Dishcloths

I recently ran out of my usual, synthetic Chux-type dishcloths and was looking for a suitable alternative. The most common suggestions I have come across are knitted dishcloths, recycled sections of old towels or teatowels and/ or natural luffa/ loofah sponges.

My new-found domestic skills do not extend to knitting, so making my own that way was out. Any old tea towels I had have been relegated to cleaning cloths and old towels always go to the doggies first, so that option was out. Luffa sponges would be excellent as an alternative to scourers I think, but I'm not sure that wiping down grubby kitchen counters with them would be terribly successful, I suspect that like sponges, they would leave a wet residue?

Another investigation on some internet sites for organic products revealed organic cotton dishcloths - nice to be sure, but terribly expensive... So in desperation I checked the dishcloth section of my supermarket and actually found, on the bottom shelf hidden at the back, (ordinary) cotton dishcloths. Pack of three for the princely sum of $1.09.

They have been working really well, so I'm quite pleased. They are more durable than the synthetic Chux, but not as thick as an old washer, towel or tea towel so they dry faster: I'm not known for my paranoia about kitchen bacteria, as anyone who has seen my kitchen will attest to, but one of the most common sources of food-poisoning bacteria in the domestic kitchen comes from the good-old dishcloth. This is mainly because the bacteria thrive in a moist environment, so the longer your dishcloth takes to dry, the more the bacteria can proliferate. You can throw the cotton cloths in the washing machine to keep them fresh too, although a great tip I heard was to throw them in the dishwasher. I machine wash in cold water too, and the dishwasher uses a hotter wash temperature so that may help with the bacteria? More likely to get the fatty stains out anyway. Although hanging them out on the clothesline in the sun afterwards is likely to be just as effective as far as reducing bacteria goes.

Anyway, I'll be interested to se how long the three-pack will last me?