Would a microfiber dishcloth release stains better?

To women, a well kept dishcloth = we are good housekeepers. To men, the rattier the shopcloth, the harder they're working. Problem is that to men, a dish cloth is same as shop cloth. Since you have lived in bliss for 35 years, I'd just buy a ton of dish cloths and replace them as soon as they don't look acceptable to you.

Rita -I'm not sure, good question. Hoping others will weigh in. Bossyvossy, I like your spirit, 'Continue to live in bliss, and "replace them as soon as they don't look acceptable to you," but I'd have to replace it every five minutes. I guess ideally I'm looking for something that won't look as offensive as the current ones do constantly. By evening, the unrinsed breakfast stains, upon which the unrinsed lunch stains now sit, plus the food crap from dinner prep makes for a ghastly dishcloth! So I get a fresh dishcloth (albeit marked with old (sigh) stains) out for dinner cleanup and begin again. Just to add to the fun, the old stains, once wet, take on a lovely, deep contrast to their surroundings.

If there is a cloth that would release stains more readily, perhaps the breakfast stains would wash away at lunch time?

Maybe a little container, about the size of a cottage cheese container, kept in the sink with solution (weak bleach solution) in it, and see if he will just drop the cloth in there when done wiping?

I buy 100% cotton woven or crocheted dishcloths from Etsy. I use a clean one each time I clean something up, so go through lots of them. I wash with the whites, hot water and bleach and have no problems with stains. Maybe you are using some with poly in the blend?

Buy or make black ones.

Bestyears: I hear ya! DH has been working from home a lot more these past few years, which means he's in the kitchen more often, too. :) I thank him for his attempts to clean, but ask that he just please leave kitchen upkeep up to me. It's been a peaceful arrangement, and the dishcloths stay clean (enough for my picky taste!).

I have a small supply of cheapy washcloths (pastels) that are thin enough to dry fairly quickly, yet thick enough to get the job done.

My favorite soak is Oxyclean, but sometimes the stains are just too set. But if you can soak them for more than 24 hours, then wash in Persil, it does a dang good job.

I was going to suggest black also.

Either buy several dozen neutral that you don't feel badly about throwing away, or do what I've done....teach the man that's what paper towels are made for. We buy them in bulk at Costco, he may as well use some. He doesn't need cloth for every single chore just because that's what his dad did ;0)

Hmmm.... okay, thanks for all suggestions. I like the idea of a black dishcloth! I think I'll do dark brown though, as that works better with our kitchen.

Regarding some of the other ideas -all of which I appreciate-

I .will definitely be sure the dark brown ones I buy are 100% cotton; hadn't thought about poly not releasing stains in the washing machine.

I've used Persil, and have been please with it, but it hasn't taken the stains out of the cloths that can't be bleached. I'll try adding the Oxyclean soak first -I'd forgotten how well Oxyclean has done for me on other things.

The bleach in a little container in corner of sink is genius if I decide to stick with white. I'm a little concerned because bleach can give me headaches, but in a mild enough solution, it might be okay.

I can't ask him to leave kitchen cleanup to me, because I'm at work all day, and I would then come home to dirty counters, island top, etc. That would probably be even worse, LOL!

We are conservationists, so wouldn't be comfortable using paper towels every day.

I'm off to find some dark brown dishcloths, or cheap, thin washcloths. Thanks everyone!

I was just thinking -this is what I love about this site. How can it not have occurred to me that darker dishcloths would probably go a long way to solving my dilemma? Yet it never did!

The dark dish rags may still get grungy but now you won't see the grunge. I think I'd like to see stains so easier to tell when to wash or replace

Check out Lunatec dishcloths on Amazon. I just gave up the sponge a month or two ago and ordered these. They are rough so good for scouring, rinse out easily, and dry quickly. Mine haven't stained yet. They have a loop so I hang it from the faucet handle when not in use. It's the first one I've used probably since leaving home in the 70's where my mom used the old standard kind used back then. I almost bought some from Crate and Barrel, but had already bought these and decided to use these for awhile first. They're not your typical cloth fabric and that may take getting used to, but I think because they are not cloth they don't hold odors.

bossyvossy, I toss them in the laundry room and replace every day.

Joaniepoanie, off to look at those, thanks! -edited to update: thank you! That's what I was looking for when I posted this inquiry. Sound like a possible solution to the problem! Will evaluate more fully in the morning.

Here's an alternative for cleaning food off dishes. I use countertop helper and a paper towel to clean counters. antibacterial alternative

yayagirl, thank you, I gave one of those to my daughter last year. She's in college, and was sharing an apt. with five girls. Many of them would never rinse the sponge out, and so it always stunk. This was a fabulous solution. But as you mention, you can't really clean countertops with it. For our purposes, I'm hoping to go with a solution that will cover everything.

