RESEARCH at the University of Westminster has shown at within just one day of normal use, re usable kitchen cloths contain over one billion bacteria, the equivalent to the average kitchen sink U bend. The bacteria can cause illnesses such as food poisoning and conjunctivitis and come from human skin, the nose, the intestines and from uncooked or contaminated food. They may include salmonella, one of the most common causes of food poisoning.
Every time a person handles a dishcloth, small flakes of skin are left behind on the cloth. The bacteria which are always present in our skin are transferred to the cloth along with the skin, and quickly grow. For this reason, disposable paper towels are far more hygienic than the kinds of cloths that are washed and reused, according to research. The research compared a range of everday cleaning cloths and paper kitchen towels and looked at the levels and spread at which bacteria multiply in each cleaning item. Paper kitchen towels were the only sample to show no growth of bacteria, presumably because they are dry and are used once.
The highest bacterial contamination was found in kitchen dish cloths, followed by non woven cloths, sponge cloths and tea towels. The standard practice of rinsing a cloth under hot water will not kill most of the bacteria present. In fact, according to the research, rinsing cloths will help their spread of bacteria on to hands, which leads to further contamination in the kitchen.
The researchers recommended that paper kitchen towels should be used for "all appropriate wiping tasks" and that reusable kitchen cleaning cloths should be thoroughly disinfected at least once a day either by hot washing or soaking in bleach, followed by a thorough drying.