Using cloth napkins everyday??!
Does anyone else do this? My mom came over for dinner and thought we were weird...she had a clean napkin of course, she's a guest.
It seems like a good idea to me.
Answers: We started using cloth napkins for every dinner to cut down on our waste. We don't wash them after everytime, I mean mostly they just sit on your lap...only after a week or when they get stains, whichever comes first. It's great because they don't take up any extra room in the wash, so it's not like we're using more electricity to wash them.
Does anyone else do this? My mom came over for dinner and thought we were weird...she had a clean napkin of course, she's a guest.
It seems like a good idea to me.
I have used only cloth napkins for years! I cringe at having to buy paper napkins, which I did when we had a party for 40 over the holidays. But I agree, for every day and small dinner parties I will only use cloth napkins. They don't add an extra load to the laundry so I'm not wasting that resource and who knows how many trees are saved. :) For those that feel the need then they can wash everyday. With young children especially that may be required. But in my household, with my husband and I, my eldery mother, and only one son left at home, we can re-use a few times before napkins are thrown in the wash.
I'm so glad to hear there are others who feel the same! Sometimes I think I am the only one left who uses cloth napkins! (and NO plastic! Does anyone else hate plastic on the table?) :) :) :)
I use cloth napkins and haven't bought paper towels in about 4 years. However, I am really paranoid about the germs from old food so I wash mine every time.
not such a smart idea on conserving water!
I agree -- I use cloth napkins instead of paper for the same reasons. They take up so little room in the laundry -- just throw a few in with every load. And why pay for all that paper that you're just going to throw away? But I think I'd wash them a bit more often than once a week -- even small food-smears can turn into nasty germs pretty quickly.
As for conserving water -- there's always a trade-off. Yes, you're using a bit more water and detergent (even if it's not much) to wash the cloth napkins, but if paper napkins are the alternative then that means more trees killed, more chemicals and packaging used to produce the paper-napkins, more trash in the landfills, and more money spent at the grocery store buying the disposables. Overall I think a bit of water and soap is much less damaging to the environment.
A friend gave me cloth napkins as a wedding gift over 25 years ago. When they were worn out, she would make another set. She got cheap fabric remnants and cut them up and made napkins for all her friends. I still have some of them. Have never used a paper napkin for years. We even have cloth cocktail napkins - now how swanky is that?
But I do wash mine every time. When they are worn out they become cleaning rags.
It is unhealthy and unsanitary, all those germs sitting out for a day or two or three, bacteria multiplying. What's worse, your son could be using tonight a napkin you or your husband used last night and the night before. How yucky is that?
GERMS,DUST PARTICLE'S,THERE ARE EVEN MICROSCOPIC BUGS THAT WOULD BE IN THEM IF NOT WASHED ON A DAILY BASIS.MOLDS GROW QUICKLY ALSO,SO,I WOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE I EAT WITH A CLOTH NAPKIN THAT HAS NOT BEEN WASHED IN TWO DAYS LET ALONE SIX DAYS OR MORE. UUGGHH!!
Yes, we use cloth napkins to conserve waste. No, its not weird, it's responsible. We do wash ours after each use. Like you said they don't take up anymore space in the wash you're already running anyway. I think it's a great idea. I wish more people would consider doing this.