What the cloth actually does
A microfiber cloth is thousands of split fibers, each one thinner than a hair, with edges that lift grease and dust instead of pushing them around. Damp, it removes most of what a kitchen counter collects in a day with no product at all. The spray in the cupboard is doing less than you think; the cloth is doing more.
That is why our van carries forty cloths and three bottles. The cloths do the work. The bottles handle the three jobs a cloth cannot: grease that has cooked on, limescale that has set, and glass that needs to dry without a mark.
| Color | Where | Why it never crosses |
|---|---|---|
| Teal | Bathrooms | What lives on a toilet stays off a counter |
| Grey | Kitchens | Grease would smear the glass later |
| White | Glass and mirrors | Shows the dirt, so you know when to fold to a clean side |
| Blue | Dusting, everywhere else | Dry use only; a damp dusting cloth makes mud |
Fold it in eight
Fold the cloth in half, then in half again. You now have eight clean faces. Use one, turn to the next, and the dirt from the first face never goes back on the surface. When all eight are used, it goes in the bag and a fresh one comes out. A cloth that is scrunched in a fist has one face, and it is dirty after the first wipe.
If the cloth is not folded, you are moving the dirt from the left of the counter to the right.
The washing mistake
Fabric softener. It coats the split fibers and they stop lifting; the cloth starts smearing and people blame the cloth. Wash microfiber on its own, warm, with a little detergent and no softener, and tumble dry low or hang it. A cloth washed that way does two hundred visits. One with softener does ten.
Three things you can do tonight
- Buy four colors and keep them in four places. The bathroom cloth lives in the bathroom.
- Dampen, do not soak. A wrung-out cloth cleans; a wet one leaves streaks and takes the finish off wood.
- Throw out the softener, or at least keep it away from the cloths.
What is in the three bottles
A degreaser for the cooked-on kitchen jobs, a limescale remover for chrome and glass in hard-water bathrooms, and a glass cleaner that is mostly alcohol so it evaporates before it can streak. Everything else in the van is a pH-neutral floor cleaner and a stone soap for the marble, because vinegar and stone do not get along. That is the subject of the next one.
Ana RuizTeam lead for homes at Lustrum. Nine years of first visits and the person who decides what goes in the van.