Shop Towels

[Danglerb]

My Hazet shop towels arrived the other day, same ones used on the Porsche factory floor, and it made me curious what some of the rest of you wipe your goop up with, store the dirty ones, and get them clean again.

So far I just make a pile on the bottom shelf of my shop cart of dirty towels, and toss them in the washer when the wife isn't around, and wash on hot with normal detergent and a bonus dose of Simple Green. Thats what I do with the $8 bundle of 50 red rags from HF anyway, these Hazets are never going get dirty.

The HF is low quality, but serviceable. I'd like to find a nicer thicker towel, but the bundle of 50 is going last a long time, and takes up a fair amount of space once washed, so 50 more of something else is not happening soon.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

For horrible messes, I use paper towels and/or scrap clothes. I keep a box of old jeans, T-shirts, cotton socks, etc. I also have several hundred shop towels, good quality ones. I have them sorted by how much grunge they have in or on them after cleaning. Some are oil/grunge, some are mild dirt and grease stains, some are nearly new, and some are ones I keep for waxing and polishing.

I clean the towels or rags myself. Years ago at my parents, we had a second washing machine and dryer just for doing this, but now I use a 1940's portable washing machine, its a stainless steel tub of about 5 gals with a top that has a elect motor in it and a three vane agitator hanging off the bottom and a rubber seal around the edge. I usually presoak the rags in Liquid Tide for a few days first, then Load it with rags and more tide, and let it run for a few minutes. Pull the rags out and wring them out with the mop bucket wringer, rinse once in a bucket of clean water and wring out, then agitate rinse once in clean water. Wring them out good and hang on a clothes line. Sounds like a lot of work, but not really too bad, I do this on an evening when I really don't feel like doing anything else.

I used to use some shop towels that my mother got from her father. He worked in a Santa Fe roundhouse and these were imprinted special for the railroad, "Help wipe out accidents on the Santa Fe". I quit using them about four or five years ago to preserve them, they are over 50 years old and still in pretty good condition.

Charles

 

[Uncle Buck]

I only buy the cheap HF jobs and take them to the local laundry mat when it is time to wash them. I do clean their washer out good when I am done.

 

[wythors]

You're kidding, right? You paid that kind of money for shop towels??? Something to soak up spilled oil, or wipe off your wrench when you're done with it?! Wow!

Personally, I go to the swap meet in October and buy a bag of 100 commercial-grade used shop towels for $8.00 once a year. Lightly soil ones get laundered and, if they get really nasty, I just throw the others away.

 

[wilbilt]

I have a pile of various shop towels, but they are just about at the end of their useful lives. I recently bought a bunch of terry washcloths on clearance, but I don't care for the amount of lint they distribute.

I do have a dedicated old washing machine for washing dirty rags, coveralls, etc.

I have been trying out various paper shop towels. The Scott-branded ones are not too bad, but I like them a bit larger. The bus garage at work uses the Wypall X80 towels. I "borrowed" a couple and really like them. They are a nice size and just as durable and reusable as cloth towels. They may even be washable, although I haven't tried that yet.

There are plenty of Wypall products on ebay, but they don't seem like a very good deal when you consider the shipping cost. I'd like to find a local distributor.

 

[Danglerb]

I Found some shop towels at the swapmeet last time, but they were same thin stuff as HF only used for about the same price as HF new, maybe a few more in the bag. As thin as they look, they do work ok.

The Hazet towels are not for wiping up, but to artfully place under tool displays etc.

Terrycloth needs to be washed a few times to get rid of the lint, then it should be fine.

I've got a big bag of cat litter for the real spills, and I think I may buy a cheap small plastic watering can and fill it with litter for easy use.

Good idea on the presoak. Maybe a day in some Simple Green in a big bucket, then into the washer. After a load of shop towels I spray down the inside of the washer with simple green and run a one size larger hot cycle. I wish I had the space to keep this old Maytag after we get our new front loader, but we don't have the space.

BTW I would think a laundrymat would go berzerk if they catch you washing shop towels or drying them.

 

[kidney]

The Salvation Army around here cuts up donated clothes (the stuff they deem not fit to sell) and sells it as shop towels. But I normally just use those blue shop paper towels, old socks or cut up t-shirts.

