Are you using a lot of wiping cloths in your day-to-day tasks and finding that they end up rather dirty? This situation is not uncommon and can be a real problem. For example, dirty and stained clothes may have a lot of bacteria that you could spread across your home by wiping down with them. Thankfully, you can keep your wiping clothes relatively clean by using these simple steps.

Know When to Wash Them

At a certain point, your wiping cloths are not going to be safe to use anymore. Typically, this occurs after 2-3 uses. By then, you'll likely have used them to wipe down multiple surface areas, washed your dishes, and much more. Remove any dust or debris from them by rinsing them in hot water and then either put them in a washing machine or hand-wash them with appropriate anti-bacterial soap. When washing by hand, wear a pair of gloves to avoid contamination and scrape off all stains and debris to avoid problems.

Drying Them Out

Next, you need to make sure that you dry out your clothes after you rinse them off. This step is important because it helps to avoid mold and other long-term growths on your cloths. Try to wring them out as much as possible to get all the water out and then throw them in your dryer or even hang them up outside to dry. These steps help to keep them safe and minimize mold growth and also help minimize bad smells.

Replacing Them When Necessary

Many people try to keep their clothes as long as possible to protect the environment. After all, according to RoadRunner Recycling Inc., about 84% of all clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators, with New York City alone wasting more than 400 million pounds of clothing. However, there comes a time when common sense dictates you throw away those clothes. For wiping cloths, if your cleaning just doesn't work anymore, replace them to stay safe.

If you're worried about throwing away too many wiping cloths, you can avoid the kind of waste mentioned above by reusing your old shirts, pants, or other items! Tear them up into small squares and clean them in the laundry to prepare them for use. You can then clean them using the steps above, cutting back on your waste and also keeping your home and family safer at the same time. Bonus!