Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Laundering bath mats...





Be honest here... when was the last time you laundered the mats in your bathroom? I'm not talking about vacuuming them or shaking them out or even hitting them against the side of your house to remove any dirt. I'm asking, when was the last time your washed them in your washing machine?? They need to be clean, too!!!

According to Martha Stewart's Homekeeping Handbook on page 25, bath mats need to be washed... are you ready?... WEEKLY!!!!!

So, do you launder yours weekly??? Just think of all the icky things that are in there. No, actually, DON'T think about it- it's a little too disgusting for me. Just decide this week that you will pick them up, shake them out and put them in the washing machine!! Your family will thank you! Not only will the bath mats be pretty and fluffy (and maybe even another color if it's been that long since you've washed them and they are that dirty!! LOL!!!), but you will wash away many germs and allergens that could bother your family, too!! What a blessing!!!

What else does Miss Martha say we should clean weekly in the bathroom?
-clean toilets, bathtubs, showers, and sinks
-wipe mirrors
-change and launder bath mats, towels, and washcloths
-dust light fixtures
-empty trash bins and wipe the insides and outsides
-vacuum and mop floors

So, ladies, what are you waiting for? Wash those bath mats!!!

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good Morning,

I keep the bathroom in pretty good order, but am guilty of not washing the inside and outside of the trash weekly, if ever? Who does this? : ) I wash the rugs probably every 3 weeks. The mats are so thick and cushy to the feet but the washer revolts on every spin cycle.

Take Care,

Trixie

~*This Mama*~ said...

I have gotten into the FlyLady groove with the bathroom and adopted her daily swish and swipe. Where you clean the sink, toilet and all the flat surfaces each morning first thing.

I TRY to sweep and mop the floor in there once a week and normally when I do this I toss the mats out to get washed. As of late though, it hasn't happened. I've just shaken them out and laid them back down this week. =)

Mrs. Julie Fink said...

I just laundered both sets of mine last night. I am pretty consistent about that sort of thing, I guess I think a little like our dear Martha :)!

Tracy said...

Yep. i DO wash mine weekly. I'm germ-phobic though.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for such a nice reminder! You've inspired me to not only wash my bath mats, but to give my bathroom a good scrub!

Blessings,

Sherry

Kara said...

Just make sure to read the washing instructions on the mats first! I used to wash mine about once a month. Then one time I wasn't paying attention and washed them on hot instead of cold and they basically came completely apart in the washer and had to be thrown away. I still haven't bought new ones to replace them.

Anonymous said...

I'm on it...

Mary Ann said...

I wash my bathroom and kitchen rugs every other week-don't put them in the dryer though-the backing will wear off really quickly. As far as the trash cans go, I do all of mine about once a month. I clean the rest of the bathroom weekly.:-)

Anonymous said...

Seems that your readers are already bath mat pros! As for myself, I wash them once a week and the kitchen throw rugs are washed every few days.

Amy said...

This is a sick confession, but cleaning the bathroom has always been one of my favorite chores & ways to de-stress. I have followed something similar to Martha's bathroom cleaning plan since I was a teenager cleaning my parents' three bathrooms. LOL. I also do Flylady's Swish & Swipe each morning.

Paula said...

I do wash the floor rugs, but not every week. Thanks for the link to book. May have to purchase that one!! By the way, cute bathroom. :)
Paula

Kelli said...

Hi Mrs. U! I wash my bathmats once a week but only because they were white and look kind of dingy after a few days. I never realized they can get that dirty and germy..eww!!

Kelli

Susan said...

I wash mine generally every two weeks, but I don't like how matted looking they get (no pun intended!). Here lately I've been thinking I need to do them once a week, but I wasn't sure if they'd hold up to that often.

I'm a FlyBaby too - swish and swipe daily - and mop the floors once a week - if I'm on schedule! ;)

Liz said...

In Australia the custom is different, and we only have one outside the bath or shower... ours gets washed at least once a week - it gets too wet from kids splashing and just doesn't dry properly after a few days... but it reminded me that I have mine soaking and need to put them in the washing machine!

Thanks

Anonymous said...

Not to boast or anything like that because most other things I don't do regularly, but I do throw our bath mats in the machine once a week...at the very least it's every two weeks. With the six of us walking on them (and little ones dripping toothpaste and other things :0) every day, they get really nasty! And sometimes it's hubby who says, "These are nasty!" Then he takes them and washes them himself!

I would love for you to share more from Martha's handbook!!

Kelly @ Growing.Learning.Playing. said...

Mine always seem to fall apart in the wash. :-( So they don't get washed as often as they should. I don't like the germ factor, either, but then again, I can't afford to keep buying bathmats. I need to figure out what I am doing wrong.

Tammy said...

I do not wash my bath mat once a week. I wash it about once a month, whether it needs it or not. ;-)

Jthemilker said...

Thanks for the reminder. When we lived in KY, we were in a ranch style house and I laundered those mats often. Now we are in a townhouse with bathroom upstairs and laundry in the basement... I'm ashamed to say I am not sure when I washed them last. I guess I should do that this week.

Anonymous said...

hmmm I wash mine about every 2 months!!! yikes..

Charity Grace said...

Well, with little munchkins I find that I have to launder the bath mats at least once a week! Sometimes more...I think it probably depends on how many people you have using the room.

Anonymous said...

Ok Ok I'm heading to the basement with my 4 bath mats! :)
Blessings...

Julieann said...

Mrs. U---YES...LOL. I wash my bathroom rugs weekly--I like them clean and fluffy--and I have three bathrooms--and the kids really needs it every week.

Also, after washing the bathroom floor, I just have to put clean rugs on them.

Julieann

Paula said...

LOL I have been doing this, but mostly because I am too lazy to actually clean them by vacuuming or beating! lOL!!!

Disney for Boys said...

I have a hubby who is borderline OCD LOL and likes a neat clean and tidy home so yes we do wash them weekly :-) We only have three to wash though. :-)

I love your blog, it has been such fun visiting you here!

Paula said...

I've actually done away with bath mats in our home. We use bath mat towels instead. I can just throw them in with all of the other towels, and I don't have to worry with all the ickies. :)

Blessings,
Mrs. C

Lallee said...

Do I have to answer this question ;-) (Slinking off to the laundry room....)

Kim said...

I have two that I rotate and get ready for this...they both go into the wash weekly. So they are only 3-4 days old. Dirty mat baths weird me out :)

Anonymous said...

I wash my bathmats every week when I do my towels.
I also bought dark colored mats so the dirt wouldn't show.
I wish my bathroom looked as pretty as this picture did!

Unknown said...

I have three bathmats so that I can have two clean in the linen closet at all times and I just replace it when necessary and throw the old one in the wash. I have been trying to do that with a lot of things, like curtains, sheets, etc. Instead of taking something down and washing it and putting it back up, I have spares to immediately replace and then I can wash at my leisure. ;-)

Wendi said...

My goal is wash it monthly. Honestly, it might not always happen. ;) I guess I need to step up my game and start washing it each Wednesday with the towels. I do have a concern about the back wearing off from the weekly washing. Guess it is better to replace it more often then let all of the yuck hang around.

Mrs. U said...

I totally understand, Wendi!!! I had problems with our old bathmats wearing off the back. I now have some from Ikea like this http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10331919/. LOVE THEM!!!!! They do not slide, either. AND there's no plastic on the back. YAY!!!!

Happy washing!! :)

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