Do you wash shop rags or just toss them?

[cantdrv55]

Talking about the red rags you can buy in bulk. Seems a waste to toss them unless they’re absolutely filthy.

[varmint]

At some point they got expensive. I have an old washboard and a tub.

[KFC911]

Passed the point-of-no-return ... they get tossed.

Otherwise I just toss those red rags in with my load of "pinks" and wash in hot water...

Hane's "tighty pinkies"

I wash them before I use them the first time.... seriously.

The amount of red dye in the water could paint a fire truck... and why are they so red?

[Bill Douglas]

I use old bathroom towels. And rewash them.

Shop rags around my place tend to be old t-shirts or old bed sheets. And they just get thrown out.

Thinking about it, I've been buying cheap bulk bags of microfibre cloths for cleaning before, during and when polishing my car painting (amateur) jobs. And these I wash and re-use.

[LWJ]

wash if they seem recoverable. Toss if seem completely gone. So, both.

[A930Rocket]

The first time I washed a load of oily red rags, I had a severe case of oily ring around the washer tub. I thought, oh ****, I’ve destroyed the washing machine. I wiped the inside down and did several empty loads to clean it. Crisis averted.

I mainly use blue paper towels now.

[KFC911]

I don't wash them once they are oily ... but I have a bunch of used ones ... dusty, etc. they get demoted over time.

I'll grab a full box of dusty/dirty ones and run them thru a "hot wash" in the machine.

They are no longer red when I use them the first time either... 'cause they aren't MAGA rags

[Paul T]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

The first time I washed a load of oily red rags, I had a severe case of oily ring around the washer tub. I thought, oh ****, I’ve destroyed the washing machine. I wiped the inside down and did several empty loads to clean it. Crisis averted.

I mainly use blue paper towels now.

Same, those are my go to. Still have a ton of the red shop rags and I just use them till they are past the point of no return then toss ‘em.

[cabmandone]

I don't typically buy the red shop towels but I toss them. I've gone to using paper towels and the blue ones if the job might be particularly messy.

[id10t]

Depends on just how bad they are and with what

[Shaun @ Tru6]

something is always dirtier than the rag used to clean it up.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

The first time I washed a load of oily red rags, I had a severe case of oily ring around the washer tub. I thought, oh ****, I’ve destroyed the washing machine. I wiped the inside down and did several empty loads to clean it. Crisis averted.

I mainly use blue paper towels now.

This, my wife would murder me. Old and oily goes into the trash, but I always have plenty of retired household towels to draw from. One old bath towel can be cut into a lot of small shop rags.

[porsche930dude]

Im a small engine mechanic I go through lots of them. But my brother is a mechanic at a shop and they get way too many he brings them home I have like 6 big boxes of them

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I use my dress shirts. Below the beltline for good shirts, and the whole shirt if it's trashed.
For cleaning dirty stuff, happiness is a fresh new can of carb cleaner and BOUNTY the quicker picker upper.

- unless the surface to be cleaned is so rough that it makes paper towel lint- then- old dress shirt.

[javadog]

I wash mine but if they are really dirty, they get pre-washed in a laundry sink first. I use lots of paper towels, too.

I have a mountain of "car towels" of all sizes. Not as many of the red shop towels as just loads of repurposed household towels, white detailing towels and microfiber towels.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by id10t

Depends on just how bad they are and with what

This! I use blue paper towels for sopping up oil spills or most liquids. Those go in the trash. I have lots of old towels and hand towels that I use for washing the car, cleaning wheels, and just throw them in the wash with my dirty mowing or garage clothes.

I have very few of the red rags. They fade so much in the wash, they will turn everything else in there pink, until they have been washed a few times.

[911 Rod]

Yes I do, but only with my shop clothes.
Once they become old and worn they become oil rags which go in the garbage once they make what I'm cleaning dirtier than when I started.
No idea what the red rags are.

[herr_oberst]

Shop towels get 'designated' until they're too filthy and then they get tossed. First use is stuff like wiping down tools or benches after a project. Last use is wiping off the first layers of grease and crud on parts, often with a soap or solvent. In between is everything else.


(I've discovered that inexpensive 100% cotton dishtowels from places like Trader Joes make excellent shop towels when they've become too soiled for the home. They're bigger than normal shop towels, but not too big, they don't shed fluff and by the time they make it to the garage, they're perfect for many tasks.)

[javadog]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

Yes I do, but only with my shop clothes.
Once they become old and worn they become oil rags which go in the garbage once they make what I'm cleaning dirtier than when I started.
No idea what the red rags are.

The red rag is originated in the auto repair business decades ago. Most automotive shops and dealerships used third-party companies to supply uniforms for their employees, and they also rented red utility shop rags from them that were about a foot square, give or take. They picked them up weekly and left clean ones. They are ubiquitous in the industry to this day and you can now by things like that at parts stores, etc.

Frankly, they’re not very good. Terry cloth towels are far better.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

No idea what the red rags are.

The new red shop rags are not like the original shop rags.
My father retired in the 80's as a machinist at Continental Motors...he would always bring a few home for his use. They were tough and heavy.

The new ones are not half as good....you can rip them by hand.