what are your favorite dish clothes and why?

[ProudGrandma]

I need new dishclothes....ones that don't stain easily, ones that don't stink after a while but also ones that absorb well and clean well.  Does that exist?  

What are your favorite dish clothes and why?

thanks. 

[regentrude]

I crochet my own from cotton yarn. I like them because they scrub well due to the textured surface, have seasonal colors, are machine washabel, and when they get faded, I can have fun making some new ones.

[Miss Tick]

I've used 100% rayon cloths from our local Asian Market. They are great, but not super absorbent. I have a separate set of cotton washcloths i use for non-dishwashing kitchen tasks. This all started when my dc were little and I've never revisited the system. They will stay graduating soon, maybe I'll streamline then.

[Chris in VA]

I got cute red and white ones from the Dollar Tree. I gave them a good wash and they have held up for years. Two for a buck. I think I bought 8 or so. I kept them folded in a basket on my counter. Very pretty!

[Frances]

2 hours ago, regentrude said:

I crochet my own from cotton yarn. I like them because they scrub well due to the textured surface, have seasonal colors, are machine washabel, and when they get faded, I can have fun making some new ones.

Same, except my mom makes them for me.

[LAS in LA]

7 hours ago, regentrude said:

I crochet my own from cotton yarn. I like them because they scrub well due to the textured surface, have seasonal colors, are machine washabel, and when they get faded, I can have fun making some new ones.

Same! I also love that I can make them the size I like.

Regarding stink: If you have cotton dishcloths, you can boil them (or pour boiling water over) to kill bacteria.

ETA: I knit them (rather than crochet).  🙂

Edited November 23, 2020 by LAS in LA

[Melissa in Australia]

Hand knitted cotton ones given to me by my SIL

Very easy to wash. Very easy to use

[alisoncooks]

My aunt gives white crocheted cloths every Christmas. They hold up well and I can bleach them. I've got quite a collection now. 

[Ausmumof3]

Can’t believe how many people hand knit and crochet dishcloths.  That’s amazing.

I use and wash the disposable chucks cloths.  They go through the wash a tonne of times before becoming non absorbent.  They are nice and open weave so they don’t build up stink.  My oldest son doesn’t like them so he uses the handful of old vileda ones I have.  They start out nice but tend to shrink overtime till the weave closes up and frays. 

[VickiMNE]

38 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Can’t believe how many people hand knit and crochet dishcloths.  That’s amazing.

 

I like my crochet ones best, too.  As far as an easy project goes, Dishcloths are where it's at:  fast, cheap, serviceable, forgiving, creative (tons of patterns!), and colorful, too. Whipping one up (slowly, in my case) is a very, very satisfying investment of time and energy, especially in the winter months. 🙂

[Ausmumof3]

8 minutes ago, VickiMNE said:

I like my crochet ones best, too.  As far as an easy project goes, Dishcloths are where it's at:  fast, cheap, serviceable, forgiving, creative (tons of patterns!), and colorful, too. Whipping one up (slowly, in my case) is a very, very satisfying investment of time and energy, especially in the winter months. 🙂

My dd is really into knitting and learning to crochet but doesn’t have the skills for a big project.  Does anyone have a tutorial or anything they could point me to?  I suspect she’d enjoy making some for gifts.

[MercyA]

Definitely 100% cotton. Nothing gets stuck in them. They can be bleached and/or washed in hot water so they don't smell. They are much more absorbent than polyester or microfiber. They don't melt on a hot stovetop. 

[catz]

2 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

My dd is really into knitting and learning to crochet but doesn’t have the skills for a big project.  Does anyone have a tutorial or anything they could point me to?  I suspect she’d enjoy making some for gifts.

My grandmother made 8 million of these over the years, I still have a ton of them in my drawer.  She did crochet ones too, but this seemed like her fastest, easiest, most commonly used pattern.  

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by FuzzyCatz

[ProudGrandma]

3 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Can’t believe how many people hand knit and crochet dishcloths.  That’s amazing.

I use and wash the disposable chucks cloths.  They go through the wash a tonne of times before becoming non absorbent.  They are nice and open weave so they don’t build up stink.  My oldest son doesn’t like them so he uses the handful of old vileda ones I have.  They start out nice but tend to shrink overtime till the weave closes up and frays. 

I have no idea what kind of cloth you are talking about....disposable chunks cloths.  Can you give me a link or something?  

 

thanks 

[Carol in Cal.]

I knit those Warsh Rags from Mason Dixon Knitting out of heavy cotton yarn.  The pattern results in an almost double thick cloth, and it’s so perfect—very absorbent, nice rough feeling for drying your hands, dries dishes well, sturdy, stands up to hot water washing so extremely sanitary, and I make mine out of cheerful combos of two variegated yarns so they are super nice looking.  Very inexpensive, and they knit up quickly while watching videos or talking on the phone, so not even much of a time investment.

ETA:  Here is a picture of how they look when done, colors vary of course:  
https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+of+mason+dixon+knitting+warsh+rag&client=safari&hl=en-us&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=f7GAGvoTOlM-6M%2CScGhephDgLDxSM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQ3bB6dXQv467EDG73fSV56cSsrxw&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjDhITxkJrtAhUFLqwKHdFkD78Q9QF6BAgKEAY#imgrc=TaW7r6JKH8hKiM
 
I like these better than the diagonal knit ones above, which are also pretty nice but somewhat less absorbent IME.  The brick shaped puffy areas of my pattern are loose enough to really soak up water, and make the overall texture rough enough to scrub counters with.  I have a stack of them in a drawer, so although I can rinse them and hand them over a faucet to dry, I always have a spare available so I throw them in the wash really often.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Carol in Cal.

