How To Clean Kitchen Rags – 3 Easy and Quick Solutions

Using a dirty rag on dishes isn’t beneficial for health. It accumulates a lot of germs and bacterias. Also, they have bad odors which always ruin a good mood. 

So, how to clean kitchen rags? 

There are multiple ways to clean a kitchen rag. The easiest one is to get some water and boil the dishrag. However, to counter stronger stains, you should use bleach. Lastly, if the rag has a strong odor, you can mix some vinegar or liquid soap.

Anyway, this was just a preview. Read along if you want to know about these methods in detail. 

How To Clean Kitchen Rags

3 Different Methods on How To Wash Dish Rags

You can clean a dirty rag in numerous different ways. A regular wash is enough for the dishcloths. But we’ve explained everything to give you an edge.

Gather the Required Ingredients

Before we begin, we’ve to manage the necessary ingredients first. To save your time, we’ve listed all the ingredients that you’ll need – 

• White Vinegar
• Bleach 
• Baking Soda
• A bowl 
• Laundry Detergent 
• Liquid Soap
• A Ladle or Big Spoon 

Grab these ingredients as quickly as you can and let’s get going! 

Method 1: Boil The Dish Rag

This is the most common procedure on how to clean dish rags. It’s effective against germs and eliminates odors. This procedure should be practiced once a week. 

Here’s what you need to do-

1. First, take a medium-sized pot and fill half with water.
2. Start boiling your water and wait until the water reaches the boiling point.
3. Safely put the kitchen rags in the hot water.
4. Now, resume the boiling. This will kill any germs or bacteria that are on the towel.
5. Use the ladle and stir the rags to make sure every spot is being boiled properly.
6. Stop boiling after 20 minutes. Wait for the water to cool down.
7. Once cooled down, wash the rags with normal water. The clothes will be good as new after this.

And there you have it. Now, your dishcloths are new like day 1. 

Method 2: Wash The Kitchen Rag In Bleach

However, not washing a kitchen rag for a while can leave strong stains. And these can’t be removed by boiling. 

So, how to clean greasy kitchen rags? 

Bleach works for the best against hard stains. However, soaking in a vinegar solution also works.

If you’re facing a situation like this, follow the instructions below – 

Take a bucket and fill half of the bucket with water. Now add 1 – 2 cups of bleaching powder depending on the number of rags. You can also add 2 -3 tbsp of laundry detergent. 

Wait for 30 minutes. You can prepare hot water in the meantime. Take the rags out and wash them in hot water. 

That’s all you’ve to do to remove hard stains from your rags. When thinking of how to clean kitchen cloth, you might want to use vinegar with bleach. 

But refrain from using both at once. They are chemically incompatible, so avoid that at all costs. 

Speaking of bleach, here are some of our favorite picks – 

Now you can easily order whatever you like and start cleaning! 

Method 3: Soak The Kitchen Cloth In Vinegar

Sometimes, if the rag hasn’t been washed in a while, it can have a strong odor. In these extreme cases, boiling alone can’t solve the odor problem.

Therefore, how to clean smelly dish rags? 

White vinegar is a great solution for smelly rags. It can nullify even the strongest odors. 

Making a cleaner with white vinegar is pretty simple. The required vinegar amount in the solution is 1/10th of the total water amount. Now, add 1 tbsp baking soda. 

Stir slowly with a spoon and it’s ready to be used! 

When you’re done with the solution, follow these steps – 

Put the rags in the solution. Add 1 -3 tbsp of laundry detergent depending on the number of rags you’re washing. 

Take the ladle and stir the entire pot. Wait around for 20-30 minutes. Drain the water as much as you can. 

Put them outside in the sun. Wait for the rags to get dry. Once completely dried, prepare hot water and wash them properly. 

And that’s it. This will get rid of those nasty odors completely!

Also, if you think it’s causing more laundry than usual, here’s an extra tip from us. Dry the rags overnight and do the laundry the next day. 

This minimizes the effort by a certain margin and you’ll be at ease. 

Check our latest guide about: how to clean shop rags at home.

Also, read the related guide: The best shop rags that you can buy.

Related Questions

Question: How do I get my washcloths white again?

Answer: Make a paste using laundry detergent and water. Then apply the paste to the stain. After 10-15 minutes, wash the cloth in hot water. 

Question: How do you keep dishcloths from smelling sour?

Answer: The trick is to clean the dish rags after each use. Just soak the dishrag in liquid soap and wash it with hot water. After that, just dry it out! 

Question: Is vinegar good for laundry?

Answer: Vinegar is one of the most useful elements if you don’t have access to laundry detergent. It works as a substitute and can remove both stains and odors. 

Here is a helpful video on how to keep dishcloths from smelling.

Final Words

And that’s everything from us on how to clean kitchen rags. Hopefully, you’ve found the answer that you were looking for! 

So, were you able to clean the rags?

Finally, if you have something to ask, don’t hesitate to use the comment section. Good luck with the process on how to clean greasy kitchen towels!