cleaning rags | Imamother

debz123

Fri, Sep 02 2005, 5:27 pm

Do you clean your shmates that you use to scrub with or throw them out?

If you clean them- how do you do it? I get kind of nasseauated about putting shmates that I used to clean the floor and toilet bowl into my washing machine and anyway, I never have nearly enough to even make a small load.

What do YOU do?

chochma73

Fri, Sep 02 2005, 5:37 pm

I always put it in the machine, if very soiled then I put them in a bowl first to soak then wash. I put them in by themselves on a small wash even if it is only two or three rags.

What have you been doing till now?

debz123

Fri, Sep 02 2005, 5:54 pm

I just throw them out but my husband doesnt have an endless supply of old undershirts!

RedVines

Fri, Sep 02 2005, 7:31 pm

seperate load in the wash....thats what I do!

lucy

Sat, Sep 03 2005, 10:41 pm

I dry them out, then once I have enough for a wash I put them in a seperate wash with bleach/soap.

lucky

Sun, Sep 04 2005, 1:29 am

Seperate load in the wash with bleach. I do double rinse it to remove the bleach smell.

Frumom

Mon, Sep 05 2005, 5:22 pm

I found washable rags at walmart- 6 pack for a dollar. theyre good

adorable

Mon, Sep 05 2005, 6:27 pm

I'll second that frumom.
I've had them for quite some time now, although after like 9 months, they are starting to fray, but they really do od a good job.
ij ust dump them in a small load even if there is like 6 of them, becuase I hate having them around (in the bathroom..) and like this I know they come out super clean

queen

Mon, Sep 05 2005, 7:52 pm

I have a plastic bin which I put the shmattes in after I've used them, and collect until I have enough for a small load. (they don't smell, don't worry!)

lucky

Mon, Sep 05 2005, 11:10 pm

With a house of kids K"H it does not take long to have a load of dirty rags. Especially if my kids try paint and do other crafts when I am not around to supervise. Also having a five yr old who takes juice on her own from the fridge is a great start to Big loads of cleaning rags.

happymom

Tue, Sep 06 2005, 10:05 am

I bought a bag of about 70 shmattes from costco and when im done using them... I put them in the wash on hot with bleach... If something is really yucky and I don't want to use rags I use paper towels so I can throw them away.

adorable

Tue, Sep 06 2005, 10:28 am

70 shmattes?!?!?!
wow!

eliana

Wed, Sep 07 2005, 8:56 am

It depents on how big is the area you clean and how many bathrooms you have got. I live in a one room apartment with one bathroom and one kitchen. So the easiest way for me is to buy those cloths that are cheap and they are made of some synthetic material (it's not the fabric) I do not know the name. Thick one for floors (approx 1$), then a pack with thinner 'cloths' 8 pcs (each can be cut into 4 smaller) for approx 1$ and sponges (10pcs for 45cents).
So, the big one is used for floors - after every use it is thoroughly rinsed, I used it for a month, then simply throw it into a dustbin.
The sponges are used to scrub - one sponge for dishes, one for kitchen 'surfaces', one for toilet bowl and one for bathroom 'surfaces' (except the toilet bowl). After each house cleaning before Shabbat I throw the sponges into dustbin. So, the Shabbos comes to see a clean house and clean sponges Wink

The smaller cloths are - one for kitchen surfaces, one for cleanable surfaces in a room and two for bathroom (one for toilet bowl and one for other surfaces)

8)

chen

Fri, Oct 28 2005, 1:27 pm

depends on time of year, more or less. after yomtovim or after the summer, the kids have gotten new underwear, I have plenty of nice old t-shirts cut up, and I can afford to toss the grungy ones. as the supply dwindles, used shmattes go in a separate load in the wash, with hot water, extra detergent and bleach.

If I had to use a commercial machine at $1.50 a pop, I would definitely throw them out and not machine-wash shamttes. My mother used to rinse out dusty shmattes in the bathroom sink and hang them up to dry. Grimy or disgusting ones would be thrown out. She always had plenty of new shmattes because, at least when I was very young, most things were cotton. (I don't bother keeping anything that's not 100% cotton because synthetics are absolutely useless as shmattes.)

when my children grow up and move out, I will be in big trouble. My own T-shirts last for years and years, and they aren't relegated to the shmatte basket till they are truly disreputable. I just can't see myself spending money on shmattes! Certain things a person should be able to recycle and not have to buy new: shmattes, garbage bags, book covers... (OK, I am a dinosaur. In my youth, groceries were packed in sturdy paper bags that you could carry in your arms, and that would then be used for trash, book covers, drawer and shelf liners, and a host of other uses. By the time a bag retired to that great wastebin in the sky--or, more accurately, the city dump -- it had lived a long and productive life.)

happymom

Fri, Oct 28 2005, 1:35 pm

YA 70 because that way I NEVEr run out and I can always wash them right after I use them.