Paper Towels

[floridafarmer]

I have a couple of homemade paper towel holders in the shop and one outside under a roof by my workbench. The wind usually gets ahold of the one outside and unrolls most of it... and sometimes when I grab and rip - I end up with a few feet of unrolled towels......
I was at my daughters house and the paper towels she had were good and absorbent but also they didn't unroll too easy - they are kind of tacky and I've been using them inside and out and they don't blow in the wind and I can rip and tear without unwinding the roll.
They are called "Viva" everyday designs - I think they are available at Walmart, Target and other places.

 

[ItsNemo]

I've resigned to using the blue shop towels these days. They used to feel expensive, but really at $2.50 per roll, if I use an entire roll for a job, it's really a drop in the bucket when changing $500 worth of parts on a vehicle or building something with $2000 in materials or something.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I also use the blue shop towels as I like them better than the kitchen paper towels - more sturdy and handle garage based fluids (and hand cleaner) better. I also buy cheap chinese red rags by the bundle, as well as the cheap terrycloth bar mop packs at Costco, so it doesn't hurt to throw them away too bad.

 

[toolchaser]

+ 1 on the blue towels. I have a guy at the local flea market that sells them for $1 to $1.50 a roll in slightly "squashed" condition, although he doesn't always have them, I stock up when he does

 

[gmwelder86]

Got a pit posse rack that will hold two rolls. Keep one blue one household. Have options depending on the job

 

[Copymutt]

I field dress old cotton tees from the thrift store. Have a big paper cutter, 4 bucks a yard bag full. Once in a while find a great wearable tee.

 

[wkndwar]

+1 again for the blue shop towels. I've never used anything different but certainly won't go looking either...

 

[rlitman]

I've resigned to using the blue shop towels these days. They used to feel expensive, but really at $2.50 per roll, if I use an entire roll for a job, it's really a drop in the bucket when changing $500 worth of parts on a vehicle or building something with $2000 in materials or something.

I have the blue shop towels, and Viva rolls, as well red rags. My favorite are the Rags In A Box, but I only use them at work, as I'm too cheap to buy the boxes myself.

The Viva rolls are sort of an in-between. They're MUCH stronger than regular kitchen paper towels, but are thinner than the blue rolls. Neither is anywhere near as strong as the Rags In A Box, but you get a lot more towels on a Viva roll than the blue ones. And as mentioned by the OP, they have a sort of static cling when still rolled up that prevents unintended unraveling.

 

[Showkey]

I use Viva plus the white Scot BOX of Rags .........note, there are different grades of Viva.

 

[theundermount]

I've ditch paper towel and went with these cleans your hands, tools, parts whatever!

 

[cdestuck]

To cure the unrolling problem, flatten down the roll to make the tube oblong. Doesn’t unroll on its own

 

[oldwino]

Times 10 on the blue towels. I used to use Rags In A Box and they are excellent but when you have oil & **** all over your hands they don’t tear off easily with one hand.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I use blue shop towels as well, worth the extra cost over regular paper towels. I also use all of my old worn-out shirts and pants as rags whenever I can.

 

[ezriderga]

I use blue shop towels as well, worth the extra cost over regular paper towels. I also use all of my old worn-out shirts and pants as rags whenever I can.

+1.........

 

[bob15]

I like the Brawny towels and their metal holder for wall mounting:

 

[SGKent]

To cure the unrolling problem, flatten down the roll to make the tube oblong. Doesn’t unroll on its own

we use a clothes pin to keep air flow from unrolling them. Fan in the garage hits them pretty hard sometimes.

 

[ken w.]

I like the blue towels. I can never remember what brand of paper towels I like when I need to buy them. I usually buy the bulk rolls of half sheets of towels.

 

[Empty Pockets]

I vote for blue towels

 

[rburke65]

I have all three....blue, paper, and the GoJo wipes in the bucket.

 

[ZRX61]

I've resigned to using the blue shop towels these days. They used to feel expensive, but really at $2.50 per roll, if I use an entire roll for a job, it's really a drop in the bucket when changing $500 worth of parts on a vehicle or building something with $2000 in materials or something.

They pulled a fast one by not increasing the price of a 10pk, instead they reduced the number of towels on a roll.

Used to be 10x60 = 600 towels
Now it's 10x55 = 550 towels


Scott blue: Garage
Viva: Kitchen


Except now roomie has discovered Scott blue she keeps a roll in the kitchen too.

 

[rsparks64]

I use the blue for my main paper towel. I also use the hand cleaner towels for my hands and occasionally other things. For shop rags, my wife washes them and banned the red ones because she ruined a few loads of clothes when she accidentally included a red shop towel. Those things are cheap and definitely not color fast. I switched to the white shop towels, which are the same as the red ones, they just are not dyed.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

I have used the blue but lately been using the white. Some old t shirts, bath robes etc have been pressed into service. The cloth ones I normally use for car washing and oil change clean up. Not much for using paper roll towels, but do think the half rip sheet type a good innovation.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I use brawny paper towels mostly for convenience and they work fine.
They are convenient because my wife always has a good supply of them in the house and I just grab a few rolls when I run low in the shop.

