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Sanctimonious Dishcloth Rant

In a move that apparently makes me horrifically old-fashioned (if any of my peers are indications), I admit to being quite attached to cleaning my counters with actual dishcloths.  If I spill something that is a bigger job than a cloth can handle, I grab an old tea towel and soak it up. Everything tosses into the washer. To me, this makes perfect sense.

For whatever reason, it seems like most people I know use some version of a freakin' babywipe to sweep down their counters. And god forbid a glass of wine upends on the counter or kitchen floor...out come the paper towels - a whole roll in the service of mopping up something that could just as easily have been sucked into washable, reusable towel.

When did we become such creepy germophobes?  Has anyone ever seen any studies that show that moms who use bleach-infused wipes have kids with fewer bouts of sickness than those who use a dishcloth - maybe even a cloth that is a day past its prime and might need to head to the laundry?  (This isn't rhetorical - if you know of a study, let me know...I've never found one.) Is it really more convenient to go to the store to buy a plastic package of countertop-babywipes, find said wipes under the sink, rip out seven or eight, use them to clean, and then recycle the plastic package when they are all out, than it is to wash and fold a few cloths and towels? 

Really?

-Heather...off to stop feeling sanctimonious, but still puzzled...
Posted by: tmeronek on 09/28/2007
related tip
Yep. Next time your kitchen counter's wet, reach for a cloth instead of a paper towel. You'll save a lotta paper - including the small, green kind that fits in your wallet.
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Jaye  on September 28, 2007 at 05:22 AM 1
My husband is always nagging about we need more dish towels and to stop using paper all the time. He even cuts the napkins in 1/2 - something he learned from his mom! He said it I did not listen Ideal Bite writes it - I think I will try it. Thanks for the tip!!
Kassy  on September 28, 2007 at 06:25 AM 2
I try to use the rags, but when I do use a paper towel, I reach for the brown seventh generation roll...however, if any of you at ideal bite carry weight with the company...please request smaller size sheets...I loved the select a size paper towels by the non eco-friendly people and wish Seventh Generation would come out with them too...in the meantime, I too often tear them in half.
Brian  on September 28, 2007 at 06:26 AM 3
I fully agree with the tea towel, and on those occasions when you do need to use a paper towel, the compost or the worm bin is the place for it not the trash.
Lilith Shiva  on September 28, 2007 at 06:29 AM 4
I agree that we should use "reusable" anything, but I wonder if the water, soap and energy used is more or less part of the environmental problem. One would need to use a lot of rags to wipe up the same ount of spills or cleaning that a roll of paper towels would cover. My guess is that one roll of paper towel use would equal at least one or two loads of wash. Anyone know?
Brandi  on September 28, 2007 at 06:39 AM 5
In addition to using cloth dishcloths and towels, I also use cloth napkins at mealtime. Usually a pair of napkins will last a few days for me and my husband (assuming we're not too klutzy), and they go in the wash with the rest of the towels. I've also become a fan of the chamois-like cloths for soaking up spills - they work really well and stand up to frequent washing pretty well. End result... I used to use a roll of paper towels in 1-2 weeks... now a roll lasts me nearly 2 months, so I don't mind paying extra for the enviro-friendly paper towels. I don't have hard numbers in front of me, but I'm pretty certain that washing cloth towels takes less water than making a roll of paper towels. My father-in-law works in the paper industry and has remarked repeatedly about how much water goes into making paper of any sort.
Katie  on September 28, 2007 at 06:57 AM 6
Thanks for a great tip! At work, friends, and at families' homes, I have witnessed incredible amounts of paper towels used. And the argument goes: it's more hygenic. But most of all, people *perceive* it is more convenient. That's the power of paper towel marketing for you. They have done a great job convincing people that paper towels are much more convenient. In some situations they may be, but by large, a rag is no more of a hassle when you think about it (e.g. not spending time at the store to buy paper towels).
meg  on September 28, 2007 at 07:04 AM 7
We bought a huge bag of car-wash towels (they look like large white face cloths) at Costco two years ago -- use 'em, wash 'em, use 'em again. We still haven't christened the second half of the bag. Now, I feel guilty whenever I used a paper towel.
Joan Raphael  on September 28, 2007 at 07:14 AM 8
I just wanted to point out that your info on the European twists is incorrect. 3 wipes cost $16, not $6. I was just about to splurge big on them, but now I'm going to think about it...
Wayne  on September 28, 2007 at 07:20 AM 9
Mass producing paper is one of the most energy intensive operations known to mankind. It is estimated that it costs $23.00 in energy per thousand paper towels. http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/image.cfm?imageName=images/1101/energy... If you use one role of paper towels per week, then you are using 3640 paper towels a year. Or almost $100 in energy to make and distribute a disposable product. The nation's most popular Energy Star certified washing machine uses between $12.00 and $19.00 worth of energy per year. And about 20 or so gallons of water per wash (instead of 50 for a traditional washing machine). http://images.lowes.com/product/036725/036725596375.pdf Granted a washer and cotton towels take energy to make as well. But if you amortize that over the life of the product it will probably be much lower. I have some towels that I have owned for almost 20 years. My mother has some that are 40 years old, older than I am. One thing we do in my house is we have a bowl full of washcloths on the table. We have about 50 of them and they cost us about $10.00 altogether. They are also our napkins. They get washed in regular loads of cloths. Since my wife works in an animal hospital and we have pets, we do a load of laundry daily as it is.
Rose  on September 28, 2007 at 08:34 AM 10
Great tips - particularly liked the facts about energy / resources used in paper production. I'm going to have to change my ways! I highly recommend cloth baby diapers for cleaning. I actually bought a package several years ago exclusviely for this purpose (my kids are grown) and they work great, even for windows / mirrors. Thanks!
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