 

[katit]

I use only paper shop towels. In my expierence they work the best. As rubber mechanic gloves which I buy for $20/case of 12 pack

 

[jimvannoy]

I use old t-shirts, shirts, or whatever old clothes everyone in the house no longer want. Once they get dirty enough I throw them out and grab a clean one out of the big bin full in the shop.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

gloves are for girly men , saw a guy a work lose a finger because of surgical gloves - you will never see me wear gloves

 

[mulepackin]

All the packs we use in the cardiac cath lab at work, have more than enough extra surgical towels that there are always leftovers. They are supposed to be disposable, but I save the unused ones and use them for shop rags. They are a pretty heavy blue fabric and hold up very well to repeated use and washings. They actually work better after more washings. The price is right too.

 

[ImportTuner]

gloves are for girly men , saw a guy a work lose a finger because of surgical gloves - you will never see me wear gloves

How did the guy lose a finger because he was wearing surgical gloves???

 

[wilbilt]

gloves are for girly men , saw a guy a work lose a finger because of surgical gloves - you will never see me wear gloves

I used to sing the same tune, but all of the so-called "safe" solvents and chemicals tear my hands up. I got into some of that purple stuff last week, and I'll bet I have lost 3 layers of skin from my hands.

 

[Ign]

I only use paper as well. The best I've used are the blue Pigs in a box. Hold up nearly as well as cloth and very absorbent.

For home I usually buy the rolls of "Shop Towels" from Checker w coupon sales.

The Brawny shop towels that Checker sells are horrible, more like cardboard and don't absorb much.

 

[katit]

I used regular mechanics gloves - but they get dirty fast, hard to work with and inpractical. Now I use rubber ones and really happy with them. I'm not mechanic at my day job and "permadirt" is not something I like on my hands.

 

[icnsltmfg]

All the packs we use in the cardiac cath lab at work, have more than enough extra surgical towels that there are always leftovers. They are supposed to be disposable, but I save the unused ones and use them for shop rags. They are a pretty heavy blue fabric and hold up very well to repeated use and washings. They actually work better after more washings. The price is right too.

Thats what I use...I have a friend who is a surgeon and get's me the left overs. They are nice. I use paper towels for the basic stuff.

 

[jimvannoy]

The only time I wear gloves is when I am working with fiberglass because it takes forever to wear off your hands if you don't wear gloves.

 

[ponjohn]

Find someone who wrks at your local hospital (that does surgery).

Commonly in orthopedic cases the hospital will set aside towels for the case. These cloth towels are in bundles and if the bundle gets opened and not used they get thrown out. These towels are non lint producing and very durable.

My wife gets my "blue towels" ( can be green or grey) for me. I have dozens and dozens of these and they are free. We used them in the house and re-wash them.

( I just read the above posts after the fact)

 

[ColdDuckTime]

Find someone who wrks at your local hospital (that does surgery).

Commonly in orthopedic cases the hospital will set aside towels for the case. )

Any clue how much the hospital charges the patient for a package of towels? My morning caffeine wore out a few hours back and it's time to restart my heart.

 

[wilbilt]

Any clue how much the hospital charges the patient for a package of towels? My morning caffeine wore out a few hours back and it's time to restart my heart.

They probably charge them under "consumables", or "shop supplies" LOL.

Are these the same towels that are commonly referred to as "hucks"?

 

[Danglerb]

Found this at allrags.com

Huck, Reclaimed
Blue, Green & Blue/Gray
Cut, washed, reclaimed
100% cotton, low lint, super absorbent $47.50/25 lbs.

Apparently "huck" refers to the style of weaving, and is common in kitchen towels, and is also used for windows in car washes due to low lint.

 

[mhoffm911]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the nice towels they have at Sam's Club. I actually picked up a package and looked at them there tonight.

 

[Uncle Buck]

BTW I would think a laundrymat would go berzerk if they catch you washing shop towels or drying them.

No doubt about it, I usually go later in the evening and sometimes drive by one or two till I find a really dead one with no one around! I do clean up well for those folks that follow but undeniably I am sure they would blow a gasket if they saw what I was washing!

 

[Danglerb]

I found these at samsclub.com for about $13/100. I actually think I have some of the natural color ones, from maybe a LONG time ago. Looks like the old trick of buying a walmart gift card and using it at Sams without a membership doesn't work anymore, wasn't clear with Sams gift cards.
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