Cleaning: Paper towels vs cloth?

[mila]

We have been using paper towels to do most of the cleaning around the house, but think this is such a waste. What do you use to clean wood cabinetry, glass, bathroom/kitchen countertops- microfiber cloths?

Thinking about buying this bundle: www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-CW190423-24-Pack-Microfiber-Cleaning/dp/B009FUF6DM

[nicolewi]

Do you have Costco? They sell a huge pack of yellow microfiber cloths that are great (yellow ones, not the white towel rag ones). We always have those around now.

[jackie011]

I “inherited” all of the washcloths from DH’s grandparents, so we have those in a basket in our kitchen. I use them for everything, and then wash at the end of the week when I was our towels. Sometimes I toss them if they’re super gross or falling apart (some are REALLY old). We do use paper towels, too as DH does a lot of meat smoking and there juices and things that I don’t want to think about.

[af1212]

We use washcloths for all of this - for streak-free things we use flour sack towels.

[ECB]

We have old hand towels and bath towels that we keep in our mud room.

[mala]

Microfiber like you linked. Body waste from animals or humams we still use paper towels, but almost anything else we use microfiber towels. You can get big pacls from home depot/lowes too, rather than just amazon.

[sunshineandpinot]

I have a basket of cleaning rags we use. I have a new cleaning lady and she likes terrycloth wash cloths so she bought a bundle at Costco and that’s what she uses. Wash on hot, bleach as needed and for the love, no fabric softener!!!! Works great, way less waste.

[macmars45]

I use old wash clothes and reusable sponges. I got the sponges from the dollar section of Target.  

[stephm0188]

Microfiber for general cleaning. I have eCloth kits for windows/mirrors and another for stainless steel that I like a lot.

[pooh8402]

Cheap microfiber cloths, or old cloth diapers.

[lucybrown]

I prefer cotton to microfiber. I use old washcloths, t-shirts, socks, or cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are the best. No lint, streaks, etc.

ETA: IMO, swapping paper for microfiber negates any environmental impact. Synthetic fabrics are a huge source of micro plastics in water supplies. The most eco friendly swap is to use natural fibers and something you already own.

[waverly]

I like the grab a rag microfiber cloths, www.amazon.com/GRAB-RAG-Multi-Cleaning-Count/dp/B085QL6NM1/ref=sr_1_3?crid=14UPVSATSLU97&keywords=grab+a+rag&qid=1647713489&sprefix=grab+a+rag%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-3

[mila]

Thanks, guys!

[wanderingback]

I’ve been using old cut up tshirts for many many years. Have never bought anything.

[arehopsveggies]

I bought a ton of the flats cloth diapers to use as burp rags when DS1 was born. Now those are my cleaning rags

[oregonpachey]

I can't stand the feel of microfiber so we use cotton cloths. Sometimes old diapers, worn out dishcloths, shop towels, etc.

[mysteriouswife]

Mar 19, 2022 14:06:01 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I’ve been using old cut up tshirts for many many years. Have never bought anything.

Same. I find microfiber smears on glass and mirrors

[SusanBAnthony]

I have 2 or 3 microfiber clothes that I use for glass, and the rest of the time we use old washcloths or kitchen towels that have been relegated to the rag bin.

[icedcoffee]

Mar 19, 2022 14:06:01 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I’ve been using old cut up tshirts for many many years. Have never bought anything.

Yup. This. I feel wasteful buying rags. Why bring new textiles into the world when you can repurpose? I have a small pack of microfiber for the very rare things that say to use microfiber.

[fivechickens]

I use microfiber similar to what you linked. The set I bought came with towels specifically for glass/mirrors.

[sent]

The yellow pack of microfiber and the white pack of regular towels from Costco. Sometimes my kids spill liquids and the towels are necessary to soak up the excess liquid all over the place.

[fumbalina]

I mostly use towels. Not anything fancy or new, just old-fashioned cotton. Microfiber gets caught on my skin and hurts, so I gave up on those almost immediately. I keep the worst ones and if something is truly nasty I throw it out with whatever mess it cleaned up. However, for the most part, I just run them through with my towel wash.

[okla]

Mar 19, 2022 14:06:01 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

I’ve been using old cut up tshirts for many many years. Have never bought anything.

My mom did this when I was younger and I’m trying to get in the habit myself. I really do think they work better than a rougher rag.

[redheadk]

We bought a set of those cheap white rags from Costco years ago. They are much rougher than regular towels and dh uses some as shop towels in the garage. I also cut up old towels to replenish our stash.

[k3am]

Microfiber. FFC? I pack my own microfiber clothes when we stay in airbnbs. I hate cleaning with paper towels and sponges.

[TBM]

No paper towels in our house.

We mostly use old hand towels and dishcloths for heavy cleaning and spills, but we have roughly a zillion white bar towels that we used to use for cleaning up after the dogs, so we're set on cleaning cloths until the end of time.

We have some small microfiber pads that were meant for cleaning screens, but they are perfect for cleaning our glass cabinet doors, our quartz counters, and faucets. One side has texture that is good for scrubbing. We do have e-cloths that work well on all of that, but we haven't had them long, and I keep forgetting about them.

[W.T.Faulkner]

H has crushed my spirit with this. I have tried so hard to get him to use cloths. That mf’er eats paper towels, I swear to God.

[carmenere]

We use the same cloths you linked, and have cut our paper towel usage by ~85 percent. And they have held up well for 4-5 years.

Maybe this is silly but I like that there are three colors. We use one color for kitchen, one for bathrooms, one for other household cleaning. No cross-contamination.

[tcu2003]

I have a set of old kids washcloths and cotton rags I keep for kitchen use for cleaning kitchen spills, counters, etc. For the rest of the house, we have a separate rag pile - mostly old t-shirts, towels and holey socks (all cotton items). They work really well and we never have streaking problems.

Between those and our cloth napkins, we go through maybe one roll of paper towels a year. The thing that still gets me is greasing a baking pan - I still use a paper towel for that, so if anyone has any alternatives, I’m all ears.

[stemmie]

I have a mix of things cleaning cloths.

I dust with microfiber terry, but if I'm polishing furniture I use cotton flannel. I have microfiber kitchen cloths for dishwashing and might use old cotton face cloths for mopping spills or scrubbing. I use well broken in flour sack cotton towels for my good wine glasses, windows and mirrors.

I do use paper towels for microwaving bacon.

tcu2003, I use a silicone basting brush to oil or grease pans for baking. Mine was a swag when my local store started to carry Boar's Head products, but it looks like these

www.amazon.com/Silicone-Basting-Resistant-Grilling-Cooking/dp/B07YH9MKPB/ref=asc_df_B07YH9MKPB?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80401880076764&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584001431106555&psc=1