[marbel]

I knit them too. It's all I knit.  I'm not a good knitter, and I do it when I'm watching or listening to something, so I don't do a complicated pattern. But they work well and last a long time. I change them once a day, sometimes more, so I have a lot. 

I'd love to buy cloths rather than knit them, but the ones in the store are too big. Same with wash cloths (for faces, showers). I like something smaller that fits my hand and drapes easily over the sink faucet to dry. 

[Ottakee]

I use plain white washclothes....the kind that come from Walmart in a large package in by the bath towels.   I also use the colored ones too.  They are cheap, wash well, absorbent, and you can bleach the  white ones 

[Pippen]

I love William Sonoma Classic striped dish cloths. They're absorbent, wash up well and last for years, and I mean years. 

https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/williams-sonoma-striped-towels/?pkey=s|dish towels|58

I also have a few thick hand towels that get a lot of use. 

 

[Tree Frog]

Those of you who make your own dishcloths, what yarn do you use? I've used Cookies n Cream, but the dishcloths it produces are too thick and don't dry in between uses. I'd like a yarn that's a little thinner.

[VickiMNE]

9 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

My dd is really into knitting and learning to crochet but doesn’t have the skills for a big project.  Does anyone have a tutorial or anything they could point me to?  I suspect she’d enjoy making some for gifts.

This is the tutorial I learned from: Simple Dish Cloth  and the one I go back to every fall when I restart Crocheting-by-the-Fire. 🙂

 

[Ausmumof3]

8 hours ago, kfeusse said:

I have no idea what kind of cloth you are talking about....disposable chunks cloths.  Can you give me a link or something?  

 

thanks 

https://www.mydeal.com.au/chux-superwipes-9316-cloth-roll-original-blue-3150566?msclkid=ab70337c93891d8718336cc04400c857&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Avg Commission (13-15)&utm_term=4581252639194597&utm_content=Average
 

 

[Kassia]

9 hours ago, FuzzyCatz said:

My grandmother made 8 million of these over the years, I still have a ton of them in my drawer.  She did crochet ones too, but this seemed like her fastest, easiest, most commonly used pattern.  

 

My MIL makes these and gives me one or two every year for Christmas.  I always throw them in the dishwasher and never thought about the washing machine.  They last a long time and we use them a lot.  

 

 

[Pawz4me]

9 hours ago, Ottakee said:

I use plain white washclothes....the kind that come from Walmart in a large package in by the bath towels.   I also use the colored ones too.  They are cheap, wash well, absorbent, and you can bleach the  white ones 

I use those, too (the white ones). I also have some bar mop cloths I picked up at Walmart a few years ago that have been absolutely fantastic--hugely better quality than the ones from Target. I've been keeping my eyes open for more, but the bin has been empty the past few weeks and I don't need more badly enough to order them.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Pawz4me

[Chris in VA]

40 minutes ago, Kassia said:

My MIL makes these and gives me one or two every year for Christmas.  I always throw them in the dishwasher and never thought about the washing machine.  They last a long time and we use them a lot.  

 

 

I never thought of putting them in the dishwasher!🤣

 think I have a sensory aversion to the knitted/crocheted ones; the thought of wet yarn gives me the heebie jeebies😊

[EmilyGF]

23 hours ago, regentrude said:

I crochet my own from cotton yarn. I like them because they scrub well due to the textured surface, have seasonal colors, are machine washabel, and when they get faded, I can have fun making some new ones.

I asked DD14 for some new ones for Christmas. I hate all the synthetics that are out there now. They give me the shivers (sensory issues, I guess). I would make my own but I have RSI (like Carpal Tunnel but not operable).

Emily

[Carol in Cal.]

9 hours ago, Wilrunner3 said:

Those of you who make your own dishcloths, what yarn do you use? I've used Cookies n Cream, but the dishcloths it produces are too thick and don't dry in between uses. I'd like a yarn that's a little thinner.

I use Peaches n Creme or Sugar and Cream, which I think are the same weight as yours.  

I find that they dry out just fine either laid out flat on the counter or hanging over the faucet.  But I do live in a fairly dry climate.

[VickiMNE]

10 hours ago, Wilrunner3 said:

Those of you who make your own dishcloths, what yarn do you use? I've used Cookies n Cream, but the dishcloths it produces are too thick and don't dry in between uses. I'd like a yarn that's a little thinner.

Another possibility is to use the same yarn but a less dense pattern--more lacy-- which increases the air surface and speeds drying.....  I think that may require a more involved (but doable) pattern.

Edited November 24, 2020 by VickiMNE

[Lady Florida.]

I would love to be able to find some I like but everything I've tried gets smelly really fast, I end up using Handi-wipes which I'd rather not do. I do wash them a bunch of times but eventually they get thrown away and I hate adding to the landfill with something like this. 

I tried the mesh ones that were recommended on a previous thread (these) but they don't do well for wiping the counter top. You can't really wring them out and while some would say you don't need to, they end up pushing water around my quartz counters. I tried crocheting and knitting a few but whether I make a loose or tight weave, they still get smelly. I am forever on the hunt for the perfect dishcloth. 

[Ditto]

I use bar mop cloths from Target.   When they get gross, I toss them.  Traditional dish rags and homemade dishrags are gross to me.  I was happy to find the bar mop cloths.   Long ago I just used paper towels (and honestly would prefer them if they weren't so environmentally irresponsible to use).