Anonymous wrote:we go through the large 12 pack about every 2 weeks. LOVE THEM, soft and selc-ta size. don't you dare talk shit against them.

Oh not all germs die from high heat.

Which "germs" survive high heat? When you use the word "germs", are you referring to bacteria that can make us sick?

I use dishtowels and an all-purpose cleaner most of the time and switch them out every day. for raw meat, I rinse off the cutting board and put it in the dishwasher. I do not freak out about germs and try to stay away from antibacterial products. but when there is raw chicken involved, my kitchen goes into full decontamination mode and I break out the Clorox Antibacterial wipes. We rarely even use a paper towel. we don't even have any right now. And we use cloth napkins. I just fold them and put them in a basket in the middle of our kitchen table.

What do you use them for? I only use paper towels in the kitchen and go through one roll a week. Are you using in bathroom too?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Before we had a dishwasher, I would wipe down our cutting board after chopping raw meat and poultry with a sponge before hand washing it. Then someone told me that rinsing that sponge under soap and water and re-using it was spreading germs around the kitchen. Now I am paranoid about my sponge use and switched to paper towels even though we got a dishwasher three years ago. That same weird paranoia was behind paper towels in the bathroom and spreading germs around from hand to hand.

Help me lol

Whenever I use a cutting board, I scrape the meat off the board with a knife, then I place the board in the sink and pour some bleach over it and let it sit for 15minutes. Then, I wipe it with a sponge or pape towel. As for everything else, I used a diaper rag and launder it when it needs it.

We use paper towels occasionally (maybe a roll every 2-4 weeks?). We mainly use dish towels and dish rags. We have a dishwasher, but rags clean up spills, wipe kid's face and hands, and act as cloth "napkins" for our 3-year-old (& for us when needed). These rags are pretty small and do not add significantly to the laundry (we have a lot of them, so we don't need to wash them every day or anything). My brother and his family do something similar. Works for us.

Anonymous wrote:You guys do a hell of a lot of laundry.

Five or six wash cloths a day doesn't add up to much.

I always have to buy extra paper towels when my mom comes to visit because she is paranoid about germs.

You guys do a hell of a lot of laundry.

We bought about 100 dish towels and a bunch of them go in the wash every day. Seriously 100.

we go through the large 12 pack about every 2 weeks. LOVE THEM, soft and selc-ta size. don't you dare talk shit against them.

Oh not all germs die from high heat.

OP - do your children have food allergies? Did you know that some people theorize that children end up with food allergies and intolerances because they live in such a hyper clean germophobic society that their body needs to attack something foreign to their body?? I think perhaps you are a little paranoid - think about what your life was like as a child and how your parents cleaned things? How often did you get sick then? How often do people in third world countries who don't have access to paper towels and anti-bacterial soap get sick?

Um, why wouldn't you use rags and just wash and re-use them??

Anonymous wrote:I buy Terry cloth bar towels and switch them out daily. They can be washed and dried.

That's what we do too...I wash them in hot water.

I buy Terry cloth bar towels and switch them out daily. They can be washed and dried.

I rinse raw-meat cutting boards in very hot water before washing with sponge. Alternately, you could use a plastic board and run it through the dishwasher after each use. Bacteria does collect/grow in a wet sponge, but most of it is harmless/easily handled by your immune system. You could have one sponge for dishes and one for counter tops. Use towels for your hands and for spills. Wash regularly..the more you wash them, the more absorbent they become.