When to retire a shop rag

[jimreed2160]

I found this rag today while I was cleaning up by the grinder. I am not sure why it had such a hard life but it was retired today.

When do you retire your shoprags?

 

[Vantastic]

That ain't even greasy. Keep using it.

 

[mbshop]

Umm, that still had a lot of life left. You just threw away a perfectly good rag. I throw them away when they have finally become way to contaminated with differant oils and othe contaminates. I have basically two differant rags, those that get oily and used often and those that are used for polishing etc that never touch oil. So no, I rarely throw rags away.

 

[1982fxr]

Damn near a virgin!

 

[livinlife]

That rag is practically brand new. Could not throw that one out. Mine dont go until they are really dirty. Even the paper shop towels stick around awhile.

 

[Dr Stan]

That looks like one of my best rags. Throw it away? Why?

 

[cheechi]

I have blue paper ones that have lived harder lives than that and are still around. I haven't thrown away a cloth rag in probably 4 years or more.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I guess I throw mine away too soon, I guess I should start keeping them and sending them to you to use after I am done with them.

 

[timothylockhart]

After one use "oops" seriously maybe I should be a little more frugal or not by the **** ones

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[B_Bimmer]

The life of a "rag" at my farm.
1. Lives long life as an article of clothing for myself, my wife, or one of the many children.
2. Becomes stained, threadbare, or otherwise undesirable.
3. Assuming absorbent material, becomes a "good" rag, used for final cleaning, and polishing.
4. Becomes stained to the next level, and is demoted to "used" rag.
5. Used for general clean up and light oiling for an extended period of time.
6. I need a rag with which to oil or grease something and search for the dirtiest of the used rags which are then destroyed, and finally retired.

I sometimes hear about dirty rags spontaneously combusting, I have yet to even experience hot shop rags, maybe I don't do enough painting.

 

[jakemac]

I'm still wearing underwear that's in worse shape than that rag.

 

[mbshop]

Using a good rag cleaning up my tablet from all the food I sprayed out on that mental picture !

I'm still wearing underwear that's in worse shape than that rag.

 

[disston]

When i find rags like that I throw them away. That looks like it got battery acid on it and so I don't want to transfer this to any other parts. I buy good rags and don't think they are a really big expense. I wash some rags unless they get too oily or greasy then figure it is a waste of water and soap to wash.

 

[Bellaireroad]

I'm still wearing underwear that's in worse shape than that rag.

Haha

 

[anndel]

When it's really greasy to a point where when you're wiping something, grease transfers from the rag to the item.

 

[drew03cmc]

That rag is still new. Use it.

I bring them home from work from time to time dirtier than that. Then, they go back to work and get laundered.

 

[fastbike02]

I'm probably the most wasteful with shop rags due to having an oily one combust and start a small fire! Now days once they get oily they go out back to the burn barrel! I can get a 100 ct bag of used (washed but stained) restaurant towels for less that 15 bucks, so its not worth the risk for me!

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Rags get better with time and use..

 

[dadsEH]

When i find rags like that I throw them away. That looks like it got battery acid on it and so I don't want to transfer this to any other parts. I buy good rags and don't think they are a really big expense. I wash some rags unless they get too oily or greasy then figure it is a waste of water and soap to wash.

Well good on ya mate....now, back to the lighter side of this thread.....i keep em until they are old enough to stand up by themselves....

 

[Sanny81]

When you go to wipe up something and more grease or oil comes off the rag itself than the dirty surface it's a goner.

 

[gungatim]

I used to wash mine till I got over it. New rags 50for $10.
I throw them away when they get dirty. My guy who used to trade me out from his shop with clean ones moved so...

 

[Danglerb]

I have a bucket 2/3 full of simple green and water and toss in the towels when they get too dirty at home, not much chance of fire. Wash in hot water and don't put anything in the drier with even a trace of grease or oil.

That towel is frayed, so I wouldn't use it on anything where I had some concern over losing bits of towel in it, but still fine for general use. HF towels are worse out of the bag, not from holes, but very thin and leave lint behind. First wash half the towel ends up in the lint filter.

Friends shop get some deal on towels and doesn't wash anything. Other friends shop uses a service and has nothing but nice almost perfect towels, I dig the less dirty ones out of the return bin for my own dirty jobs and only use one or two clean ones in a day.

 

[Wyoming09]

When I finally have a pile of greasy, dirty rags big enough I'll take them to a local laundromat and run them thru there. The larger commercial machines seem to do a good job and I don't risk angering she who must be obeyed by dirtying up the home machine.

