A dishcloth can be dangerous to your health. It is therefore extremely important to change it every day

It's quick around all corners of the sink after the dishes are done and it gets a brief rinse under the tap before being placed next to the sink still wet. Your kitchen dishcloth stands up against lots of things and it is not only a bacteria bomb but it can be dangerous to your health.

- Dishcloths are full of different bacteria and the number will be very different depending on where it has been, but it will always have a bad bacterial factor in your kitchen. Bacteria are namely lazy like humans and would rather spend the least possible energy on finding food and in a dishcloth they find the right combination of fluid and food.

Moisture will breeds bacteria

A dishcloth is the number one tool in your kitchen that is exposed to the most bacteria, and the high number is due to the dirt that comes the cloth comes into contact with each time you wipe off the table. When we use the cloth to wipe meat juices and leftovers tiny piece of fabric turns into a true bacterial bomb, because it is almost always moist and is located in the kitchen, where the temperature is around 20 degrees. That is a perfect combination to provide the best possible living conditions, and therefore you should remember to wash your cloth often.

- It is very important to change your dishcloth every day to prevent that the bacteria resulting in additional sick leave can reproduce. It could be bacteria from soil, feces or raw meat, which live on your cloth and make your kitchen very dirty.

The Danish Food Administration stated that in 2010 that it is especially young people who are sloppy with kitchen hygiene and estimates that about 10,000 young people aged 15-24 get sick from campylobacter because of this.

The best treatment for your dishcloth

A dishcloth must be changed every day. It is very important, but few remember to do it. To be extra motivated to change, always have a pile of clean cloths ready under your kitchen sink or in your kitchen cupboard at your fingertips.

The cloth should be washed in 60 degrees hot water and preferably at 90 degrees, although it is not the most environmentally friendly way. A dishcloth, should be washed on the highest temperature setting, and preferably separate. Remember to come rinse aid and salt in the machine, otherwise the soap does not work well on the dirty dishcloths.

Remember to hang your cloth to dry. It may well be the tap. You should never curl it or roll it up while damp and just leave it. Always rinse it in cold water so that all soap residue from the dish washing water and dirt is removed from the cloth.

Never use your cloth on the floor. Even your socks can drag soil and bacteria with them from outside, and should not end up on your cloth and ultimately in your food.

A white cloth is like a white wash brush the best choice for your kitchen. The white color makes it easy to see when the cloth is dirty and needs to be washed. But remember that you should always change it every day.

Note
A test was done on the TV program "MythBusters" and it revealed that the cloth container more bacteria than your average toilet seat in the evening! It was also confirmed that the bacteria in the cloth was significantly worse for your health than the toilet seat ones.