stinky kitchen rags - how to de-stink?

[kerc]

we use cloth dishrags (as I think most people in america do ) thing is that we have a bad habit of washign the dishes and then leaving the rag in a balled up mess in the bottom of the sink. It doesn't dry and then ends up stinky.

we throw it in the wash, on warm, with a normal towels load and then dry. Next time we go to use it, we wet it and the stink is still there.

I've tried sunning it out, like I do for dipes.
Any other ideas?

[Brisen]

I have the same problem. I have found that having more dishcloths helps, so I can do a load of kitchen linen on its own. (We go through a lot of kitchen towels too, cleaning up spills.) I wash them on hot with oxygen bleach, and then vinegar in the rinse. I'm sure baking soda would help, too.

[sleepypeanutsmom]

We have had this same problem, even with our bathroom washcloths (just used for washing faces) because they are wet and sit in the laundry basket for a few days. What I do is soak them for about an hour with hot water in the washer with baking soda, white vinegar and detergent. Then wash as normal.

My washer has a "soak" setting which begins with a little agitation. I just put it on that and then change to "normal wash" after the soaking. My old washer didn't have this setting so I would just run a "normal wash", let the water fill, let it agitate for a few minutes and then open the lid and let soak. After the hour was up, just close the lid and it will finish. I think the agitation is important to get baking soda and vinegar distributed.

Hope this helps!

~Christy

[Clarity]

washing with hot would certainly be the first step...don't be afraid of hot water...it really helps. Whites, towels, underwear all a great use of hot water washing.

[Soontobe3]

longest wash cycle

hot water


vinegar in the rinse cycle ( I use my 'Downy' ball for it )

[Brisen]

I have a question about mixing bs and vinegar -- I've seen it recommended other places too, like making a bs/vinegar paste for cleaning. Don't they react and just leave water and whichever of the two you put in more of?

[kerc]

i had tried hot hot hot water (as in turned up the HW heater hot).
still funky.

I finally (after trying the above suggestions) broke down and put some commercial oxygen bleach in there. I think I'll take the suggestions of getting enough kitchen linens to last a week and then every now and again throw the bleach in there. I hate using laundry additives - not only am I bad at remembering to do so, but it isn't that hot for the environment or probably me. But then again, it isn't so hot for me to have funky kitchen towels...ah compromising.

[sleepypeanutsmom]

Hi again~
Another thing I am wondering is if your towels have detergent build up? Sometimes this will cause them to stink. This happens to my dd's cloth diapers and we have to strip them. The thing that worked for us is a laundry additive called RLR. The two places I have found it at are Linens & Things and Wal-mart. This is a powder and you use it to soak the towels.

After I had to use it a few times I realized that I was using too much detergent in the first place. Now I use a lot less detergent in each washing and use a vinegar in the rinse to remove any detergent residue. I have only had to strip her diapers once in the last 9 months. I have attributed this to using less detergent.

Hope this helps!
~Christy

[pilesoflaundry]

I have found the only way to really keep the stink from coming back is to make sure you rinse the cloth out and hang it to dry over the sink in between uses or get a clean one for each time you do dishes. It's being left wet and probably with food particles or soap buildup that makes it stink. I don't like them hanging all over the sink if I'm done using them so I hang them over a towel rack in the bathroom or over the lid of the washer. I just leave the lid up and drape them over. When they are dry they go in the hamper. Leaving them damp in a hamper makes them funky also.

[Brisen]

I also recently bought a PVA cloth, it seems to get less stinky. I like it better than a regular cotton cloth for washing dishes, but it's turned a really ugly grey as I've washed it (in the washing machine). They dry out more quickly than cotton.

[Linda in OZ]

I soak in vinegar too. great stuff. As for the mixing of bi-carb and vinegar, I haven't used it as a paste, but I will put bicarb in the drain holes and pour vinegar in, as it reacts it cleans the gunk out of the drains, follow up with hot water to flush through. I have used bi-carb followed by vinegar, shaken well and water added in the final wash, but I was left with a build up. I usually make a paste out of bicarb with water, teeny amount and it does a great job cleaning baths etc. also while full of helpful hints, vinegar straight on a cloth will clean up fatty build up on benches.

[SoHappy]

You can wring out and then microwave your dish rag for about 20 seconds to kill the grossness that causes the stench. But wait a few minutes before you remove it from the microwave, the steam can burn you!