Everyone knows that cheesecloth is used for straining yogurt and making cheese, hence the name “cheesecloth.” However, there are many non-traditional applications for this material, which is why it can be found in a multitude of industries, performing countless important jobs from food prep to decorative arts to military ops and complex scientific processes.
This simple cloth really gets around. Let’s take a look at several types of cheesecloth and some potential uses for it.
Grade 10 has a very open weave with a thread count of 20×12 threads per square inch. The open weave makes it perfect for multiple uses. People use it for water from food, and the loose weave provides excellent airflow making it very drapey in fashion, crafting and home décor applications.
It is a popular choice for the film, décor, and party planning industries. Many a film ghost was born as a grade 10 piece of cheesecloth with artistic lighting.
The US Mint and other fine printmakers who make etchings use grade 40 and 60 cheesecloth, since it is soft on the expressive lines in etching plates and strong enough to clean the fine nooks and crannies. Bookbinders use it to reinforce the book spine and hold signatures of pages together.
The most common application for cheesecloth is – as the name would suggest – making cheese. Grade 60 is used in some cheese-making processes to remove whey from cheese curds and help hold the curds together to form the cheese. Queso Blanco and Queso Fresco are Spanish and Mexican cheeses made from whole milk strained through the cloth.
Grade 60 is also used to prevent mold growth on cheese during storage. It is soaked in white vinegar and wrapped around the block of cheese before storing it in a container in the fridge. Other food prep applications include straining stocks and custards, bundling herbs to make sachets, making tofu and ghee, thickening yogurt, and wrapping smoked meats while aging.
Speaking of slowing the “aging” process — students, medical examiners, and undertakers have all been known to use cheesecloth soaked in formalin (a formaldehyde-based aqueous solution) to wrap dissected frogs or deceased humans awaiting embalming. The purpose is to slow the desiccation process or keep the specimen from drying out.
Grade 60 cheesecloth is also regularly used in product safety and regulatory testing for potential fire hazards. Electrical household products, like blenders, hairdryers, conditioners, and space heaters, fall into this category. The cloth is wrapped tightly over the device during testing, which is then run under simulated conditions like lightning surges conducted through power or telecom cables, power faults, etc.
In these tests, the device may be destroyed, but it must not ignite the cloth. This shows that the electronic device in question can fail safely and not start electrical fires in the vicinity.
Purified cheesecloth (made to specific United States Federal Standards) is used to test the durability of optical coatings for lenses and photographic equipment. People in highly technical industries who work in cleanroom settings with precision equipment prefer purified cloth for its low lint, nonabrasive, and silicone-free properties.
Testing military lens coatings requires rubbing the lens of the equipment with the certified grade of cheesecloth under a specified pressure for a specified number of passes, depending on the item. Lens coatings must remain in perfect condition to pass the control test.
100% cotton purified wiping cloth is used for highly sensitive duties. Our cheesecloth is certified to meet AMS 3819C, Class 1, Grade A, BMS-15G, Class A, and CCC-C440E, Type 111, Class 1, which is why it is commonly used in the aerospace sector.
Scientists, medical lab workers, and agricultural technicians often employ grade 90 cheesecloth to filter particles from the various solutions and liquids they use. Grade 90’s high thread count creates a super-tight netting that catches fine particles but allows liquids and thicker solutions to seep through.
The fashion industry knows Grade 90 cheesecloth as “muslin.” Designers drape their mannequins in muslin while designing a new garment, and draped muslin pieces are cut and sewn together to serve as a template for the final pattern.
Monarch Brands carries unbleached cheesecloth in grades 10, 40, 50 60, and 90 by the yard. Also available is unbleached cheesecloth in grades 50, 60, and 90, as well as pads and washed tight-weave cloth.
Monarch Brands also has a retail collection of 4 sq. yard printed retail packs of cheesecloth and Tack cloth, 144 packs per case.
So, no matter how you use it, you can get all the material you need from a reliable and experienced supplier. If you are working with any of the industries mentioned, consider offering them these cloth products alongside those they already buy. Call Lucy Bauccio with any questions.
If you are working with any of the industries mentioned, consider offering them these cloth products alongside those they already buy. Call Lucy Bauccio with any questions.
Lucy Bauccio
Account Executive
[email protected]
(267) 238-1643
