Help Me Help My Washcloths!
By Karina | May 4, 2009
Tiny Choosers, I need your help!
I have been using the oil cleansing method to clean my face for several years - I mentioned it in a tell-all post on personal hygene. The way you use the oil cleansing method is you rub your face all over with a mixture of oils, then you wipe it gently off with a warm wet washcloth. Done! It’s wonderful, and my face loves it.
The problem with the method is that you’re putting all this oil onto a washcloth- and have been using the same washcloths ever since I started. I didn’t have a washer in my home for the last 4 years, so I typically would use the same washcloth for a week or so before swapping it out. As you all know I generally wash my clothes in cold water (even when I used the Wonder Wash I still used warm water, not hot) and I have to say that over time, there has been some significant build-up on the washcloths. Currently most of them are a little on the stiff side, if you will, and it is getting a little uncomfortable to use them on my face.
I’ve tried a couple of things. I’ve left the washcloths simmering on the stove with washing soda. I’ve used soap nuts and hot water. But other than getting an old fashioned washboard and scrubbing each washcloth before washing in a machine to make sure the nasty oils come out, I’m not sure what to do! And I have to confess, I’m stymied with indecision.
And this is where you come it - Do you have any sure-fire and eco-sound tips for me? How can I reclaim my stiff oily washcloths?
[[Photo from Flickr User nosenabook via creative commons license.]]
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You could try washing them in dish soap (biodegradable, phosphate-free dish soap of course!). Since it is made to break down grease, it may work. It definitely works to break up grease stains from clothing.
If not, you can always compost your cloths, at least!
Along those lines, a friend once told me that the best grease busting dish soap is Dr Bronner’s orange (tea tree, maybe). I’ve used it for years and, while I can’t vouch for its skills on removing oil from clothes, it does a bang up job on dishes.
that’s really smart, and also really simple!
Have you tried soaking in vinegar? It generally works for soap buildup, and maybe this would work for you?
I didn’t realize that vinegar worked for soap buildup! I haven’t tried this, but I’m not sure that the vinegar will cut oil?
Not sure about the oil but I use a washcloth on my face daily, too. I choose the rough/cheapos to give a bit of a scrub but only use water, using about a 1/4 of the cloth per day. Then I put lotion on my face - I glow! Perhaps dissing the oil is the fix? Sorry I can’t be of more help.GL
i know this isn’t green, like, at all…but a friend of mine who does massage for a living (so she has to wash up oily sheets on a regular basis) told me that coca-cola will get the oil out. just dump a bottle of it into the wash. but i don’t know if i could bring myself to buy a bottle of coke…
maybe not green, but it’s so weird that I want to try it myself!
Would you then have to wash the sheets again to get the Coke out??
Following Clare’s suggestion of using coca cola, I wonder if you need the syrup or if plain carbonated water would work. Just a thought. It does wonders for my carpets. If you have a soda maker, you can make your own carbonated water.
well you know, I *do* happen to have a soda maker!
vinegar should work; but use only Heinz. Other vinegars are made from petro based products. I just learned this and was shocked.
I was shocked when I learned about it too.
immediately when i read this my mind, like other folks, went to dr. bronners. dish soap is notorious for grease-busting. i like the idea of trying dr. bronners and vinegar at the same time, but it would be a greener choice to try some with dr. bronners and some with vinegar and see if either worked. then, if not, i’d use both of them at the same time to see if combining them adds some extra power.
Not sure if this would work or if you’ve already tried it, but to strip my son’s cloth diapers, I boil them on the stove in plain water for 15 minutes.
[...] Help Me Help My Washcloths! [...]
Wow, looks like you already have a lot of great idea’s. The best method I think for you would be to use a biodegradable dish soap (or dr. bronners, it definitely cut’s grease.. try the citrus) and rinse with baking soda. Baking soda really cuts grease, more so than vinegar. When I wash my dishes, I mix in baking soda for more grease fighting power (or a bit of lemon juice.)
There’s is also d’limone products, like TKO Orange. This stuff is AMAZING, it seems expensive, but it comes concentrated, so it lasts a very long long time. It cuts grease amazingly, in fact it’s what I use to clean the whole house. It’s made out of organic citrus peels, and seeds. I prefer the brand Nature’s Ultimate (it has no orange dye, but I’m assuming TKO uses a non petro dye, you would have to ask the manufacture) but TKO Orange is more widely available. Best of all, it leaves no residue, and gives everything a light citrus smell (don’t worry, it doesn’t linger for long.)
Hope this helps :)
By the way, I also forgot to mention that just basic lemon juice will do the trick too, if you can’t be bothered with the d’limone. I’ve used lemon juice to cut the grease from pans, and my counter tops. I also microwaves lemon juice for quickly clean the microwave. Just wash with dish soap, and then rinse with the lemon juice (you can let it sit for a while.)
Also, those look like hemp clothes, they must clean your face really well! I also use the oil cleaning method for my face, if I use anything else it really makes it irritated but olive oil seems to do the trick. It’s what I’ll be using to clean my baby when she’s born :)
Sorry about the spelling mistakes, I’m just going to blame the hormones from my pregnancy ha.
[...] you all for your help on my recent post about how to save my nasty, oily, and slightly dirty washcloths! They were dingy, greasy from use, and just couldn’t get clean again. After I posted back in [...]
i just use a vic’s complexion cloth - i wet it first with cool water and then pour some oil on it - usually sesame - and scrub with it. every once in a while i will wash it with soap and then i always let it dry between uses. when i do laundry i use home-made lye soap with a vinegar rinse - but i usually suds up the cloth with some soap before i use it.
btw - if you mix vinegar with dr. bronner’s or any home-made soap the soap will curdle and leave little chunks (at least in our water). so i would be careful using them both at the same time.
so far i have not had any build up - but this type of wash cloth is cotton and is very thin and perhaps the fibers are far enough apart to not hold on to oil. but i will be on the lookout for build up in the future! we use cold water to wash here.
oh - i just wanted to add that i also have a salux cloth that i use in the bath that is made of nylon. it is a very loosely woven nylon cloth and i often use it with oil. it definitely gets an oil build up! but this probably has more to do with me not remembering to wash the oil out of it after every use! which is kind of gross when i think about it… washing it in the laundry did not get out the build up and i will try soaking it in vinegar next time i wash it - but usually the build up is not noticable until the cloth is ready to be thrown away… which sucks i know throwing away a cloth! so i am looking into using another type of cloth for this use.