Tuesday Tip | Boil your stinky kitchen washcloths

Hat tip to my friend Stacy for this idea!

You know how your kitchen washcloths get a funky stink over time, even if you are a responsible washcloth user?

• I’m super faithful about using a fresh one every single morning.
• I rinse mine out and hang them over the oven handle to dry overnight.
• I never leave them in a wet lump in the sink or on the counter.
• I always make sure they are entirely dry before I put them in the laundry room.

And still, they get a bad smell after a while.

In the past, I’ve just bleached them every now and again, but I kind of hate to use bleach unless it’s super necessary.

Anyway, Stacy posted on Instagram saying you can boil your washcloths for 10 minutes to get the stink out.

I tried it, and by golly, she was right!   Ten minutes in a pot, then a run through the wash, and the smell was gone.

This also works with stinky kitchen towels, as long as you have a pot that’s large enough to accommodate the towels.

It does feel a little strange to cook a pot of kitchen linens, and the smell while you’re cooking them is weird.   But I feel like it’s totally worth   it for a non-bleach de-stinking method!

And it’s so great to be able to un-stink kitchen linens without bleaching the color right out of them.

Give it a try! I’d love to hear how it works for you.

P.S. If you have a kitchen sponge that isn’t helped by a run through the dishwasher (my usual de-stinking method), throw it into the pot as well.   Such an improvement in smell.