washcloths instead of paper towels

[mezzona]

I will attempt the switch from paper towels to washcloths. I barely have enough washcloths to last us the week, so I'll probably have to buy some. The ones I already have are the cheap, basic ones from BedBathBeyond and the threads are hanging all over the place.

1) Does anyone have suggestions on washcloths that can stand all the washing that it'll inevitably go through?

2) What's a good color to get? I originally got white with the intention to bleach, but have since abandoned clorox.

3) Has anyone had success with non-toxic whiteners like hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice, etc in their laundry?

TIA!

[egoldber]

For wiping up spills, I use old towels or dishcloths ripped into smaller sections. I have a large-ish bag of these. These were not high quality items, many are leftover from my college days which were *ack* 15+ years ago???

For wiping faces and hands, I use some velour washcloths that I originally had as cloth wipes when I was using cloth diapers. I have a lot of those, about 3 dozen, and that number works well for me since I use several a day.

I don't use whiteners in my laundry.

[kimbe]

Not sure if this is waht you are looking for but, we use these http://www.amazon.com/Handi-Wipes-Double-6-Count-Packages/dp/B000EIFS3C

I get a big old package from Lowe's for about $5. I use one for one "washing", let it dry and then it goes into the laundry. When I've got enough for a load I throw them all in. (Hot water and vinegar.)

After washing, the get a little smaller, but they work just as well. After awhile, they do start to get ragged and when they get too bad or if they get holey, I throw them away.

I like them because they are cheap enough that I can use several a day and they dry fast so I don't have yucky wet rags laying around all the time.

HTH

[C99]

I started doing this about 18M ago. I use a mixture of cut-up washcloths that my mom bought for me to use as cloth wipes when I had DS1 and IKEA baby washcloths that you can buy in a big pack for about $5. I fold them in quarters and stack them up on the counter next to the paper towel roll. I now go through a roll of paper towels about once/month or every 6 weeks -- I even got DH to reach for the little towels instead of paper towels, a major coup! All of mine are stained, but I don't particularly care that they are no longer white. I know they are clean as I wash them on hot.

[elliput]

Bar mops. You can pick up a pack of 24 towels for less than $10 at Sam's Club. Costco might have them also, never checked as I already have plenty. The towels are generally white, sometimes with a colored stripe.

[Jenny_A]

I love the terry cloth washcloths from Publix. They are usually on the endcap by the isle with the cleaning products. They come in packs of 5, I think. I usually buy solid yellow, but my kitchen is yellow. Any color would work. They wash really really well. I have about 25 of them and wash what I've used every other day. I love using wash cloths rather than paper towels.

Jenny

[supercalifragilous]

I use the microfiber wipes in the car accessories section @ Costco or Sam's. Costco's are bright yellow and Sam's were blue (also found @ WM). Since they're ultra absorbent (I used to use them to stuff cloth dipes before I found out about hemp), they're perfect for kitchen spills.

If you're looking for something smaller, you could try the bar mops - @ Costco/Sam's, they come packaged with a bunch. They also have 12-packs of bathroom washcloths, usually in white (I saw blue @ Sam's), but I don't know their quality.

Another fave "wipe" at my house is laundered Costco "cloth" diaper wipes. They come out really soft and are perfect for disposable tissues, paper towels, dusters, etc. You could launder them up to 2x and then they get kinda thin.

As for washing, now that DD is PT'd, I use hot water and vinegar, OxiClean, or MelaBrite to brighten the towels.

[pastrygirl]

For wiping faces and hands, I use some velour washcloths that I originally had as cloth wipes when I was using cloth diapers. I have a lot of those, about 3 dozen, and that number works well for me since I use several a day.
That's what I do, too, though mine aren't velour. I have a ton of them, maybe 100. I have about half of them in rotation now, and when/if they get too grungy, I'll bring out the other half. They were very cheap when I bought them. I think they are the Kissaluvs brand and I bought them when they had their seconds sale.

[hillview]

I just got a large pack of washcloths from Costco (white) and they are great. Got them about 2 weeks ago and it is cutting down a lot on papertowel use. I haven't bleached them and a few are a little stained but I don't really care as they are for mop up etc.

Good luck!
/hillary

[lizajane]

we use microfiber towels, as PP mentioned, from the car wash section. they hold up a lot better than terry and they don't fray. they clean windows REALLY well, too!!! i use them for every cleaning need.

i only launder them about one/day or every other day. if i cleaned up raw chicken, it goes STRAIGHT into the laundry. if i just used it to wipe up crumbs/food spills, i rinse and reuse the next day. i never go more than 2 days because of bacteria.

we use cloth napkins for meals, so they can also be wet for cleaning sticky kiddo faces.

and we use washcloths for people, of course! i have tons of baby washcloths from showers and i just kept them all so i can use one per kid per bath.

i do not notice any extra laundry, as they fit just fine in a regular load that i would do anyway. so i am not using extra water to wash them.