 

[Mark in Indiana]

That rag looks like it got on the wrong end of a shotgun.
My rags get tossed when they have become saturated with oil, grease or paint. They get washed if they're dirty with dust, car wax or anything that doesn't ruin the washing machine.
Also, I've never paid for a rag in my life. I just cut up discarded clothes, bed sheets, or any other absorbent cloth that the thrift store wouldn't take to resell as clothing.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I use old clothing for grease rags.. When it gets greasy or has been used to wipe up any amount of metal filings or shavings; it is thrown.

 

[2oolhound]

I knew this thread was going to be good. I wouldn't toss that rag either. Specially after getting it so clean again. Just look how nice the bottom 1/4 is, although I'll admit, when kitchen dish rags get like that I move them out to the shop.

Most my rags are cut up old clothes. I have brand new rolls of papery rags for assembly work but they are used discriminately for clean assembly and re-used for other tasks afterward.

I have basically two differant rags, those that get oily and used often and those that are used for polishing etc that never touch oil. So no, I rarely throw rags away.

.

+1 I also keep dry from wet.
I pack parts in clean rags I saturate with oil if I think it will be a while before I use the part. I like re-using those to wipe parts after wire wheeling etc to prevent surface rust or 1st wipe of a freshly honed cylinder etc. When they get real scrungy I use them on oil spills or to mop up grease that may accumulate after some assembly requiring gobs of grease being applied with a stick. Only these rags and ones used to pick up sharp metal from around a drill press or lathe get thrown out.

The life of a rag could be compared to those progression charts you see of the evolution of man from caveman to the present. Rags move along in a progression from new to spent.

Oily rags are kept in an 8x8" square tubing can with a steel bottom.

 

[mtnkid85]

I toss em when they are no longer removing the oil that you are trying to wipe up but rather smearing more oil on!

 

[Teenager with old tools]

When the object gets dirtier after wiping with rag I send it with mygrandpa to his house to wash It because my mom won't let it near her washing machine. And then it comes back much cleaner and ready to be used agaib


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[Mark in Indiana]

Something else that I use for rags is a roll of toilet paper. Very handy to tear off a piece for checking engine/transmission oil and very small clean up jobs.

 

[yamaha0343]

The life of a "rag" at my farm.
1. Lives long life as an article of clothing for myself, my wife, or one of the many children.
2. Becomes stained, threadbare, or otherwise undesirable.
3. Assuming absorbent material, becomes a "good" rag, used for final cleaning, and polishing.
4. Becomes stained to the next level, and is demoted to "used" rag.
5. Used for general clean up and light oiling for an extended period of time.
6. I need a rag with which to oil or grease something and search for the dirtiest of the used rags which are then destroyed, and finally retired.

I sometimes hear about dirty rags spontaneously combusting, I have yet to even experience hot shop rags, maybe I don't do enough painting.

That's exactly how it goes at my place as well.

 

[Kev442]

The life of a "rag" at my farm.
1. Lives long life as an article of clothing for myself, my wife, or one of the many children.
2. Becomes stained, threadbare, or otherwise undesirable.
3. Assuming absorbent material, becomes a "good" rag, used for final cleaning, and polishing.
4. Becomes stained to the next level, and is demoted to "used" rag.
5. Used for general clean up and light oiling for an extended period of time.
6. I need a rag with which to oil or grease something and search for the dirtiest of the used rags which are then destroyed, and finally retired.

I sometimes hear about dirty rags spontaneously combusting, I have yet to even experience hot shop rags, maybe I don't do enough painting.

It's like a trip down memory lane. I grab a rag from waaaay down at the bottom and go " I remember wearing this 20 years ago!" A couple of transmission and engine swaps in the last couple of years has wiped out a lot of those though.

 

[yamaha0343]

It's like a trip down memory lane. I grab a rag from waaaay down at the bottom and go " I remember wearing this 20 years ago!" A couple of transmission and engine swaps in the last couple of years has wiped out a lot of those though.

"Hey babe, I wore this rag on our first date!"

 

[beamrider]

"Hey babe, I wore this rag on our first date!"

Almost.

"Hey babe, you wore this rag on our first date!"

 

[yamaha0343]

That's probably more accurate. No way I'd remember that.

 

[mbshop]

Just cut up a bunch of shirts for rags. I think I have enough to outlast me. But several long sleeves sent me into a funk. They are over 20 years old and basically were worn in all my motorcycle rides.
thats almost 60,000 miles in 5 years. Anyway as rags they will be of service for many years. One thing I noticed was the quality of the shirts. Even now they are thicker than new stuff now sold.

 

[rick carpenter]

They weren't tears, they were aerodynamic vents so that you could have used them faster.

 

[KMinAF]

When to retire a rag is always debatable but what I have learned from experience is that NEVER put them in the washing machine. I guarantee you the misses will somehow find out and its almost a sure thing she will soon be getting a new machine to replace the "dirty" one.

 

[Farleyfan]

I'm still wearing underwear that's in worse shape than that rag.

Dang, maybe its time for your underwear to become a shop rag!