get musty. Simple hygiene practices are all that is needed.
Follow these steps whether you use knitted or crocheted dishcloths, sponges, towelling dish cloths or even rags and your dishcloths will always be clean and fresh, and they'll last a lot longer too.
1. A clean dishcloth every morning (and a clean tea towel too). It's simple to have 7 dishcloths and 7 tea towels in the drawer to use. It means if I use more than one in a day, I don't need to stress about getting them laundered or about having to use dirty dishcloths and tea towels.
And this will make you laugh I'm sure. When Hannah bought her house, I knitted her 7 dishcloths and made her 4 hanging hand towels. Well she loves her dishcloths, and her hand towels, but she's decided she needs 52 hand towels - one for every week of the year! I'll crochet them for her but she'll have to buy the tea towels and cotton. And it made me think of Diana in Anne of Avonlea, when she was getting married and counting her doyleys and just had to have at least 37 doilies because Myra Gillis had 37 and she simply couldn't have less.
2. Rinse and wring it out after using it. I then hang it over the centre of the sink where it dries.
3. Wash them with a regular load, and hang in the sunshine to dry.
4. If they start to look dingy, I wet them, rub them with Stain Removing Soap and soak overnight in a bucket of hot water, then wash and dry as usual.
My dishcloths never smell or get musty. Simple hygiene practices are all that is needed.
Follow these steps whether you use knitted or crocheted dishcloths, sponges, towelling dish cloths or even rags and your dishcloths will always be clean and fresh, and they'll last a lot longer too.