Not to be overly dramatic, but is it possible to fall in love with a cleaning product? We've been working on breaking our paper towel addiction. We'd already reduced our paper towel use by a lot - by simply starting to use our recycled old white bath towels which we cut down to size.
The problem? The cloths are so worn out that they don't have much absorbency left in them - but now that we've added the Euro Cloth to our collection of cleaning cloths we rarely reach for the paper towels at all. We picked them up recently and they work really, really well for both daily and deeper cleaning.
posted originally from: AT:Chicago
The Euro Cloth is essentially a super skinny, large format sponge - which is reusuable, anti-bacterial, washable in the dishwasher, and completely biodegradable at the end of it's useful life.
Here are the details:
Euro Cloth #20: With the absorbency of a paper towel and the reusability of a sponge, the Euro Cloth #20 is a modern and eco-friendly solution for wiping even the messiest of spills. Made from sustainable pine trees, the Euro Cloth is long lasting (one Euro Cloth equals 17 rolls of paper towels), anti-bacterial, dishwasher safe and biodegradable (the Euro Cloth disappears after 7 weeks if buried in the soil).
TWIST products are all natural; the cellulose used to make TWIST products is sourced from renewable tree farms. In addition, TWIST takes special care to make sure 99/97% of all waste is reused in production, and is committed to continually improving production process to minimize the effect on the environment.
The suggested retail for a 3-pack of Euro Cloths is $3.99. They are on sale at our Whole Foods right now for $2.69, so we've stocked up.
My family in Spain all use a very similar product (theirs is yellow, but I'm fairly sure it's actually the same thing) and have for as long as I can remember. Whenever we visit we pick up some extra cloths to bring back with us, so that's what I use in my kitchen too. It does indeed cut way, way down on paper towel consumption and when the cloth really gets too gross or old to use on countertops/dishes/etc then it gets relegated to bathroom cleaning duty. They're awesome.
view bluestar's profile
i don't have a dishwasher. would zapping them in the microwave for 1 minute be a good way to clean them?
view athena's profile
Or maybe washing them in the washing machine?
view apointe's profile
why not just use rags?
view damova's profile
I love this product!! I called the company and they said you can microwave or put them in the dishwasher to clean and disinfect them.
view februs's profile
does anyone have an idea what their anti-bacterial agent is derived from? i'm still unsure how much i need to care about that element in household cleaning products - whether overuse of anti-bacterial chemicals will end up harming us more than it helps...
view anklestar's profile
We just use bar clothes from Target in lieu of most paper towel jobs in our house and toss them in the laundry. They are super absorbant and hold up nicely.
view dollhouse's profile
*bar cloths, not clothes.
view dollhouse's profile
Purchased 5 dozen 12 x 12 cotton terry cloths for $24.75
(with free shipping) from The Rag Lady. Totally happy with
them. Perfect size and hasn't even added an extra load of
laundry.
https://www.raglady.com/detail.jsp?item=W12TERRY&category=110
view Bourne's profile
Thanks to microfiber cloths (slightly different from the sponge featured here), I barely use cleaners or paper towels for cleaning anymore. Warm water is almost always enough to do the job. Bar mops also feature heavily.
view Lyn Never's profile
am i finding two posts on the same thing?
just wondering what the difference is between these and regular cellulos sponges from the supermarket? Seems like there is none...
view sanna's profile
> why not just use rags?
I thought so, but it sound more durable than regular dish-cloths. I may try it.
By the way, I came from Japan, and we use dish wiping clothes (we call 'hukin') because dish washer is not popular like here. When they get old, they turn into 'dai-hukin,' which are used to
wipe kitchen-counters and table. (I think we name them different so that we don't mix them.)
When the clothes get really dirty, we use them for cleaning really dirty area
like window frame or toilet bowl before we throw them away.
(my mom also keeps worn-out socks and underwear for the purpose)
Since my husband (american) and I have been using so much paper towels, I start thinking to go back my culture (and any alternative solutions)
view redbonnie's profile
Where can I get these if there is no Whole Foods near me? I can't find the Trader Joe's Kitchen Cloth, either, as I don't live near a Trader Joe's, either. Any ideas? I took the suggestion of a commenter and ordered the terry cloth rags from raglady.com, but I would like to have multiple options for clean up.
view Tyro Prate's profile