dishrags

[bee_pipes]

One thing about well water, you don't have the chlorine in tapwater like you'd find living in town. I noticed dishrags seem to go sour a lot faster than when we lived in town.

Has anybody got a way of dealing with this? I try to keep them dry or hanging where they can dry out, but it seems like if they stay wet very long, they get mighty sour. We try to avoid using chlorine bleach as much as possible.

Regards,
Pat

[Lake_Lady]

I like sponges..........I know, I've heard it all before, but I like 'em. What I do is put them in the microwave and nuke them for about 30 seconds to kill any bacteria. I don't know if this helps with dish rags, but it works on sponges.

[Shamrock1121]

I knit my dish rags out of 100% cotton yarn and we use one per day. *After each meal I use a mixture in a spritz bottle of water and Grapefruit Seed Extract (or 1 t. bleach to 1 quart water will also work) to clean with. *I use this to sanitize the work surfaces, table, refrigerator/freezer handles, etc. *The GSE (or bleach) water will kill bacteria on the surfaces as well as on the dish rag. *I hang the dish rag to air-dry between meals. *At the end of the day, we hang the two towels (one for hands and one for dish drying) and the dish rag on a drying rack in the laundry room to completely dry before they are tossed in the kitchen towel/dish rag basket. *

You could just spritz your dish rag with bleach water and ring it out to air dry between use and that will take care of the sour smell - which is from bacteria (FYI).

Another possibility. *"Stinky towels/dish rags" seems to be a problem associated with front load washing machines.

-Karen *

[rockymtngirl]

What about rinsing in a little baking soda/water? I find baking soda to be a good cleanser/deoderizer for my sink areas, etc...

[bookwormom]

Another possibility. *"Stinky towels/dish rags" seems to be a problem associated with front load washing machines.

huh????? that is news to me. *I have had a front loader for thirty years.

Marilla made Annn of Green Gables rinse it with hot water, that is what I do, then I hang it on the porch banister or on the stove handle to dry. *If I forget, well you know. and I change my dishrags very often. I have a stack of them. I like to use cut up old towels best of all. *imo they work best. *over the years I have tried all kinds of them.
oh, and cut up old towels don't cost anything ;)

[mom]

rinsing in vinegar will also get rid of the smell. But I am like Karen in that we use them only for 1 day - sometimes more than 1 a day. I buy huge packets of washcloths when they are on sale at WW so they are cheap and plentiful.

[Katrina-Sisu]

I second the vinegar. MIL had let a dishrag mold and it was so stinky. I dumped a ton of vinegar on and whala! it was good as new.

Kat

[MIKENSUE]

My mother's solution was to rinse them out with COLD water as soon as you are done and drape them over the center bar. Seems to work for me. (Old habits die hard)
I also agree with using one for only a day, during canning season it may be more than one. Mom always insisted on a clean dishrag to wipe the rims of the jar before the lid was put on. I too buy wash cloths at WW when they are cheap, and even use the ends of old towels that I hem up. Also, I never use fabric softener in dish towels or rags, and since we do not have a dryer, everything is line dried.
Hope this helps.