Swedish Dishcloths - Tips?

I have just started using them. I grabbed a pack from The Grove. I still have paper towels in my kitchen but I am really trying hard to stop. I have some nice small towels I use to dry my hands.

For the Swedish towels, I use them to wipe down my counters after dinner and clean up. Wipe up small spills on my cutting board. Wipe off the appliances. I generally will use them a day, maybe two depending on the use. Then I just throw them in the pile of kitchen towels to be washed. Once they come out of the dryer, I put them back in their place. Once they are dry, they are stiff. So I stand them up next to my espresso machine under the steamer arm. 

I am curious as to how long they should last. Until they look worn. I have another pack in my Amazon cart because I want to have more around. Trying to get DH to use them instead of paper towels is harder that toilet training a toddler.

The Grove cloths www.grove.co/catalog/product/european-dish-cloth-set-2/?v=7500

Amazon cart Shoot I was going to link the ones in my cart and they are not available. Now I have to go on the hunt for more.

I was given one as a gift last year, and then received a pack of 4 for my birthday this year. I use them as I would any dishcloth. I wipe down the counters, the stove top, the microwave, etc. I thought at first they were weird because they are so stiff when dry, but I'm used to it now. They lay flat in my kitchen towel drawer. After use, I rinse it out and drape it over the divider in my double sink. One thing I really like is that they come in such pretty colours and patterns.

I love these! I have been using them for more than a year now and have almost completely eliminated my use of paper towels. I use them as I would a regular cotton dishcloth to wash dishes, wipe down counters, clean up spills, etc. They are also great as cleaning towels as they have a bit of grippy texture to them. I use them everywhere. Wring them out after using and they dry very quickly. Wash them in a load of towels and then lay flat to air dry. I keep a stack of them in my kitchen towel drawer.

One thing that I have learned is that although you can spend upwards of US$6-8 per fancy decorated dishcloth in kitchen specialty stores, you can also buy them in bulk much more reasonably priced. I have purchased several bunches of ten or twelve in different colors or patterns from Amazon. I have not noticed any one brand being superior to others.

Put the paper towels somewhere that it is work to get to. Not out on the counter or right under the sink. Helps break the habit

Also, generally speaking, once they become a bit unsightly they get moved either to under one of the bathroom sinks for quick cleanups, or put with cleaning supplies. I get another couple months use out of them.

good question! so, here's a couple scenarios where I use paper towels- for current Swedish dishcloth users, let me know if this is something you would use those for instead, please!

1) cleaning the counter with 409 or similar after cutting raw meat... typically I use paper towels for this, and toss them.

2) last night we grilled-- the chicken was seasoned with blackening seasoning + flavored olive oil. I wiped the excess out of the container with a paper towel and tossed it. (we have a septic system so I don't want to put a lot of oil, etc. down the drain)

3) cat puke, dog puke accidents-- cat hairball, dog puked after eating grass, etc. Wipe up on a hard surface, spray with 409, wipe up with paper towels, toss the paper towels.

4) cat / dog pee accident- use Natures Miracle enzyme, blot, then toss.

1. I use a Swedish dishcloth
2. I don’t quite understand why it wouldn’t be rinsed out and put in the dishwasher (oops, sorry, reread about the fact that you have a septic system)
3. I use a paper towel or toilet paper
4. I use a Swedish dishcloth - I had to deal with this exact scenario in two spots yesterday.

Does anyone know if they're food safe, as in to eat off of? DH pulls out 4 paper towels every day, spreads them on the counter, & uses them in lieu of a plate for snacking from. Paper towel rolls are getting smaller with every shopping trip, it seems, and I dislike all that waste. TIA

You'd be correct with anybody who doesn't bristle at the least perception that he's being questioned, as if that automatically means a criticism. He's also such a creature of habit that he ate the same exact lunch every day for 14 years. I was kind of hoping for a way to sort of ease him into the idea.... 

Not really - they are used mostly in place of terrycloth dish clothes. They are stiff when they are dry and they soften when wet.

Some Peas were also talking about how they use Swedish dishcloths instead of paper towels.  Not just for washing dishes, but cleaning up spills, wiping the countertop, etc.  Anyplace you might use a paper towel and throw it away, if you can use these instead-- to save wasting paper towels.  From my quick glance at a set on Amazon, it looks like they can be sanitized in the microwave, washed/sanitized in the top rack of the dishwasher, or washed in the laundry.  

Sweetgumhome.com is where I buy them. Little more expensive than other places but she has cute designs and adds new designs frequently. I use them just like a dish cloth. Sometimes I wash with towels (can bleach but air dry only. They will shrink otherwise) and sometimes wash in dishwasher but remove them before drying cycle.  I have given several as gifts and everyone loves them.

I would still use paper towels for all of this too. I wouldn’t want to use a cloth I cleaned up dog accidents with on my kitchen counter even after it was washed. I too have a septic and no garbage disposal so I don’t want to put excess grease or oil down my drain either.

The swedish dishcloths that I use for messes such as that, they are the old, beat up ones that are on their last legs and only used for enzyme cleaners, etc.

Someone upthread asked how long they last. Up to 200 washes. I mentioned earlier, I started using them last fall. I have only had to compost one or two so far.

Newest ones go in the kitchen. When they start getting worn, they go under the bathroom sinks. After that, they go into the bin with the cleaning supplies. When they're kaput, they get composted.

If the cat vomits, I pull out a paper towel and clean/pick it up. It's pretty much the only time I use a paper towel any more. Then I pull out an old swedish dish cloth and blot with water, and then use the enzyme cleaner with the dishcloth. Rinse it out well, then send through the dish or clothes washer. Bless her heart, she ONLY ever vomits on a rug or the upstairs carpet. CATS.

One other advantage. They dry in no time flat. So you don't have that always damp, kinda stinky/gross cotton dishcloth thing going on.

This is the first I’ve heard of these, but I’ve been using the scotch mirror clothes for years and they work very well for us. We use one a night, start with the glass table top and shiny appliances and move to the dirtier stuff. They get washed with our other cleaning and kitchen clothes on sanitize cycle, then dried. Haven’t had to,replace one yet.