They say behind every toilet in a Coloured household is a vloerlap. Do you agree with this?
Vloerlap is an Afrikaans word that refers to using old rags and cloths for cleaning instead of paper towels. Back in the day, people would save every scrap of worn-out fabric to reuse as cleaning rags. Nothing went to waste!
These homemade cleaning rags are called vloerlappe because they were often used for mopping floors (vloer means floor in Afrikaans). But they can be used for all kinds of cleaning tasks.
The Dictionary Definition Of A Vloerlap
It’s the Afrikaans version of being a doormat. Calling someone a vloerlap is a metaphor that means they’re being treated like dirt. “Ek’s nie jou vloerlap nie!” translates to something like, “I’m not here to be used and tossed aside.”
Making A Vloerlap
There comes a point with some garments where the fabric is so worn out, you might as well let it live its final days as a rag instead of forcing it to carry on. Grab those worn-out items and chop off the edges if they’re all neat and tidy. After that, a good old rip will do the trick. It’s oddly satisfying—especially when you need to get rid of some frustration.
With kitchen towels, don’t bother with all the cutting and tearing. They’ve already done the hard work of drying your dishes, so just let them continue their service as a rag.
Bathroom towels deserve their own special mention. They make the best vloerlappe as they are more absorbent. Cut or tear them into smaller rags or strips. Aim for hand-sized pieces that are easy to grab and use for cleaning.
Vloerlappe can be used for all sorts of cleaning tasks:
- Wipe up kitchen spills and messes.
- Dust furniture.
- Clean countertops, appliances, mirrors.
- Wash windows.
- Scrub floors, baseboards, tile grout.
- Wipe greasy hands when working on cars.
- Apply polishes and cleaners.
What to Do With a Dirty Vloerlap
If it’s not too filthy, give it a quick rinse in the sink and hang it over the edge of the bathtub, the washing line, or the pipe behind the toilet to dry. When you do laundry, toss it in with the rest of your wash. If it’s too gross to save—well, that’s the life cycle of vloerlappe: they’re meant to take the hit and are cheap and easy to replace. If you’ve been using them properly, they tend to wear out just as quickly as your old clothes.
Do People Still Use Vloerlappe?
While the world has gone mad for paper towels and store-bought rags, there’s something timeless and nostalgic about reusing clothes and towels to clean. As long as we keep buying clothes, we’ll always have vloerlappe hanging around.
This post is written to celebrate Global Recycling Day on 18 March, because, as I explained in a previous post, Coloured households are some of the best recyclers.
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Author: Editorial Team
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