February 17, 201115 yr I have bought the ones at Costco for years. They sold the red one's in a Jumbo pak for about $12, up until about 8 yrs ago. Then they switched to some Really nice, white one's. They were more expensive. About $15. Last summer, the white one's went up to $18 and I really had a hard time paying that much. Now, they are $25 ... So, I'm looking for a better deal or a better way. What do you guys do?
February 18, 201115 yr Paper towels and rags mostly. Some goodwills you can buy a garbage bag of rags for 5-10 bucks usually mostly towels and t-sirts. I have been known to buy their used "flannel" sheets to detail cars with. Also sometimes I can get pretty used up rags cheap from one of the uniform places cheap but they are on their last legs.
February 18, 201115 yr I get the box of paper rags from Bi's. Cloth @nds here (shop rags) are pricey and going up, as everything else will be shortly. Got to get tires for the justy sooner then later before they go up too.
February 18, 201115 yr cotton prices are . . . going.. ^ | ^ | ^ | use old socks, recycle t shirts that are stained. etc.
February 18, 201115 yr Harbor Freight is where I get mine. I'll post up prices next time I'm in there.
February 18, 201115 yr http://www.harborfreight.com/pack-of-50-15-inch-x-13-inch-all-purpose-shop-towels-46163.html
February 19, 201115 yr From my underwear drawer. Soft, clean, white, sweet-smelling . . . and full of holes and shot elastic!
February 19, 201115 yr I use these.... get them from work for dirt cheap. They work great, and it is super nice to ALWAYS have super clean rags.
February 19, 201115 yr I can't recall ever buying or paying for shop rags. Used T-shirts, socks, old dish towels, washcloths, even worn out bath towels. I've actually got and get so many I feel kinda guilty about throwing out the ones that get really gunky on their first use :cool:. Just my 2 bucks
February 19, 201115 yr Author Thanks for the Great ideas. I went over to harbor freight last night to see what they'r shop rags looked like. The pack seems small (50 ct.) for the money ($13). I figured them at about 28cents a piece. I looked around online and found a place that ships for free, the same rags, for 19cents a piece. http://imagetextile.com/shoptowels.html The only thing is, you gotta buy a minimum of 500 of them. Still, less than $100 and probably enough to last me a year. I'll probably go this route. I never think to look around at garage sales for shop rag material. I'm gonna try that this summer. I'm gonna look a little closer at the paper rags. I never thought they were strong enough. Maybe thats a good way to go. As far as using t-shirts and socks and stuff, that doesn't appeal to me at all. I wrench too much to wonder where my next shop rag is going to come from. The expensive, white ones at Costco are probably a good deal if a guy could wash them and re use them. They are hardy shop rags and would easily stand up to it. But, where do you wash them? I guess any machine used for that purpose would be tainted pretty quickly. Found this quote on a "shop rags for sale" website. It definitely reflects what Ben says above about the price of cotton. "The phenomenal rise in cotton prices have made all towel items extremely higher in cost than they have been in the past 1 year." Doesn't sound too promising for finding cheap shop rags. Edited February 19, 201115 yr by markjw
February 19, 201115 yr Author This is promising..... http://cgi.ebay.com/400-SHOP-RAGS-CLEANING-TOWELS-RED-BRAND-NEW-/260733307092
February 20, 201115 yr Author Take them to the laundromat? I thought about that. If I knew I wasn't going to ruin anyones cloths, I'd do it. I know for certain washing shop rags in the machine at my house here would cause some serious problems for me.
February 22, 201115 yr I wash my shop rags in the same washer/dryer that my woman uses for her clothes - I think if there were going to be a problem it would have shown up already. I always wash them twice, and then I wipe out the interior of the machine carefully. No issues yet. I also make a point of not getting *most* of my rags really nasty - I use paper towels/dry sweep/sawdust to mop up ugly spills, etc, and I toss the used rags in the dirty bin long before they are totally disgusting. GD
March 11, 201115 yr as far as washing goes... i live and work on a farm so i don't have the regs some of you have to deal with - we have a washing machine set up outside - H & C plumbed though the side of the house and drain onto garden(grey water only) it is our old machine from inside and it leaks a bit but still works, greatest thing for washing stuff like shop rags and pet beds..... +2 on rags from goodwill/salvos etc paper towels for cleaner stuff
March 12, 201115 yr I thought about that. If I knew I wasn't going to ruin anyones cloths, I'd do it. I know for certain washing shop rags in the machine at my house here would cause some serious problems for me. I just did this last night, I have a crap load of them. Worked pretty good. They are clean but stained. They came out looking nothing like the services that are out there that I got spoiled on in shops in the past few years though.
March 19, 201115 yr i believe in Grey Water drains... But i dont know if i would send old oily rags or Chemical rags through a grey water drain! If i try to spray everything off over a pan and then dump in with old oil and recycle. Course no mater where they go and probably even burning them , they will still end up in the ground anyway.
March 22, 201115 yr Yeah, in hindsight I think I will hire a service next time. It was a pain in the butt, made the laundromat stink, and environmental concerns as well.
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