Reading some of the posts that have recently appeared on this and other threads, I'm going to have to check the bookstores here in Berkshire.

Apparently the latest edition of the Big British Book of American Stereotypes has hit the stands. ;-)

How funny! I never even thought about the "private part" washing with a wash cloth.
I only use one to clean my face at night....the only way I can do it without getting my hair wet, not to mention the countertop, floor, front of my clothes.

Funny how we get used to things and think everybody else does the same.

I'm sure that most people who use washcloths use them as they find them a convenient way to wash - I often use one myself - rather than to avoid touching their own bodies and I didn't mean to imply that this was the case...just that one poster did mention it.
Anyway, whatever germs end up on the washcloth will also end up on the hand holding it.

Funny episode from Friends:

Chandler: Joey, you used my toothbrush. Eeech.

Joey: So, you wash it. What's the difference we use the same soap in the shower?

Chandler: But that's SOAP. How much cleaner can anything be than soap?

Joey: OK, but remember the next time you take a shower think about the first place you use the soap and then think about the last place I used the soap.

Once again, the Americans versus everyone else... As an American living abroad I get so tired of hearing about all the things we Americans just do wrong. So we like washcloths - so what? Some of us don't mind touching our genitals others do - so what? Don't the French have a saying: Vive la Difference? (Pardon my spelling on that BTW - yeah, I know, Americans don't know any other languages either - guilty as charged...I wish I were blessed to grow up in close proximity to so many other cultures but I wasn't. I did have a fantastic education in science and math however...)

My European dishwasher runs for a whopping 145 minutes and my dishes are still dirty - never had to "pre-wash" in America but I do here. Also, my clothes washing machine and dryer have cycles that can take all afternoon - speaking of washcloths my brand new ones I bought before we moved are in shreds from the W/D...

I joke with my family sometimes... these women who complain about Americans and our cars and appliances would kill for a decent Maytag W/D and a refrigerator that holds a weeks worth of groceries if they knew what they were missing. Nonetheless I support their right to use tiny washer/dryers that run all day long instead of big ones that do one large load in 40 minutes, and small refrigerators that necessitate daily marketing. I prefer to do my housework quickly so I can go out and take a walk or get a more interesting job outside the home.

Oh, just to prevent a million nasty responses about how Americans wouldn't know how to use the machines properly, my European appliances are all brand new and a "professional" came to my home to explain how to use them "properly" (I couldn't believe this was a "normal" service) so I am using them the way they are supposed to be used with the proper detergents etc.

And since I'm on a rant...

One thing I really tried to do when we moved overseas was to respect the differences, not expect everything to be like "home" and learn from seeing other ways of doing things. Some things are better and more clever, some things just aren't. Better in my opinion that is! I still respect other people's desire to do it the way they are accustomed and I don't need to insult them because it is different from the way I like to do something.

I just wish other people would respect my culture and my differences sometimes or at least feel less inclined to attack with no sign of common courtesy. Seems like it's always open season on putting down anything American even if its as silly as whether we prefer a washcloth or not! Who cares? Aren't there a lot bigger issues in the world than how we clean our privates?

Does your washing machine have a device for untwisting knickers.
The real title of that book is "The great British book of Michael extraction".

>>>My European dishwasher runs for a whopping 145 minutes<<<

gruezi, surely you got manuals with those European machines. Because machines have several programs to choose from, some programs may take that 145 minutes, others take 20 minutes. My European W/D has 17 different programs, and dishwasher has 4 programs.

Yes, I got all the manuals - the shortest cycle is 89 minutes but it doesn't clean anything... I can wash my clothes for "short cylce" of 32 minutes but only in cold water... trust me...

gruezi, that was some rant!

I went back through the thread to see if I could find what triggered it -- who was down on Americans. I couldn't find it.

Can you show me?

Yes, I believe you, but there are many manufacturers also in Europe, and somehow I have always managed to get good machines. I have no complaints.

And i would not kill for a big fridge/freezer either. I have always had one, and just got rid of it a year ago when I realized that there are only two people left in the house, so no need for that electricity guzzler any more.

Just to get back to basics, Ibis hotels and Campanile hotels all have washcloths.

I think gruezi's comments were a bit wild, but perhaps it referred to this statement by Miss Prism:

"somebody just mentioned washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
I'm sure that this is just an American habit."


Was this to suggest that all Europeans put their stacks of dishes in a dishwasher without scraping and/or rinsing them off first? I find that hard to believe. Somehow "I'm sure that this is just an American habit" seems to have a very snide connotation to it. Why would anyone assume that all Americans do it because one poster happened to mention it? And why would being American have anything in the world to do with that habit? Yes, I'd say it was a snide comment.

