What else would you put in the washing machine with dish towels?

[praisefor3]

Every week when it comes time to wash dish towels I never have enough for a load. But I can't bring myself to just throw them in with clothes, bath towels, etc. Am I being strange about this? Do you just throw them in with whatever or should I be careful about what they are washed with? (My only concern is having sanitary dish towels- not fear of cleansers on the clothes.)

[Chris in VA]

I would put them in a load with other towels. I usually wash towels on hot, and wouldn't hesitate to throw them in there. (Are you talking towels that dry the dishes, or towels that wash the dishes?--either way, I'd toss 'em in with body towels.)

[LG Gone Wild]

rags, reg. towels, bath mats

[*anj*]

I will only wash dish towels with cloth napkins or tablecloths, nothing else.
I wash mine on hot too, but I just have a thing about washing kitchen items with anything else.

There was once a very long and very funny thread about this on The Old Boards.

[SnowWhite]

I'm like you. I run a very small load with just dish cloths and dish towels.

[RoughCollie]

IMO, dish towels that are dried on high in the dryer don't have any bacteria or viruses living on them.

Damp, dirty (or used) dish towels, that's another story.

RC

[Kris]

My Grandma found a pair of panties in with her load of dish towels once -- she threw them all away.

(The towels . . . )

[LizzyBee]

I just throw the kitchen towels in with whatever else I'm washing. It never occurred to me to wash them separately.

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

I keep a small basket under my kitchen sink. I change dish clothes and towels every night. I also add cleaning cloths to the basket.

I wash them on HOT with bleach every week.

[Ellie]

it would seem to me that anything that's on your dishtowels can't be so terrible if your family has already lived through it :-/

I'm assuming you mean the towels you dry your dishes with, not the dishcloths, yes? Well, what kind of germs might be on them that your other clothing would be contaminated somehow?:confused:

[Kris]

it would seem to me that anything that's on your dishtowels can't be so terrible if your family has already lived through it :-/

I'm assuming you mean the towels you dry your dishes with, not the dishcloths, yes? Well, what kind of germs might be on them that your other clothing would be contaminated somehow?:confused:

I'm guessing the question relates more to what might be getting on the dish towels, and transferred to the dishes/kitchen/food, rather than the other way around?

[Ellie]

I'm guessing the question relates more to what might be getting on the dish towels, and transferred to the dishes/kitchen/food, rather than the other way around?

Even so, if those "germs" are already living on people in the home, how will it be worse if it's also on the dishtowels?? And what germs are going to survive detergent and the dryer (or hanging outside on a clothesline)?

[Jennifer in MI]

I just throw the kitchen towels in with whatever else I'm washing. It never occurred to me to wash them separately.

Same here. Everything gets thrown in at once (except diapers, which deserve their own load! :p).

[nancypants]

Every week when it comes time to wash dish towels I never have enough for a load. But I can't bring myself to just throw them in with clothes, bath towels, etc. Am I being strange about this? Do you just throw them in with whatever or should I be careful about what they are washed with? (My only concern is having sanitary dish towels- not fear of cleansers on the clothes.)

I throw anything and everything together in the same wash loads... except if there is poop or vomit involved. Everything comes out clean. These are not the kinds of things I spend any extra time contemplating... but then I don't separate lights and darks either! (And they all come out fine too!) :eek: LOL

[Michelle T]

why do dish towels separately from bath towels? I also toss in pillowcases to the load, as I change my pillowcase every couple days.
Michelle T

[kdeno]

For my children's clothing I do not sort it. I wash it by child.

Kari

[Ria]

Everything gets washed together here. Dishtowels go with the darks...that's as much sorting as I do.

Ria

[Amy loves Bud]

Mine also go in with the rest of the laundry. So far we've all survived ;) !

[clane]

Same here. Everything gets thrown in at once (except diapers, which deserve their own load! :p).

So true!!!

[Barb F. PA in AZ]

My Grandma found a pair of panties in with her load of dish towels once -- she threw them all away.

(The towels . . . )

HA! My, how times change.

Barb

[Kris]

Even so, if those "germs" are already living on people in the home, how will it be worse if it's also on the dishtowels?? And what germs are going to survive detergent and the dryer (or hanging outside on a clothesline)?

Well, I don't want to get gross or anything, but the bath towels in my house have things other than germs on them. ;)

[cin]

Our washer has a sterilize mode, so we put rough, like colors in that load. Most of our towels are white so that will get bathroom and kitchen towels, socks and white jeans and sweatshirts. Anything that can take hot water and bleach.

[Tutor]

Yup. We're an everything together and everything on cold family. (Except the occasional white load or some special treatment item... which we try not to own.) It all gets tossed in the drier or hung in the sunshine.

[*anj*]

Here's an article about bacteria, viruses and laundry:
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/lurking.htm

[Alice]

I put everything in together. I think the article is a bit alarmist...there are bacteria everywhere and it's just impossible to avoid them. Right now as I type I'm reminded that the dirtiest thing in most offices (and probably homees) is the computer keyboard...one study I saw had more bacteria on the keyboard than on toilet seats.

[imeverywoman]

I shed a lot of hair which I don't enjoy finding on my kitchen linens.

[Kris]

I shed a lot of hair which I don't enjoy finding on my kitchen linens.

Yeah -- I used to be the only one in this house with long hair. Now my son is trying to surpass me in that department.

There's a lot of hair flying around here! LOL!!!

[Robin Hood]

Here's an article about bacteria, viruses and laundry:
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/lurking.htm

My mind knew this stuff before I read the article. It just makes sense if you give it even the briefest thought.

[Janet in WA]

Every week when it comes time to wash dish towels I never have enough for a load. But I can't bring myself to just throw them in with clothes, bath towels, etc. Am I being strange about this? Do you just throw them in with whatever or should I be careful about what they are washed with? (My only concern is having sanitary dish towels- not fear of cleansers on the clothes.)My only consideration is that I wash my dish towels and dish cloths in hot water. So whatever I wash them with needs to be able to be washed in hot water. Typically, I wash them with our bath towels, or else do a small load of just dish towels.

[Mrs Mungo]

I would put them in a load with other towels. I usually wash towels on hot, and wouldn't hesitate to throw them in there. (Are you talking towels that dry the dishes, or towels that wash the dishes?--either way, I'd toss 'em in with body towels.)

Same here.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

This question has never entered my mind. I had no idea that people worried about such things. I just throw them in with whatever load matches their color.

Of course, I've been known to use my bath towel more than once, too. So, you may not want to listen to my opinion. ;)

We're all more than just "still alive". We're quite healthy, actually. I can guarantee that your family will not suffer from you throwing your dish cloths and towels in with the rest of your wash. Assuming your washer is working properly, everything will come out clean.

[Teddi]

No surprises there. It's why I still wash clothes the way Mom taught me. Her way included lots of hot or warm water (and bleach for whites). I use cold water only for things that require it. Dish towels & cloths are a separate (albeit small) bleached load.

Here's an article about bacteria, viruses and laundry:
http://www.laundry-alternative.com/lurking.htm

[Laura Corin]

I don't worry about it - I just throw them in a regular load and wash the whole lot on cold.

Laura