Taking Care of Reusable Grocery Shopping Bags

Taking Care of Reusable Grocery Shopping Bags

Many of us these days are switching over to reusable grocery shopping bags as they are not just cheaper; but, by using them we’re also playing an important part in the preservation of the environment. If you use the bags again and again they’re surely going to become dirty and maybe even prone to bacterial and fungal growth.

But, some people just throw them out at this stage rather than reuse them – what’s the point of buying reusable grocery shopping bags if you’re not going to be reusing them? Therefore, there are a few things that you need to keep in mind when using these bags in order to maintain a healthy internal environment for your groceries.

The reusable grocery bag that you have at home is most probably made of cotton; but, there are plenty of different types out there. All of them are washable and you could easily clean them by placing them in a washing machine every now and then. It would be advisable to at least rinse the bag with water once you return home especially if you’ve bought meats.

If you’re worried about the colour and designs fading you could always wash them in cold water with a mild detergent rather than a harsh one. Also, make sure to turn them inside out whenever you place them in the washing machine. This needs to be done for two reasons:

Firstly the inside needs the cleaning as that’s the part where your groceries go and therefore it’s necessary to keep that part clean.

The chances of your bags design and colours fading are far less this way.

Once the bags are washed the next thing that you need to do is dry them up. Don’t dump them in a closet when they’re wet as there would surely be fungal growth and they would cause a bad stench. If you’ve got a clothes line or something similar hang the bag up there so that it can air dry – this is the best way to dry a bag rather than using any other means such as a dryer as the high temperature could harm the bags.

Therefore whenever you’re out searching for a reusable grocery shopping bag you need to find one that is strong, sturdy and long lasting – otherwise there’s no meaning to the word reusable!

Most people have a minimum of two bags with them when they go shopping one for the meats and the other for vegetables and fruits – this is a good way to organize yourself as washing of the veggie bag is much easier and plain water would do.