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I have about 20 billion muslin cloths that I use for cleansing and makeup removal. Ok, not quite 20 billion but lots, right? And they’re all a disgusting and unhygenic-looking sludgy grey colour from too much washing and waaaay too much mascara, even though I rarely use one for more than a day.
40 degrees does not return muslin cloths to pristine whiteness no matter what anyone says and while the cloths themselves are pretty cheap and easily available (try IKEA’s kids department for the most bargainous ones), lots of my double-turned ones from Eve Lom and Liz Earle have absolutely nothing wrong with them barring looking like unsanitary rags.
So I decided to do something about it. Bleaching was not an appealing option for something I use for my face so I got out a big pot, filled it with water and set it on the hob to boil. Once the water was bubbling, I threw in about four or five cloths and a slug of Woolite, turned the heat down and left them to simmer for about half an hour or so. It made the kitchen smell a bit horrible – heated Woolite isn’t the nicest scent, fact fans – and I wasn’t entirely sure it’d work anyway.
But it did: now, they’re not Tom Cruise’s massive tombstone-alike teeth white, but they are significantly less grubby than they were, and once they’d been thrown back into a regular machine wash and dried, they looked fine. I’ll get a few more months out of ‘em, which isn’t bad really for feck all effort.
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I’m going to try this! Have stacks of muslin clothes from Liz Earle that I no longer use just because they look yuck. I’ve always wondered if they have the same effect if you keep using them for a long time, but I guess the answer is yes? Usually I stop using mine as I get new cloths with every new order, but maybe I should be using them for longer?
Thanks Kirstie – was just wondering about this recently!
My friend got a batch of those Ikea clothes a few months ago & swears by them!
I have Liz Earle and Eve Lom cloths as well which look VERY raggy. I’ve put them through the wash. Used that Vanish Oxy white to see if they would come out brilliant white. Nada! I’ll try boiling them in the Wollite and see how they turn out
Thanks Kirstie
Not to be too much of a dunse, but muslin cloths?? Huh??
ive just reordered cloths from liz earle for this very reason
usually dump them after a while
I find that Ariel does a grand job on them and they are usually nice and white but that’s for the relatively newer ones. I might try this with some of the older ones I have instead of binning. I like the Liz Earl ones best – even better than the Eve Lom cloths…
I’m the same as you, magpie. Have throw loads away! Luckily I still have a bit of a stash somewhere though. I thought you were meant to stop using them after about a month. Ooops!
I’ve tried this! Top tip: Do not, repeat, do not, put said muslin cloths in saucepan to boil and then wander away to watch Clinton and Stacey (or whatever…). The result is a delightful mélange of ragged, scorched muslin, unusable (formerly excellent) saucepan and the enchanting scent of overheated dry detergent… MMMmmh! This common sense suggestion, while excellent, does not work for those of us with goldfish memories. Ah well!
Nope, you aren’t meant to use them forever, once they go really limp then they’re done for, but I find because I wear a lot of eye makeup and whatnot that they mark and stain really quickly. so they’re still fine for use but they look mank.
Brilliant tip! Have thrown said cloths away myself too just because they looked so awful in the bathroom even though I knew they were clean.
Hadn’t heard about the Ikea ones either.
What about putting them in the washing machine on a boil wash? I would deffo walk away and forget them in a pot (which is why i am not in charge of the cooking in our house)
This is a good tip. Also, if you use a scoop of Napisan (comes in Blue and white box) in the machine wash it really brightens up your whites. This stuff is kind of hard to get but check out the bigger supermarkets and they should have it. I swear by it for a white wash to keep them pristine.
Have hinted this to my mother but she has no regard for whites just shoves them in with everything. Have to grab the kids good clothes every time we stay in case she ruins them in her haste to put a wash on. Don’t know how many times i have told her as a hint that i only wash whites on their own, but the concept is alien to her.
as well as the ikea ones there are nice ones in the body shop too. they are white but the ones in the baby section are fair trade & unbleached, im using them & they’re grand if a bit big for a face cloth, but if you use a different section each time (they’re quite big) u can get a couple of days out of them
Discovered (by way of a very unhappy accident courtesy my 2yr old and my washing machine… long story) that if you soak them in a PLASTIC bowl in a solution of water and Milton (that stuff you use to sterilise baby bottles), and then shove them in the wash, that Whites come back to white again
. No boiling needed 
i like the milton idea .. its also fab for getting any whites white again ….
IKEA here i come ….
Great post, god knows mine still has the remnants of mascara that will not be removed!!
Boiling them in Bold and bleach works wonders too. I grew up with my granny doing this with all dish and floor cloths; she even had a special saucepan specifically for it. Good way of sanitising things I believe
I just pop them a 60 degree wash with my towels and face cloths. Though I don’t really use them for make up removal.