We use a sponge and a dishcloth...sponge for washing dishes, dishcloth for wiping counters.

I got a large pack of "wash cloths" from walmart for cheap and they are great dishcloths and they are dark colored so the ketchup or blueberry or whatever stains don't show.

As far as getting DH to put the cloth to dry, maybe look into one of these: https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=dishcloth+holder

The Lunatec Cloth appears to be made of the same material that those Japanese wash clothes are made of (Salux Nylon is the name). You can now buy generic ones everywhere even Dollar Tree has their version. You could go buy one at Dollar tree and cut it into smaller pieces that are washcloth size. That way if it's not what you are wanting, you wouldn't be out a whole lot of money. These will not be absorbent at all but they are slightly abrasive to be used for exfoliating the skin. I'm going to use the one I have for the kitchen and see if I like it...I honestly never once thought to use them for the kitchen! :O

I've always used a dish brush to wash dishes. I like to keep my hands out if the water and gunk. ☺️

Joaniepoanie and arkansas girl, thanks so much for the info on the Lunatec cloths and the Japanese Salux Nylon cloths. I put a package in my cart at Amazon, but before ordering will go to Dollar Tree and look at the Japanese cloths.

They will be called just exfoliating wash cloths or something like that. They also usually have them at TJ Maxx and of course, Target and Walmart.

They will look something like this:

Salux type cloth

The Salux is the name brand type that everyone is now copying.

So the Lunatec and the Salux type cloths seem very interesting. I'm torn between that and thin, dark brown washcloths. If I found a darker colored Lunatec or Salux cloth, that would be the ideal I think.

Thanks all so much!

Oh my! I know what those are; my granddaughters use them for exfoliating their faces. Believe they got them at WalMart. It is nice to know what I am looking for. Again, thanks.

Those exfoliating cloths are really great for bathing with. They help if you have those tiny little bumps on your thighs or upper arm or where ever you may get them. They come long so that you can use them to wash your back. I have a niece that swears by them, she cuts hers into smaller pieces. She had those bumps all over her upper arm and the dermatologist couldn't even help but that cloth completely eliminated them.

Do the exfoliating cloths actually absorb water? They look like they might not, which wouldn't be ideal for cleaning counters, but if they do, that scrubby feature would be great.

I do not believe the exfoliating cloth would be absorbent at all. I think they are great for washing dishes or cleaning the stove top. Let me just add that I am not 100% sure that the cloth mentioned called the "Lunatec" cloth from Amazon is of the exact fabric as the exfoliating cloths sold for bathing but they appear to be the same sort of fabric by looking at the photo on Amazon. I have been using a piece of a Japanese Bath Cloth today for washing dishes and I will say that it's doing a great job. Oh and stains don't seem to stick to the fabric either.

Olychick, if you go to Amazon and look up those Lunatec sponges, check out the 1 star ratings and most are griping that they are not for wiping counters or tables because they are just scratchy, not absorbent. They say they are OK for washing dishes, pots and pans.

Am I the only one who uses a brush for washing dishes? To me, it's the most hygienic thing that I can use. I always rinse it very well after use, and run it through the dishwasher several times a week.

Terriks, we always use a brush on dishes -in fact, I just realized that I've had the same Pampered Chef brush (this one) for about twenty years, and it is in incredibly like-new condition -perhaps because we frequently run it through the dishwasher. I bought it because it had a lifetime guarantee, so even though it was crazy expensive for a dish brush, I think we've gotten our money's worth! The stains on the dish cloths are coming from wiping the counters and island. We do all food prep on the island, so stains could be anything from tomato juice and seeds to a smear of peanut butter or mustard. Our coffee machine is on a counter, and there always seems to be coffee grounds and/or coffee brew needing to be wiped up there.

There was a recent thread about dishcloths on this forum. I have linked it here.

I have used dishcloths for ever. If one gets too grotty, I toss it but they have disintegrated before I got to this point. I don't use the same dishcloth over and over. I use about 4 dishcloths a day and they are washed with re-usable kitchen towels.

Good luck!

Go to Amazon and search for "Worlds best dishcloths-set of 12-assorted colors". (They also have them in non-assorted colors)They should be under $20. for a dozen. I got my first one of these as a gift. I would never have bought these if I went by looks as they don't look like a quality dish cloth, but I do love them. I probably have two dozen and they don't seem to stain that easily and they aren't that expensive if I have to replace.

Terriks, another one here who always uses a brush for washing dishes. And after reading the great ideas here, I'm putting dark brown cheapie washcloths on my Walmart shopping list for counter clean ups,