If you wash your White shop towels with your red shop rags you get a lot of Pink rags. Hope no one thinks less of me.

You wash your shop rags?

I use mine like kleenex...when they get dirty I toss them in the trash.

Take today's price of them, given it's only a couple of bucks, but add it up all year and it'll add up to a lot.

Stu

Stu - real men wear Pink.....roflmao!

My wife works at a surgical center and they use these surgery "kits" they have these realy nice blue surgical towels - about the size of a hand towel. Anyway, they never use all of them and thier procedures say they can not be used once opened (for surgery). She brings them home by the arm loads. We do wash some of them if they are not full of grease and oil but most just get tossed.

I toss 'em. If Ms Friz caught me putting them in the washer.....

mine come from the thrift store....

every wen. they have a fill a bag sale for a buck. I pick all the t shirts with no buttons / prints and leave a dollar less "rich", and then they get kleenex used

I use the disposable thick blue "shop" towels as shop rags. The pink rags are used primarliy for washing and waxing so those go in the washing machine and I use use them again. I agree that those red shop rags are crap though as the red dye comes out. They must be washed separately and after that they seem to hold thier remaining pink color. I also agree that used T shirts make excellent shop rags.

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quote Originally posted by Dennis LaGrua: I use the disposable thick blue "shop" towels as shop rags. The pink rags are used primarliy for washing and waxing so those go in the washing machine and I use use them again. I agree that those red shop rags are crap though as the red dye comes out. They must be washed separately and after that they seem to hold thier remaining pink color. I also agree that used T shirts make excellent shop rags.

I suppose these are them. They are great.
http://images.doba.com/prod..._image2_kcc75190.jpg

Used Tshirts are good. The Box-O-Rags for painters is nothing more than recycled T-shirts cut randomly. Those usually get tossed. But I still like to wash and reuse. Around here you can goto the Laundromat. They have "oilfield" washers. These washers are used for the nastiest of nasty. Dump in some super clean during the wash cycle and they clean right up. The oilfield label on the washer keeps mrs priss from sticking her whites in there.

I wash mine. Only because I go through so many on any given day when working in my shop. I have a large trash can where I collect the dirty shop rags. Then about every two weeks or so I soak them in degreaser, then soak in cloax, then into the washer. Oh, with fabric softner.

When finished, just like new................ well almost!

Oh, I too get pink rags now and then.

Pink??? That just an excuse Stu... I now see why you asked bout Revin.... hahahahahahahahaha

When I do wash them I take them to a laundromat.

quote Originally posted by fierohoho: When I do wash them I take them to a laundromat.

That is so not nice! So the next poor person to use that washer gets your crud on there cloths?

I hope your joking!

Just be careful with how you store them after washing. Machine washing will generally NOT remove all of the oil from a rag, and if they are packed tightly together in storage you run the risk of fire even with "clean" rags.

This concludes your safety briefing for today. Carry on.

cheers,
Rich

I use a local uniform company, that deals with shop towels and floor mats etc. I got the first 50 for $10.00 then it is only 5 bucks each time to exchange for 50 cleans ones.

Kevin

quote Originally posted by Lambo nut: I use a local uniform company, that deals with shop towels and floor mats etc. I got the first 50 for $10.00 then it is only 5 bucks each time to exchange for 50 cleans ones. Kevin

Hey that's not a bad idea. But then I guess I have to keep track of them too huh.

quote Originally posted by DIY_Stu: Hey that's not a bad idea. But then I guess I have to keep track of them too huh.

Those things do seem to wonder around on their own don't they.
I always lose track of those suckers. I know I just had one in my hand, now where did I put it? (After looking for five minutes and grabbing another) oh there it is, in my back pocket...great, now I have two to keep track of!

I bought one of those small cheap metal trash cans at Wally World that has the lever you step on in the front that opens the lid. Holds a liitle more then 50 dirty rags, and keeps them in their place, and covered too.

Kevin

I normally just use regualar bounty paper towels in my shop. The rags I do have are for like polishing, or rubbing and I take them to the laundrimat.

Being a body shop, using the reg paper towells makes sure nothing gets on stuff Im going to paint. Even soap residue can screw up a paint job, and any kind of oil or polish on a cleaned rag with also screw it up. Paper towels are perfect.....used them for 25 years here. I just buy like the big 12 pack rolls for $10

[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 05-25-2010).]

I live right here on Lake Livingston, Texas . Almot every week end I find towels on the road way that have blown out of the Houston folks boats headed back home. I often stop and pick these up. I give them a wash and dry. After drying I cut them up for shop rags. I get about 6-8 from a bath size towel. Free except for the wash and dry. I have found several beach towels that were like new, and those were kept.

I used to wash mine too - and - yes - makes a basket of pink rags.....

I now use mostly paper towels.