The aims of the present study therefore were: (a) to develop and evaluate protocols for recovering and quantifying FLP from dishcloths; (b) to assess the occurrence, total number and diversity of FLP in used dishcloths; (c) to detect and enumerate bacteria in dishcloths, with special focus on most common foodborne pathogens; (d) to assess the simultaneous occurrence between foodborne pathogens and free-living protozoa on dishcloths; (e) to evaluate which factors have an impact on both FLP and bacterial presence and concentrations in used dishcloths.