I put an Amazon affiliate link in this post. I couldn’t help myself.
I’m all for green cleaning. Really.
Is it bad to admit, though, that my cheapness is more of a motivator than my sense of activism and earthiness?
Oh. It is bad to admit? OK. Then I’m not admitting anything.
I was just asking hypothetically.
One of the biggest draws of disposable cleaning products (wipes and paper towels) is that I can throw germs in the trash and never see them again. (Not that you can see germs, but in my imagination I can.)
Also, on my Bathroom Cleaning Chart for Kids, I make a BIG deal about using a new wipe on different parts of the bathroom. I can’t bear the thought of someone “cleaning” the sink and faucet with a rag that just cleaned the potty.
The potty used by . . . boys.
Ick.
So here’s my new trick.
I used a permanent marker to label the microfiber cleaning cloths
--Nony
Yeah but… how do you clean those cloths? I can’t imagine putting the toilet cleaning cloth in the washing machine with anything else. I really really can’t. Even if I’ve poured boiling water over it first.
Ha! I totally understand! The washing machine is generally available since I have a Laundry Day (which is never the same day I clean bathrooms). That means I can run a mini load on hot. But yes, I’ve had to get over that same fear some too!
If there’s a bad mess – which can and does happen when boys and men use a toilet – I use some bathroom tissue first, then flush it. That way I don’t feel so bad when I have to use a cloth on it. Of course I only use fabric cloths when I run out of Lysol and Clorox wipes. I’m nowhere near as green-minded as I need to be. Someday…
You do wash dirty underwear in your washer, yes?
Perfect 👍
I was wondering about cleaning them too. What do you do with the used cloths until it’s time to wash them so they don’t smell or mold?
Since I have a Laundry Day on Monday, the washing machine is free. I just throw them in the washer right after I use them.
I do something similar, but using different colors. I bought a 3-pack of microfiber cloths that are all different colors. I always use blue for the sinks/counters, green for the toilet, yellow for the tub/shower. This method may not work as well if I were relying on other people to remember which color to use, but I am the only one who cleans the bathrooms at this point (kids too little and haven’t convinced hubby to try!), so it works well for me right now.
Great idea for using the colors.
I am all for green. I am all for saving money, too. I do something different that solves the problem of germs. First, I use a white scrubby pad with a handle to do the bathtub and sink. The one I use lasts at least a year. Then I use Bounty Select A Size and use one half sheet. Those babies are durable and I only need one to complete the job. I spray the mirror and wipe with the paper towel. I then wipe down the vanity counter, sink, and side of tub using a little cleaner if needed. I then move on to the top of the toilet tank and clean that. I then take a really small wad of toilet paper, lift up the lid, and run the toilet paper around the rim and very back to scoop up all the ickiness that happens there, then throw the toilet paper away. I then take my original half sheet of paper towel and wipe down the toilet and sides. I then throw the paper towel in the trash. I then take my toilet brush to clean the bowl. So, to recap, I buy the white scrubby yearly, and then use a half sheet of paper towel once or twice a week, plus a bit of toilet paper. I think that it is cheap and green!
I too take the little wad of toilet paper to clean the toilet before doing the brush! Great minds think alike! ;o)
I like the tp-wad idea for before scrubbing the rim. Because the thought of picking hairs out of a microfiber cleaning cloth makes me gag… 😉
Very clever way to keep the germ separate and organized!
Oh great idea! I need to figure out a better way to clean my apartment shower. It’s all yucky and discolored looking. Sigh.
When its like that green isn’t the way to go until you’ve got it under control. I struggled with mine but what ended up working was gel bleach on mouldy grout and discolouration. I’d do that one week. Then the next week a gel acid based cleaner -the stuff thats says its for soap scum- for the scummy bits. I’d swap products each week until it was sorted. The gels were best because they would stay put sort of so you could leave it on for few minutes. (never ever mix the two cleaners) Now I can use vinegar each week.
At Brownie pack holiday we always have the rhyme “blue for loo, pink for sink” and make sure that we get J cloths in those colours :o) (Kitchen tends to be green (for vegetables) and craft clean-up uses purple cloths)
Hahaha! That’s my rhyme for keeping the right colours too!😊
Something so simple and I bet it helps a ton! I’ve struggled with what I’m willing to reuse and I’ve used sponge’s for the sink and tub and a paper towel for the toilet. I’ve been able to reuse the sponge’s by soaking in vinegar and a few minutes in the microwave. I’m really wondering if I couldn’t follow the same for washcloths…?
