How To Keep Your Dishcloth Stink & Stain Free
How to Keep Your Dish Cloth Stink & Stain Free, and I am not referring to washing it constantly. There is an easy and quick fix for this simple kitchen problem.
Do you like to buy dish cloths and dish towels to match your kitchen colors and theme? Yeah, me too, so I want them to stay clean and looking nice as long as possible!
The kitchen has always been the heart of the home. It is a place where family and friends gather, meals are shared, and memories are made. That’s why we want it to look clean, feel inviting, and smell fresh whenever guests arrive. Of course, cooking and cleaning go hand in hand. Just as a trusty spatula is essential for preparing a delicious meal, the right kitchen cloths and towels are indispensable for keeping everything fresh, tidy, and ready for the next gathering.
After a recent family gathering, there were lots of dirty dishes to clean up afterwards. We piled the pots and pans in the sink and enjoyed coffee and conversation while they soaked!
It was a big mess to be sure, but I had plenty of help cleaning up, which is wonderful, isn’t it? I remember that time my dishwasher quit working on Christmas Eve with more than a dozen folks coming to my home! You guessed it, we had to remove all those dirty dishes from the dishwasher and wash them all by hand.
HOW TO AVOID STAINING YOUR DISH CLOTH
Always rinse all food and food debris from pots, pans, and dishes before adding them to your dish water. Why? Because you will have food-stained water, which will stain your dishcloth. It also follows the theory that you can’t clean dishes in dirty water.
First, scrape any large debris into the trash can. Then proceed to the sink.
Let’s say you fried some bacon in a skillet. You probably made something delicious with bacon in it! BUT, don’t stick your nice clean dishcloth in that skillet until you have wiped all the debris out first. Use a paper towel. I like to squeeze a drop or two of dish detergent into the skillet, followed by warm water, and let it soak for a few minutes. Then I rinse it well before washing it.
The point is to not have any of the meat renderings still in the skillet when you begin to wash.
Kitchen Tip: When disposing of smelly leftover food, scrape it all into small trash bags. I use grocery bags for this. Tie the top and place into your freezer until trash day. It won’t stink up your trash can while waiting for trash day.
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NEVER DRY YOUR DISH CLOTH ON THE SINK DIVIDER
Laying a wet dishcloth across the sink divider to dry causes mildew because it takes far too long to dry. If you don’t wish to hang your dishcloth across the faucet while it dries, take it to the laundry room and hang it on the side of a laundry basket as shown below.
Prevent mildew and its smell by allowing air to circulate through the dish cloth while it’s drying. The new Scotch-Brite Scrubbing dish cloths have a fast drying time and are machine washable.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR DISH CLOTH STINK & STAIN FREE
Mildew forms quickly on anything wet. Do these things to take good care of your kitchen cloths:
- After you finish using your dish cloth, rinse it thoroughly to remove all soap suds and any debris stuck to it.
- Then hang it to dry in a manner that will allow air to circulate through it during drying time.
- Never put your dishcloth into stained dish water.
Those simple tips will help your dishcloth live a long and happy life and keep you from being embarrassed about having stained and stinky dishcloths.
More Homemaking Tips and Tricks
- How to Take the Drudgery Out of Spring Cleaning
- Best Bathroom Cleaners Used by This Cleaning Lady
- The Best Mop and Bucket Combo
- Kitchen Detail Cleaning Checklist & 12 Things in the Kitchen You Can Put in the Dishwasher
- How To Set Up A Speed Cleaning Kit
These are great tips. I stopped suing dish cloths because of the smell & the stains. I’ll have to try these.
The cheesecake recipe looks delicious, I will definitely try it! And you’re right about the cloths too, they need to be properly ventilated while drying, otherwise it starts smelling very fast. Once we went on a vacation, and I forgot the cloth curled up near the sink, because we were in a hurry. When we came back after two weeks, the whole kitchen smelled horribly. It took us a lot of time to find out where that smell came from. It was the cloth. Never making that mistake again.