 

[James-W]

I have both the blue ones and the regular white ones. Depending on what I am using them for I pick the one that works the best.

 

[MushCreek]

I use the blue towels on HF magnetic holders. You can push them together to put tension on the roll so it doesn't unroll by itself. I even kept a roll inside my van that way. At the sink, I have dispenser for multifold towels for drying your hands after washing them. Much cheaper for simply drying your clean hands.

 

[bugnut]

I went with the automated battery towel dispenser, they are always hanging ready to be used. My intention was not to have to use two hands when they are wet and messy. I also have the blue towels on a hf magnetic holder, like Mushcreek pointed out. They are by the door for a quick oil check, etc.

 

[PelicanPines]

I buy bulk surgical towels... keep a covered garbage bin as a dirty rag holder... I wash then at a local laundromat two or three times a year.

If I get paint or glue on a rag... it gets tossed.

 

[GMCGarage]

I like the Tork mega roll or whatever you call it and the stand.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I use blue shop towels as kitchen towels. They don’t come apart wet and outlast bounty probably five to one. Great for clean up.

 

[brooktre]

I buy bulk surgical towels... keep a covered garbage bin as a dirty rag holder... I wash then at a local laundromat two or three times a year.

If I get paint or glue on a rag... it gets tossed.

Interesting idea.

 

[TriumphFan]

To cure the unrolling problem, flatten down the roll to make the tube oblong. Doesn’t unroll on its own

^^ This is genius. Nice hack...
I also reuse towels. Our mudroom with a sink is off the garage and when I dry my hands after washing I keep the towels in a stack on my bench. When they dry they can be used again. The blue towels can be reused too...

 

[Falcon67]

I buy the blue shop towel rolls at Sams by the 12 pack. They sometimes have a tendency to unroll in the race trailer when bouncing down the road so the two holders get wrapped with a band of 1" velcro around the middle for transport.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Blue shop towels and regular cheapo towels for me. I have two holders, one behind the other, staggered the mounts so the back one is lower than the front one. Their under my wall cabinet above the bench.

For work cleaning where I need to use a lot of them I use the good old fashioned Handy Wipes reusable wipes. Grandma always had one hanging on he kitchen faucet. Mrs. LS6 tosses' em when I do that.

BTW, I have found the Scott brand blue shop towels to be somewhat abrasive. Don't use them on paint or delicate glass (like on my Scoobie).

Tommy

 

[finn]

I use the Tork style center pul dispenser and white center pull paper towels. I also use the blue towels for a regular paper towel dispenser, but prefer the white Tork style.

I got the dispenser and both the blue and white towels from a swap meet vendor. There are several regulars at the Jefferson and Iola shows, and the towels are cheap when you buy in bulk.

I use the intermediate size dispenser, maybe 8” in diameter. If I buy a bag of three rolls, it lasts two to three years.

Household paper towels don’t work for me.

 

[Showkey]

Blue shop towels and regular cheapo towels for me.
BTW, I have found the Scott brand blue shop towels to be somewhat abrasive. Don't use them on paint or delicate glass (like on my Scoobie).

Tommy

Agree on the blue towels are abrasive..........

That’s where the high grade VIVA paper towel “shine”........they are approved for plastic computer screens and the like..........they are not suppose to scratch, assuming your not rubbing the dirt grit around your trying to clean.

 

[ford33]

Another vote for the blue roll.

I put them on a paper towel holder that offers resistance to unrolling. Available on Amazon.

Kamenstein 4554ASB Perfect Tear Patented Wall Mount Paper Towel Holder with Rounded Finial, 14-Inch, Silver $15.

 

[Denali]

I use the cheap mega pack of blue rolls of shop towels from Costco for 99% of stuff. They're much thicker than normal paper towels. "Rags in a Box" are also awesome to throw around as the box keeps them clean and prevents unrolling. Home Depot sells something similar in-store called "TOOLBOX White Rags".

Also, Scott makes glass-specific towels that are supposed to not streak like regular paper towels or shop towels, but they still seem to streak a lot. They're also super thin, almost more like paper than paper towels. For glass, I have much better luck with reusable microfiber towels, FWIW.

 

[brownsmustang]

I use the blue rolls and order recycled surgical rags and throw them both away when I'm done. I bought a roll holder for my wall system pegboard for the roll.

 

[gearhead1]

I use the blue disposable paper towels when I need to use a paper towel. That’s usually involving paint or grease. I have them on the HF holders.

As far as rags go, I buy the red or white ones from Sams club, but I have several stages of rags. I’ll wash them but I do it at home. What I’ve found is that it’ll leave a grease ring in the washing machine which I easily remove with 409. Then I wash car working clothes the next load, just to purge anything that might be left. I could run a load of whites the next load - never ever had a problem.

Now once the rags get too far gone, too holy, etc, they become disposable. I’ll use them for oil spills then throw them away.

I will use old towels or socks as they become available.

 

[PugetDude]

Tub O Towels for the win.