Chef - Montana
Assistant Cook
Do you every wonder or think about how much you use and depend on your dish cloth? I am lost with out mine and can't function in the kitchen without one. Do you use it all day and save it for the next day, waiting for it to turn sour to signal that is time to send it to the laundry? Do you ever wonder if it could be the cause of "food poisoning" or "just another round of the stomach flu"? That could very well be the case. You wouldn't think of eating food that had been setting on the counter for hours or even days! Food particles that are collected in your dish cloths are living in a warm, humid environment that is perfect for breeding germs, mold and other unhealthy and undesirable creatures. Every time you wipe your counter or table tops, you are spreading those unwanted germs around even more. Changing your dish cloths often during your canning process is also very important.
After thinking about this I decided that a good rule of thumb would be to change "dish cloths" or "dish rags" with every meal if it has had a lot of use. Using a piece of paper towel to clean up milk, eggs, meat and other traces of food that can cause serious problems will help. I like to keep a spray bottle of vinegar or diluted chlorine bleach on hand to spray the counter top, cutting board, or table top during the clean-up process. Vinegar does a great job and won't cause a bleaching problem.
I have had a hard time finding just the right dish cloth that is easy to use and will wring out easily so that you don't leave behind a wet counter or table top. I prefer to use cotton wash cloths - the kind that is intended for facial use or bathing. You can purchase a bundle of inexpensive ones for around 4 - 5 dollars. Usually there are about 12 to a package. These are thinner and will be just the right size. If you get white ones it will be easier to remove the stains without having to worry about fading the colors. For those of you that don't like to use harsh chemicals, vinegar will keep them germ free. I like to soak my cloths in either chlorine bleach or vinegar in a small amount of water in my sink to kill any germs or other undesirables before I launder them. This soaking process will also help to clean your drain plug/sieve. When I pull the plug in the sink I wait for a little while before I run any water to allow the cleaning water to remove the trapped germs and grease in the p-trap in the drain. There is a lot of "Yuck" down there too!
Hope this helps,
Diane,
Chef - Montana
After thinking about this I decided that a good rule of thumb would be to change "dish cloths" or "dish rags" with every meal if it has had a lot of use. Using a piece of paper towel to clean up milk, eggs, meat and other traces of food that can cause serious problems will help. I like to keep a spray bottle of vinegar or diluted chlorine bleach on hand to spray the counter top, cutting board, or table top during the clean-up process. Vinegar does a great job and won't cause a bleaching problem.
I have had a hard time finding just the right dish cloth that is easy to use and will wring out easily so that you don't leave behind a wet counter or table top. I prefer to use cotton wash cloths - the kind that is intended for facial use or bathing. You can purchase a bundle of inexpensive ones for around 4 - 5 dollars. Usually there are about 12 to a package. These are thinner and will be just the right size. If you get white ones it will be easier to remove the stains without having to worry about fading the colors. For those of you that don't like to use harsh chemicals, vinegar will keep them germ free. I like to soak my cloths in either chlorine bleach or vinegar in a small amount of water in my sink to kill any germs or other undesirables before I launder them. This soaking process will also help to clean your drain plug/sieve. When I pull the plug in the sink I wait for a little while before I run any water to allow the cleaning water to remove the trapped germs and grease in the p-trap in the drain. There is a lot of "Yuck" down there too!
Hope this helps,
Diane,
Chef - Montana