Ages ago I discovered linen dishcloths. They scrub better than cotton, absorb better, and last longer. Unlike sponges, which quickly become kind of yucky, you just toss them in with the next load of laundry and lay them out flat to dry. They dry very quickly. Anyway, I got them from Linen Home Studio on Etsy. LHS is located in Vilnius, Lithuania. I liked them so much I shared my stash with my daughter’s household. She has a sponge phobia, too. Eventually my cloths began to show their age, and I ordered more from LHS, but somebody started using tariffs pretty aggressively, and many countries, including Lithuania, stopped shipping to the USA. So my order got waylaid and eventually lost. Irena (at LHS) promptly issued a full refund. A few months later I consulted with the Google, and the Google contended that shipping from Lithuania was getting through if a major shipper was used. So we tried again. Again the shipment got lost en route. Irena asked to give it one more try, and I am pleased to say my dishcloths have made it to Austin. I am elated and thankful to Irena. Linen dishcloths appear to be a Lithuanian solution. I can find no other source. I find that bizarre in this world where so many of us are looking for earth friendly, biodegradable products. I am glad I can keep supporting Linen Home Studio and singing their praises!
Is this the product you use? https://linenhomestudio.com/products/100-linen-usponge-for-zero-waste-kitchen-washable-reusable-organic-sponge-1
No. I use these:
If you sew, you can buy great fabric here (including waffle weave and dish towel kits…sign up for their emails as they have flash sales almost daily and enter ILOVELINEN at checkout for an extra 7% discount.
I don’t make anything from them…i use their linens all the time for my reeanactor garb and its a great product.
Very nice. The waffle weave is metis, linen and cotton. I will file this away as a backstop.
I should clarify that I dont make any money from them…but I have dozens of yards of their linen in my sewing room…I make lots of things from their fabrics!
That was what I assumed. I don’t get anything from Linen Home Studio (or anyone else other than my retirement sources) either. The new dishcloths are in the washer on the soda cycle. Washing linen with a quarter cup of vinegar and then with a quarter cup of soda breaks them in quickly, bringing out their natural absorbency.
I’m a microfibre fanatic myself. They clean like nothing else even without soap, dry quickly, wash easily and don’t rot. I know it’s synthetic but I still have some that are approaching 20 years old and I don’t need harsh cleansers anymore. I have a highly polished stainless steel bin on the back of my stove that gets splattered with fat continually and it wipes clean with a 20 year old microfibre cloth and water. It’s really mind blowing. Full disclosure: I used to be a retail buyer for the mop & broom section so I’ve done a lot of product testing but I have not tried linen.
It really does come down to what you allow into your environment and self. Microfiber will do most things well and last. Linen will do most things about as well, some better, and outlast cotton.
