sort of CDR - storing/laundering dirty un-paper towels?

sarahtoledo

MH and I have seven rescue dogs and we go through a LOT of paper towels.  It's shocking, the amount we use, and expensive and I hate it.  

DH is not yet on board with my idea to use un-paper towels, but I bought 24 microfiber cloths anyway.    I'm planning on using them for messes and showing him how easy it can be.  He, for some reason, is fine with the idea of CDing our yet-to-be-conceived LO, but is not sure about dog messes in the washer. 

My questions -- how would you store the dirties?  In a wetbag or a bucket, or something else?  We have a little space in the utility room, right by the washer/dryer.

And how would you suggest laundering them?  They'll be used for normal household messes and mostly for (liquid) dog messes.   

TIA 

Lisa Frank

I toss mine into my mop bucket, which happens to be stored next to the washer/dryer. 

I launder them with other towels normally.  Hand towels, dish rags, bath towels etc. 

aschleser

I made some with birdseye cotton backed with terry cloth.  I "wrap" them around a cardboard paper towel roll and put them on my paper towel holder (Its one that sits on teh counter).  They don't have snaps or anything, but they stay up okay.  I did this because leaving the paper towels on the roll meant my hubby wouldn't use the reusables.

HOWEVER - I haven't cleaned up pet messes, but we have a kitty with urine that reeks and you can't get it out of anything without vinegar and an aggressive wash routine, and my dog has some stomach bug and has been vomiting/having diarrhea... so we don't use them for that! We use regular paper towels. 

For our unpaper towels, since we just use them for faces, counters, spills, etc., I throw them in with either my whites or towels (just a plain old hot wash, cold rinse cycle).  If they have stains I use max spray and wash, it works well, since we clean up kiddo messes!  Other than that, nothign special.  My laundry room is only about 20 ft from my kitchen, and we reuse the towels until its time to do laundry or they are really soiled, like spill clean up.  I then just toss em in the hamper.

Lots of people use wet bags, especially if you are cleaning up pee/poo.  I'd use a good wetbag, and be sure to throw it in the wash each time you do laundry.  For you, since you are using microfiber, you'll want to do it like a cloth diaper laundry load with no dryer sheets - otherwise you'll run into absorbancy issues.

I bought ecos from my local walmart, and have 6 wool dryer balls I use for my CD prepping laundry.  You'll do a cold rinse, hot wash/cold rinse cycle, then an extra cold rinse to get out all the soap.  Use 1/4 of the soap you'd regularly use.  Don't put the wetbag in the dryer, it'll mess up the PUL.  You can throw the microfiber in teh dryer, though.  It may help to have 2 wetbags so you can use one while the other dries.  You can also use a grocery bag, but it won't hold in smells!

Hope this helps! - Maybe it would help to have 2 colored cloths - like blue for dog messes, white for people use, and keep the two separate.  I don't mind using a cleaned cloth I wiped my face on yesterday, but I don't know about animal messes and mixing those (even cleaned!).

sarahtoledo

aschleser:

I made some with birdseye cotton backed with terry cloth.  I "wrap" them around a cardboard paper towel roll and put them on my paper towel holder (Its one that sits on teh counter).  They don't have snaps or anything, but they stay up okay.  I did this because leaving the paper towels on the roll meant my hubby wouldn't use the reusables.

HOWEVER - I haven't cleaned up pet messes, but we have a kitty with urine that reeks and you can't get it out of anything without vinegar and an aggressive wash routine, and my dog has some stomach bug and has been vomiting/having diarrhea... so we don't use them for that! We use regular paper towels. 

For our unpaper towels, since we just use them for faces, counters, spills, etc., I throw them in with either my whites or towels (just a plain old hot wash, cold rinse cycle).  If they have stains I use max spray and wash, it works well, since we clean up kiddo messes!  Other than that, nothign special.  My laundry room is only about 20 ft from my kitchen, and we reuse the towels until its time to do laundry or they are really soiled, like spill clean up.  I then just toss em in the hamper.

Lots of people use wet bags, especially if you are cleaning up pee/poo.  I'd use a good wetbag, and be sure to throw it in the wash each time you do laundry.  For you, since you are using microfiber, you'll want to do it like a cloth diaper laundry load with no dryer sheets - otherwise you'll run into absorbancy issues.

I bought ecos from my local walmart, and have 6 wool dryer balls I use for my CD prepping laundry.  You'll do a cold rinse, hot wash/cold rinse cycle, then an extra cold rinse to get out all the soap.  Use 1/4 of the soap you'd regularly use.  Don't put the wetbag in the dryer, it'll mess up the PUL.  You can throw the microfiber in teh dryer, though.  It may help to have 2 wetbags so you can use one while the other dries.  You can also use a grocery bag, but it won't hold in smells!

Hope this helps! - Maybe it would help to have 2 colored cloths - like blue for dog messes, white for people use, and keep the two separate.  I don't mind using a cleaned cloth I wiped my face on yesterday, but I don't know about animal messes and mixing those (even cleaned!).

Thanks, both of you!  

Yes, someone on here gave me the idea to use blue cloths for icky messes, and white for kitchen stuff...  Starting with the blue for now, because that's the bulk of our paper towel usage.   

greengirl0909

We bought a trash can with a lid at Walmart recently.  We put a hanging pail inside it and drop them in there.   

istalkgeeks

I use unpaper towels for day to day clean-ups, spills, and face wiping. If I use it in the kitchen, I throw it in the sink during the day and at the end of the day they all get thrown in a plastic laundry basket I keep in the laundry room for gross/wet laundry. If it is particularly gross it automatically goes into the laundry room. I go through a lot and sometimes don't have the spare minute to walk to the laundry room to throw it in the basket, which is why it goes in the sink. 

I always use paper for the cat clean-up. My DH has the bad habit of using my unpaper towels for kitty puke, which I think is sort of gross. I always wash everything on hot with oxyclean.  

Daisiesinmygarden

sarahtoledo:

aschleser:

Thanks, both of you!  

Yes, someone on here gave me the idea to use blue cloths for icky messes, and white for kitchen stuff...  Starting with the blue for now, because that's the bulk of our paper towel usage.   

We do this, but we use blue for the kitchen and white for CD inserts. I bought some baskets at Walmart for 4 dollars. I looked online and couldn't find it, but it has a wire base, that weird shopping bag meshy fabric and it attached w/velcro, so you can take it off to clean if it gets smelly/dirty. It was in the section where you find the hanging closet organizers.

My biggest challenge has been getting DH to quit using them for dishcloths - GRRRRR!