I don’t have a specific laundry day because there are nine people…so, there is ALWAYS laundry day. I do use reusable cloths for bathrooms and kitchen and other cleaning needs. There is a basket of about 40 cloths specifically for these purposes. Because there are so many people, I can’t just deep clean the bathroom once a month. I tried that. Awful. there is a wipe down every day and a deep clean every week. Sometimes twice a week. On two bathrooms. So, I keep a bucket of hydrogen peroxide, water, and melaleuca oil on top of the washing machine to keep the icky cloths until I can wash them. Generally, they get washed every two or three days, and the bucket solution gets changed out. Also, we always start in the bathroom with the sink area, then the tub, then the potty, and last the floor. Even though they are supposed to use a separate cloth for each job, I think sometimes they don’t this way I don’t have to worry about (I hope) potty gunk being wiped on the counter top or in the tub…
Scrubbing Bubbles FLUSHABLE wipes changed my life when it came to cleaning the bathroom. I think I loved them even more after my crew suffered a bout of the stomach bug. I just flushed all those germs away. They are pricey, but worth every penny in my opinion. My only complaint is that they are very hard to find in stores. Right now the only place I can buy them locally is my Target. I do have a few reusable rags, but they are for polishing the woodwork on vanity. I use color coding for those and it’s very cheap – I buy the 8pk of colored washcloths at Target for around $3-4 dollars. I also have set for my kitchen that gets more of a work out (I also keep a hamper in my kitchen, but that’s another story) …
We cloth diaper so I not much squimishness with washing a cloth that cleaned the toilet. Especially since the cloth had cleaning agent on it!
That’s good! I like your labeling idea.
As far as washing the rags is concerned, mine don’t accumulate quickly and I don’t like to waste water here in Central Texas. I do need to give my washing machine a good wash once every so often with hot water, full to the max and some Lysol concentrate. (We’re on well water and the washer tends to start stinking from something in the water – I assume.) When I do this, it’s a great opportunity to throw in rags that have accumulated. I hang the rags in places where they can dry till I’m ready to wash them. With the hot water and Lysol concentrate I figure they get pretty clean. But, I’m still only part way on the rag use thing. I use them, but I also use paper for some things.
Older generation before paper towels. Rags were used for everything. Kitchen cloths and towels were sanitized in a bucket of Clorox water. Other rags washed in the last load with work clothes.
Exactly! plus, you always followed one order of doing things
1 sink and counter
2 Tub/shower
3. Toilet – seat first and tank first, then the rest.
When I bought my front load washer a few years ago I insisted it have a sanitary cycle. That was standard like it is now. They have an “onboard” heater so the water is heat above what the average water heater provides. Love it. That along with some bleach and vinegar in the rinse. If that doesn’t kill the germs, I’m convinced they would call out of the trash before I could get the bag closed.
that WASn’T standard…
I love the disposable wipes as well and what we did with them is what I do with our now reusable shop rags(bought at Sam’s). I am the one that cleans the tub as I like to do it from top to bottom all cleared out and do shelves and hardware. The kids have the daily upkeep of the bathroom which is Swish(the toilet with brush), Swipe(the sink and then the toilet–rag goes in bucket for wash), Scoop(the litter boxes),and Sweep(the floor as last thing). Yes I wash the towels all together and no, nothing bad comes of it. I have had cloth diapers in the wash and it’s all good. 🙂 That being said, our bathing towels are washed separately then our cleaning ones but we have been known to mix. I have tea tree oil that goes in every load like this…great disinfectant. We have not had a problem ever.
I thought vinegar and bleach is a no-no to mix in the laundry….?
FYI: The janitor companies I’ve worked for use cotton terry cleaning cloths. And they also wear disposable gloves to save their hands from chemicals…that you can dispose of after cleaning first the public areas and then restrooms. Although two person teams usually decide who will clean the public areas and the other the restrooms.
To use the terry cloths, you fold them in quarters. Start with the cleanest surface first: Mirrors, faucets, sinks outside, underside, inside.
If you scrub the sinks, use a different cloth and it will be only for scrubbing sinks.
Then with the first cloth (you are just wiping down surfaces) move on to stall doors where people touch, toilet paper holder/sanitary trash container.
The cloth by this time has been turned to the other side and also folded in quarters.
As you turn the quarters you eventually leave the last two quarters on that side for the toilet rim and sides. With disinfectant: toilet handle, seat (top then underside) then rim and sides of toilet bowl.
For a multiple toilet restroom, just use one cloth for seats, one per rim/sides….remembering each cloth has eight sides. Starting with the stall doors, toilet paper holder, sanitary receptacle, then toilet handle, seat, bowl rim and outside of bowl.
