Smelly dishcloths
A few weeks ago, someone asked you how to keep their dishcloths smelling fresh. I don’t have advice on making them smell fresh, but I can offer advice on how to easily keep them odour-free and definitely not smelly.
I’m not a chemist or biologist, but I believe that the bad odour that occurs in dishcloths is mainly a result of bacteria growing on the cloth. Bacteria need at least two things to grow: water and nutrients. We can easily control these two and prevent the bacteria odour.
The nutrients come from wiping up our foods: bread crumbs, spilled liquids (milk, soft drinks, juice), flour and other kitchen-counter and/or table debris. Plus, the dishwater usually has plenty of food particles floating in it by the time the dishes have all been washed. These become embedded in the cloth and are perfect food for bacteria growth.
The water is obviously from the spilled liquids, the dishwater and also from attempts to rinse out the cloth.
If we can remove the food and water — and then give the cloth the opportunity to dry quickly — no more odour.
Drying dishcloths quickly is important because the longer they are damp, the more opportunity there is for bacteria to grow. A damp cloth plus time equals odour.
This time of year is the worst time for the odour because the humidity in the air is high and the cloth takes a long time to dry.
Plus, it is usually warmer at this time of year, and I believe that the bacterial growth is increased with higher temperatures.
In our house, we thoroughly rinse out cloths whenever we wipe up something or do the dishes. I hold the cloths vertically by two corners (like a sheet on a clothesline) and let lots of clean water run over both sides, wring them out and do it again. This gets rid of as much food as possible.
I then get rid of the water by wringing out the cloth extremely well. I think this is the key part.
Then, I spread the cloth out so there is maximum surface area for the water to evaporate so it dries as quickly as possible. I usually just lay it out flat on the counter. Draping it over the divider in a dual-sink, or hanging it on the faucet also works.
It is definitely a very bad idea to leave a damp cloth folded up or crumpled in a ball, because then the inside of it never dries and the bacteria thrive. Since adopting these practices a few years ago, we never have any odour problems with the dishcloths.
— Jeff
Black cooktop maintenance
For the lady who was complaining about her black cooktop, I live in the country and experienced the same problem with visible dust since the road in front of our home is gravel.
I made a giant "placemat" out of an attractive fabric that I place on the cooktop throughout the day when the stove is not in use and it is a huge help in keeping the kitchen look tidy.
I made mine out of polyester satin on one side and quilted polyester on the other, so it is easy to launder and also maintains the all-black look of the appliances in my kitchen.
— Val
Cleaning baseball hats
I read your answer about washing baseball hats. Authentic fitted baseball caps (New Era brand) have wool in their weave; you really don’t want to use much water in cleaning because they will shrink.
— Tom
Burnt-on residue on frying pan
Jack was asking in Saturday’s column about cleaning the outside of a frying pan. My friend gave me this solution and it works like a charm.
All those years of struggling to remove baked-on residue from pans, oven racks, etc. and this is so easy.
Set the pan on a black garbage bag outside, spray with Easy-Off, cover with the bag and leave in the sun for a couple of hours.
Then, just spray off.
When my friend told me of this method, I tried it on my 45-year-old stainless steel lasagna pan (it was very clean inside, but the other side was black). I had to do this twice, but my pan turned out looking new. My racks and other pans always turn out looking new, whereas just using the Easy-Off without the sun, I still had to scrub. Hope this helps.
— Vera
Note: Every user assumes all risks of injury or damage resulting from the implementation of any suggestions in this column. Test all products on an inconspicuous area first.
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