Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Works for me Wednesday - Dishcloth Stew

My grandmother is 91 years old and she spends her days knitting dishclothes. I am younger than that and spend my days using dishclothes. I wash them but after a few weeks even with regular washes they start to smell and that is when I make Dishcloth stew.

I put some water in a pan, add some bleach and the dishclothes and boil them for a few minutes. The dishclothes do get a bit lighter in colour but they smell better after that. To me smell is more important than bright colour.

Some of my stash. Usually when I see my grandmother I give her some more yarn and then in a few days I get some more dishclothes.

7 comments:

Cara said...

Heh, I have a diaper stew occasionally (and yes, I use a dedicated pot for that!) but never thought to do dish cloths. Those are beautiful, I love hand knitted dish cloths.

Anonymous said...

Wow - I so need this tip right now! My dishcloths are in good condition still, but are looking and smelling terrible! Guess what we're having tonight? You got it - dishcloth stew!

Amy said...

Ya know, I have tried soaking/bleaching them in the washer, but never thought to boil them on the stovetop. I'm going to have to try this-- some of my old ones just never smell clean.

Lori - Queen of Dirty Laundry said...

I need to use that tip with my regular old dollar store dishcloths!

Thanks for the tip!

Dawn said...

Funny, I've never heard of dishcloth or diaper stew before (it made me laugh), but it sounds like a great idea. I wash mine, along with underwear, in a hot cycle in the washing machine with bleach and it works, too.

Mom2fur said...

LOL, I thought I was going to find a recipe for a dish called "Ropa Vieja" which means "old clothes"! (And is delicious, btw!)
I crochet dishcloths that I use all the time. So much nicer than sponges! But I just throw mine in the washing machine.

lora k said...

I love your dishcloths! You might try using vinegar instead. The vinegar will remove the odors and not fade the colors.