How to Sanitize Kitchen Microfiber Cloths

One of the very first posts I’ve written here, on KBtP, is not a recipe nor a travel post! It’s rather one on my quest to properly educate myself on recycling, switching from chemical cleaners to natural ones, and cutting down on using all the disposable cleaning aids I had been used to using for so long. Namely, I was just delving into the microfiber cloth world and loving it! In that 2012 post (here), I had shared the products I had researched, bought and was testing around the house. Four years later, I’m happy to say, that I’m still using all said (four) items: microfiber cloths, a microfiber duster, microfiber mittens & a microfiber mop! Yep, same ones! Haven’t replaced them! Now I did need to throw away a couple of the cloths I had been using in the kitchen –they are usually the most hard working ones and they got pretty worn out after a couple of years of harsh use. But out of the 5 pieces I had designated to my kitchen, I had to dispose of only 2 and still have 3 that keep going strong!

I usually dedicate a single laundry load per month, for all dusters, mop cloth, and bathroom cloths. I wash my kitchen cloths separately with the rest of my kitchen towels and linens. These laundry loads I find a bit more challenging because I usually have to wait for a longer time before I can have a full load of kitchen linens, while the microfiber cloths are used ruthlessly, on a daily basis and need to be rotated faster than everything else. So if not thrown in the laundry at the end of each day, they need to be sanitized otherwise and be properly air-dried, or else they develop that all-too-well-known funky smell! What can one do?

Use a squish of dish washing liquid to give them a quick wash, rinse well, squeeze out water (avoid twisting or wringing the cloth, as we need a little excess moisture) and plop into the microwave at 800W for 2′. That’s all there’s to it! No need for bleach or other harsh disinfectant!

Warning: do not, I repeat, do not grab that cloth as soon as you pop the microwave door open. It will be boiling hot!

Let it sit for a minute or two and then there you’ll have it. A sanitized, smell & bacteria free, crisp cloth! And even though I usually wipe down my microwave oven after every single use and rarely need to touch it up, sanitizing your microfiber cloth this way creates some nice steam, that loosens built up and cuts through grease, thus gives you an opportunity for one more quick & easy wipe down!

Πως να απολυμάνετε τα πανάκια από μικροΐνες που χρησιμοποιείτε στην κουζίνα σας και να απαλλαγείτε από βακτήρια και δυσάρεστες μυρωδιές, χωρίς χλώριο;

Χρησιμοποιήστε 1-2 σταγόνες υγρού πιάτων για να πλύνετε το πανάκι, ξεβγάλτε το καλά και στραγγίξτε ελαφρά. Βάλτε το στον φούρνο μικροκυμάτων, στα 800W για 2 λεπτά. Έτοιμο! Προσοχή όμως: μην το πιάσετε αμέσως!! Αφήστε να κρυώσει λιγάκι, αφού ανοίξετε την πόρτα του φούρνου μικροκυμάτων… μπορείτε να το χρησιμοποιήσετε μετά από 1-2 λεπτά!

(Τώρα είναι, επίσης, μια καλή ευκαιρία να καθαρίσετε τον φούρνο σας, καθώς ο ατμός που θα δημιουργηθεί, μαλακώνει τυχόν υπολείμματα τροφών και διαλύει τα λίπη! Το μόνο που έχετε να κάνετε είναι να τον σκουπίσετε προσεκτικά, με ένα σφουγγάρι ή με το πανάκι που μόλις καθαρίσατε.)