<I read somewhere that Americans don't like bidets because they don't like touching their genitals.
I must say that I wondered how all those little Americans got there.>

<OK, somebody just mentioned washing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher.
I'm sure that this is just an American habit.>

<if Americans don't like touching their own genitals, they probably seek out alternatives.>

< It seems that a study found that American preferred products that still allowed them to do some work: cake mixes to which egg had to be added, and uncooked pies.
They felt guilty about using convenience products.
Perhaps they feel guilty about using dishwashers.>

Sorry, you'll all have to forgive me. I hear stuff like this day in and day out, and sometimes I just get tired of it and need to vent...Maybe I'm just feeling a little homesick today...

and although I love Fodors for the travel talk and interesting information on books etc, I find these discussions often go in a certain direction based on the European vs American way...I think debate is good but not when it becomes "snide" as pointed out by Neopatrick...thanks Neopatrick for your defense even if you find me wild...

Try replacing "the American" in your statement with "the Muslim", "the African", "the Indian" and see if it is easier to see why it's offensive that way.

Is it true that Americans prefer to wash with mineral water instead of tap water?

hmmmmm.... do you mean our teeth or our bodies, flat or gas?

This gave me a good chuckle, folks. This board forewarned me about washclothes in Europe, so I went prepared with Dove face cloths and a pair of those mesh gloves. Haven't seen a washcloth in Paris yet, so it was good advice.

I use washcloths because I was raised to. They're a staple of American towelling. This being a vast country with a lot of different cultural influences, you meet people who use one cloth for a week, people who use one set of towels per day, people who use separate cloths for face and body. Now that bath/spa is so in lots of people have turned on to loofahs and other scrubbers, but mostly middleclass and up. A friend from Boston once told me that she never uses a cloth for her face.

I use a cloth a day on my face and some scrubber for the body. Exfoliation is key. I own 14 white cloths for my face (in case I go two weeks without doing laundry), and a couple of dark ones for the body/guests.

Do what works for you. No sense being out of sorts when it comes to your hygiene. That has to ruin a trip.

you're welcome gruezi, and meanwhile "wild" is a good thing!


Meanwhile I had to laugh when gruezi pointed out that despite that horrendously long wash cycle things still didn't get clean, so someone actually suggested using a SHORTER cycle! Yea. Now THAT'S logical!

I do get the European appliance complaints. After years of a horrible washer/dryer combination in the flat I rent in London, I was thrilled when they installed a new one. This actually will dry a small load in three hours instead of the previous four or five. The only problem now is that after the dryer quits running, the door won't open for something like 5 minutes -- long enough to make sure all the wrinkles have set in and ironing will now be required!

I'm also still curious about that dishwasher filter comment. Assuming there is a filter on the dishwasher that you put food covered dishes in, cleaning of that filter must be required. Otherwise where does all the food go? As I mentioned, here ours usually empty into the garbage disposal so it can all be gotten rid of. But do you have to clean the food filter in a European dishwasher?

"carylspall, surely you didn't investigate THAT closely?"

Patrick - I worked in a care home for the elderly so I just recognise these things - unfortunately! Ships(replace the p with a t!) corridors aren't so wide either!!!

Blimey, what a lot of turbulent passions can arise from a small square of cloth.
Also, what a lot of postings it can generate and what a lot of po-faced lack of humour it can demonstrate.
How did dishwashers and washing machines get in there?
My name is Josser and I am a dish scraper rather than a washer.
Our dishwasher has settings varying from heavy soil to quick through eco.
It has a filter, but said filter doesn't contain fish-heads and chicken bones because we scrape 'em off.
I am informed by Mrs. J. that she rinses the filters about once a week and she uses cleaner that smells of concentrated lemon juice every so often.
Our washing machine has several settings and doesn't take all day to do a load.
They are both made by Bosch and I will supply an address if the company wishes to pay me for the endorsement.
Now what I'd really like to know is if anyone has ever cooked a whole salmon in their dishwasher.

gruezi, thank you for telling me what vexed you. Two of the four instances you gave were jests from Josser and myself in response to a particular post. For my part (and I presume Josser's as well, but he can speak for himself) it was no more than a good-humoured reaction to a point of view that seemed strange.

You suggest that you are sensitive to such things today, and that happens. I didn't take offence, and I don't know if anybody did.

Let me remind you of something that you have probably observed here also: the strange pronouncements made about Europe by many Americans. If I let things like that get under my skin, there would be no room left for me.

I'm happy with a "normal size" fridge, and with shopping more than once a week for food.