Washing Red Shop Rags

[davbell22602]

Anybody on here have any luck with washing the red rags from Walmart, Costco, etc. Is it worth it? Where did you wash them at? Home or laundry mat? Are they dryer safe after cleaning grease, oil, gas, etc off of them?

I just bought a box of 200 disposable Scotts blue shop towels to try from walmart for $10. If they dont work out I'll go back to the red rags.

 

[79K10]

i used to take garbage bags of the red rags from work, use them and take the dirtys back.

 

[f1shman]

Disposables have a use, but so the textile rags are nice too.

There are a bunch of options when it comes to cleaning the rags. The first is obviously the local laundry. Check the ones that are closest to you to see if they offer a washer that is for work clothes or rags only. If they don't, it will be up to your conscience to decide whether or not running rags through a normal washer is going to win you any points with your neighbors. I have done it in the past myself, but I made sure to presoak all my rags for a few days in a five gallon bucket of dawn dish soap and water before I brought it down to the laundry. Then after I was done with the rags, I ran my shop clothes through that same washer to help clean the machine. When the clothes were done I checked the drum for any remnants before leaving it to someone else. You could also pre-soak and wash at home depending on how much your wife appreciates it. If you have the space and the hookups you might consider running a separate used washing machine just for your shop rags and clothes.

Another option is uniform services. Most uniform places will collect rags and wash them on an exchange basis. That means if you have brand new rags and send them in, you probably won't get brand new rags back. You usually would want to hold off on submitting your rags until you have a significant amount to swap with the company so storage becomes another problem for this route. You would want to make sure you store all your dirty rags in a sealed metal container to reduce the risk of fire.

Never, ever run rags through a dryer. Even after they have been washed the best way to dry your rags is via a clothesline.

 

[HotRodPC]

Our uniform service at work does our rags for FREE with our uniform service. So I take my dirty rags from the house to the shop and swap them 1 for 1 for clean rags. I don't use many at the house anymore anyway so it would take me a long time to get a full load. Maybe 10 a month or so lately. But, its nice to know I have the service available when I want it.

BTW, Welcome back f1shman !!! Haven't seen you post in awhile.

 

[davbell22602]

We use the disposable towels in the yellow boxes at school. They last very long. I can make a red rag last longer than disposable. Walmart has the red rags but there 10 for $3.50.

 

[crazy4offroad]

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[HotRodPC]

WTF???? That 3rd thing is a musical instrument? What would you do with that???

 

[smurph20]

Lmao

 

[foamypirate]

WTF???? That 3rd thing is a musical instrument? What would you do with that???

That's a washboard, lol...

It just happens to have a handy ability to be a crappy musical instrument.

 

[HotRodPC]

I kinda knew that but didn't think anyone has ever used one of those in about 50 years or so. I don't think I've seen one of those in real life ever.

 

[crazy4offroad]

I kinda knew that but didn't think anyone has ever used one of those in about 50 years or so. I don't think I've seen one of those in real life ever.

And you call Oklahoma redneck or hillbilly land. Pfff. I have 2 and yes they're not just a decoration!

 

[smurph20]

<~~ wiping head thanking yhou for not including Arkansas in that lol

 

[BIRDMAN]

If you're serious about cleaning them - get yourself some "Purple Power" degreaser and mix in 2 cups of it in 5 gallons of cold water. Let the rags soak for a few hours, agitate it with a broom handle or something. Then dump it out rinse them off, then machine wash cold with regular laundry detergent

Sent from my right thumb using Tapatalk.

 

[crazy4offroad]

<~~ wiping head thanking yhou for not including Arkansas in that lol

You mean the land where noodling began?? Where the dentists also sell used cars???

 

[smurph20]

Dentist in Arkansas REALLY ive seen so many people with no teeth here i didnt think they existed lmao