My mom and I have a difficult time with this problem. I hang her wash cloth over the drain board where it can get air flow. She thinks it’s good to put my sponge in s plastic cup with no air flow. It’s a constant battle.
Thanks for the tip about those Scotch dish cloths. I like nice ones. Hate when any stink and it never seems to come out.
Shirley,
That cheese cake is to die for!! Thanks so muchf or stopping by!
Hugs,
Deb
This Lemon Cheesecake recipe sound and looks amazing. I will have to make it for sure. Scotch Rite Scrubbing Cloths are great for washing a dish. Thanks for sharing this cloth idea and the recipe.
I always nuke my sponges. And that cheesecake looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at #WonderfulWednesday!
That cheesecake looks incredible! Keeping my sink clean is important to me. I will be trying these tips!
I’m not a cheesecake lover, but my family really loves them. I struggle with keeping my dish cloth from stinking so I will be using these tips.
I never made lemon cheesecake. It looks so good. It’s so true keeping the dishcloth in between the sink gets germs. Keeping it dry does help avoid the germs. It’s easy to forget remove the dishcloth. It’s a useful tip.
So you’re sending leftovers to me, right? I love cheesecake but never plan ahead well enough to make it.
I love me some cheesecake. I have never tried a lemon one that I am aware of, but it sounds so good. I am going to try it soon!
This recipe looks so good! I always have left my dish rag lying on the sink. I will now know what to do to keep it smelling better!
This is great! This cheesecake recipe looks really yummy. I want to make this asap.
I use dish cloth in washing our dishes as well and I afree, it should be hung where there’s free air circulation. I sometimes forget and put it in between the sinks though.
I love cheesecake, making them and eating them! This looks so pretty. There is nothing I hate more than stale, stinky towels and wash rags. Thanks for the great tips.
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
great to know about the dish cloth– I have thrown out so many-too many to count-I’m going to have to buy one of these to try it out. thanks for the heads up on it!
Oh that cheesecake sounds way too good right now. I need to pick up some of those cloths. I didn’t know they were machine washable!
What a great way to keep the sink stain free, seems simple enough. I appreciate the recipe too!
Oh my gosh! That looks SO good! I am not even a cheesecake fan, but this looks too good not to try!
Lemon cheesecake sounds like a delicious dessert. My husband is a huge cheesecake fan- he would love to try this. We love these dish cloths- they’re perfect for kitchen messes!
Yay. Two tips in one post. Thanks for the cheese cake recipe. I’ll be looking for these fast drying cloths. I really don’t like it when they are still wet the next time I go to grab it. Out comes a new one and then it’s more laundry
You are a woman after my own heart Mary! It doesn’t have to be that way if we just dry them properly. I love my new Scotch-Brite scrubbing dish cloths! I’m going back for more!
I am a sucker for cheesecake. Lemon cheesecake sounds pretty good. I might have to make this soon.
That lemon cheesecake sounds delicious! #client
Oh, how we love cheesecake over here. I don’t think I have ever eaten a lemon flavored one but I can almost taste the goodness. Dishcloths can get very messy. I usually just throw mine in the wash to clean it off – thank you for the tips.
Stacy’s new Lemon Cheesecake recipe is a winner! I’m looking forward to the next time he makes it already.
I toss my dish cloths in the laundry as well. I wouldn’t even buy one that isn’t machine washable.
I am so guilty of drying my dish cloths like that, definitely changing that now.
I am loving the lemon cheesecake, I always get heartburn from cheesecakes but I never stop eating them lol
Anosa, we’ve all done it at some point but it’s the reason they don’t get dry and they do grow mildew.
Oops – Sometimes I lay my dishcloth across the sink divider. No wonder I’m constantly getting clean dishcloths out of the drawer all day long. Thanks for the tip AND the lemon cheesecake recipe. I know my family would love it if I made it for our next family meal.
Stacy used to lay the dishcloth across the divider too but he now dries them properly. He sure created a yummy lemon cheesecake recipe!