Household

Comments

1. Karen says:

   February 28, 2010 at 12:19 am

   

   My son found me a new natural luffa washing up scouring pad in a shop in Plymouth. Also available from http://www.michaelsluffas.co.uk They are ethically grown on Michael’s family farm in the Philippines. On the cardboard that came with it was the message that if everyone used a luffa instead of plastic scourer it is estimated that we would avoid the equivalent of 150 double decker buses of non-biodegradable landfill a year. The luffa will last 12 months and can then be put on the compost heap.
2. Mrs Green says:

   March 1, 2010 at 6:00 pm

   

   @Karen: Hi Karen - that’s great; thank you for the link to the site and for sharing the information with us. I need something like this for the kitchen as we’ve used the green and yellow artificial sponges in the past. I’ll definitely take a look at these
3. Jane says:

   March 2, 2010 at 8:25 am

   

   @Mrs Green: I want to have a go at growing these in the UK. We used to see them growing wild in Africa. http://www.groovygreen.com/groove/?p=689
4. Mrs Green says:

   March 2, 2010 at 11:32 am

   

   @Jane: Oh fantastic! Do have a go and let us know how you get on. I think I might try it too. Have just written to a company who sell lufas, but it would be more fun to have the home grown variety!
5. Ben says:

   March 13, 2010 at 9:23 pm

   

   I use lots of green and yellow sponges, and general plastic cleaning cloths around the house, so I’ve been trying to find a replacement for a while. Today I bought some cotton dish cloths wrapped in paper, which I hope to clean up by boiling in some soda crystals at the end of the day. Cleaning cloths should be better for the environment than replacing them, and hot soda crystal solution is good for the kitchen drain anyway. The cloths should be ok in the compost when I’m eventually finished with them.

   Those luffas look good too though, and 3+ months each sounds very good. I’ll have to look around in my local shops for these.
6. Jane says:

   March 14, 2010 at 7:37 am

   

   @Ben: Microwaving wet cloths is easy - if you have a microwave! I haven’t. I boil them. Face flannels too.
7. Karen says:

   March 15, 2010 at 8:27 am

   

   I have been using thick bamboo cloths in the kitchen which I bought from Lakeland. They can be put in the washing machine. They have been super on my granite work top. I don’t use cleaning product. Unfortunately Lakeland have stopped selling them as they were not a good seller. I have been trying to find them. I have just bought a pack of 10 which have not lasted more than a few days use. They can however go on the compost heap. I will keep hunting for the original cloths. If lots of people ask Lakeland they will supply them again.
   I really like my wee luffa. It seems safe on non stick.
   I recycle all my facecloths as cleaning/ floor cloths. I sew a big cross with my sewing machine over them just so they don’t get mixed up with the face cloths.
   Some people suggest putting dish cloths through a dish washer cycle to freshen up.
8. Mrs Green says:

   March 15, 2010 at 9:24 pm

   

   @Karen: HI Karen, thanks for sharing your experiences. It’s so frustrating when a company stops selling a great product due to lack of demand. And what a shame about the other cloths which have not lasted. I use microfibers mainly, and just put them in the washing machine with everything else. They seem to last forever. I know ultimately they are landfill waste, but I reckon I have had my oldest batch about 9 years
9. Karen says:

   March 16, 2010 at 7:58 am

   

   @Mrs Green: Hi Mrs G, I have some microfibers but I really don’t like the feel of them. I also find they become less efficient. This becomes evident when cleaning glass or mirrors. they seem to leave tiny fibers behind. I have found another source of bamboo cloths on the internet so will try them and let you know.