How To Make And Use Family Cloth

Around the world at the moment there has been a tendency for people to stock up on toilet paper. This has led to some unprecedented scenes of no loo roll left on shelves in supermarkets, and people getting into brawls over the diminishing stock. Well, there is an alternative to toilet paper other than newspapers or books. And it is a great way to upcycle old towels, thus making it a great sustainable and zero waste alternative to toilet paper full stop. Here is how to make and use family cloth, or reusable toilet wipes.

How To Make And Use Family Cloth

this Idea!

Now there are actually several brands of family cloths and reusable toilet wipes on the market. But even better than these is the capacity to make your own. And it can be very easy.

Easiest Option

You could cut up old t-shirts. Because these are made of jersey, they do not fray, so make perfect cloths for use anywhere around the home.

Upcycling Towels

I always end up with greying towels over time. But I hate throwing towels away. They can be so useful for up cycling into all sorts of projects, such as reusable sanitary towel cores, make up remover pads or reusable kitchen roll.

In fact if you follow my tutorial on reusable kitchen roll, you can make some lovely cloths that can be used all around the house, and can be used for family cloth.

But these are pretty posh in my opinion. I would rather just cut up old towels.

 Except… Old towels tend to fray and shed horribly when cut up. So a great way to combat this is to overlock around the edges. This seals the edges and leaves you with a pretty yet serviceable toilet towel.

I mark my towels with a template before cutting them into squares. Then overlock each side to make these great cloths.

They can be used for a variety of uses around the home. They could be

• baby wipes
• face cloths
• general cleaning cloths.

How To Use Them For The Toilet

My advice would be to make different colours for different members of the family. That way no-one gets squeamish about thinking that anyone else’s bottom has been on the cloth! If you are overlocking only, use a different overlocker colour for different members of the family.

As to how to use them, it is a little like using reusable nappies. Keep the clean cloths in a basket next to the toilet. You can add snaps and put them on a roll, but some people have asked how you clean around the snaps, or if the snaps would catch, and so I personally would have a basket.

Do I Really Use Them For After Poo?

That is up to you. 

It really is up to family preference if you use them for both wee and poo. A lot of people that I know are only prepared to use them for wee. And this is obviously a matter of personal preference.

Some people would prefer to use them just for after their bidet. which I think is the best idea.

But whichever way you wish to do it, you will also need a bucket with a lid near the toilet to place the cloths after use. Dry storage is best.

How To Wash The Cloths

You can wash these and reuse. I would soak in boiling water with sodium percarbonate solution for a few hours. This natural bleach kills all bacteria including E Coli, and also helps whiten the cloths.

Then if you like rinse and dry on the line as sunlight helps whiten any stained areas. Or wash and tumble dry if you prefer.

And once they have reached the end of their service, you can cut them up and compost. (As long as you have used 100% cotton towels)

Sadly, a lot of the overlocker threads out there are polyester blend, so I would cut these off before composting.

But I am sure that you will agree, this is a great way to avoid the loo roll crisis. I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on how to make and use family cloth.

Do you think you could use these? Have you had a loo roll crisis in your area? I would love to know your thoughts. Comment below or do find me on social media.

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