As disinfectant is used, germs are killed. All used cleaning cloths go into a bucket washed same day with a detergent with bleach. Most used Tide with Bleach. They are white so bleach is not an issue. No fabric softeners are used, ever, unless one is after useless cleaning cloths….streaking, non-absorbent.
I’ve never liked using microfiber cloths for cleaning anything, although I’ve got a collection. Their absorption is nothing like cotton terry.
The microfiber would probably be useful in dusting IF I would remember to spray them first with a dusting spray. I don’t dust often and by that time, a cotton cloth is dampened and wrung nearly dry to pick up the dust instead of moving it around.
I don’t have my own washer so i go to the laundry. How do you think i should clean rags that i use for bathroom cleaning?
I’ve been thinking about starting to use cloth towels or reusable towels for cleaning, I go through tons of paper towels, but the messes I usually clean up are nasty pet messes. Things I don’t want to use a sponge for. Cat vomit, pee, hairballs are the most common. Your site is the closest I’ve found that might be able to answer:
How do you clean that (disgusting & smelly semi-solids) out of your cloth/reusable towels? (I live in the desert, so I don’t want to have to use a ton of water in the process.)
I feel your pain. What I have done is make use of those old t-shirts that are too awful to donate. I cut off the sleeves then cut the body of the shirt into squares. Use them to clean up “nasties” then just throw it in the trash.
I was explaining what a great system it was to my sister. She just couldn’t understand why I “loved” my rag bucket. …. Turned out she was washing them instead of throwing in the trash.
Mmmhm. And a wash on hot in the washing machine should do for the germs. I used to have a hang up about washing, then we cloth diapered our kid. All those went into the wash and came out perfectly clean, so I got over that fear real quick.
I have a ridiculous amount of cleaning cloths, well a lot but they all fit in the container (deep drawer) I have allocated for. I’m not keen on disposable cloths personally but I never use a cloth more than once before it’s washed. I have different colours for different purposes. The new thing I’ve recently heard of is pink for sink, blue for loo and green for clean ( I assume that’s kitchen surfaces) but as I’ve been using blue for the kitchen for 20+ years, I’m sticking with it. I wash my cloths in a 60 degree cycle which is hot enough to kill bacteria, sometimes I boil them up in a metal bowl on the stove. When cleaning I use one cloth to get all dirt off, then using a fresh cloth go over it so I’m not just spreading germs around.
I’m in no way belittling anyone who does things differently, this is what works for me. This is probably the ONLY thing I don’t struggle with in my home x
This is kinda funny, since Hubby and I were just having a talk about trying to keep the bathroom clean. I can’t figure out why no one I know seems to have a problem keeping their toilet dust and hair free around the outside. I can’t figure out what tools they are using to get into all the crevices. And I certainly can’t figure out how people make their faucets shine and not ‘peel’.
I use a paper towel and a spray cleaner (bubbles one works best for me) to do the toilet seat and where it rests on the bowl. I clean the sink and faucet with an old washcloth, then do the tank and outside of the toilet bowl with it before it heads to the washing machine. I use a separate old washcloth for the shower/tub and start over with the powder room toilet and sink and the lower-level bath in the basement. The used washcloths get washed with others I’ve used as dust cloths as a small load on hot with a good splash of bleach in with them. They come out clean, smelling of bleach.
And to Susan above, I never can keep the dust and hair off the toilet! And it is icky, too. I typically have a couple of used paper towels during the day as before I empty the dishwasher I wash my hands, of course, then dry with a paper towel, which I then take into one of the baths to wipe away the dust and hair. It’s typically stuck to the toilet with hairspray and the “pouf” stuff I use to give my flimsy hair volume…..but that’s a whole nother story! Lol!
I love your idea, and I do the same thing. What I do, is get the bulk package of white cheap washcloths from Walmart or Costco. They are our “rags”. The reason I use white, is that we have an extra little bin by the washer and when I get a small load, I throw them alone in the washer with a good dose of clorox to kill the germs. It’s worked for us!
paper towels and toilet papers use tree pulp to be made…so essentially you are cutting down a tree to clean your toilet…trees help give you oxygen to breath and help cool the earth. Using a reusable cloth is the only way to be climate and cost smart.
This is the life cycle of a microfiber cloth in a really cheap big stack of 25 from Amazon: A new microfiber cloth is used to remove makeup, etc. When it isn’t good for that any more, it graduates to being a dishrag, and after that it becomes a general cleanup rag for the kitchen. After that, I use it to clean the bathroom sink and shower. Then at the end of its days, it’s used to clean the toilet. It goes from there into the trash.