What solution to use for cleaning shop rags

[Alan K]

Has anyone come up with a way to clean the red shop rags at home? I have used laundry detergent many years ago but it never really cleaned them well. Wondering about a degreaser product if nothing else.

 

[Scott 730]

Easy. Throw them in the fire pile and grab a new one from the package.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

The problem is not the soap, you can use most anything (Dawn is my favorite) , but trying to wash too many at once. A washer tub quantity of water can only contain so much emulsified grease; beyond that it just evenly distributes the greasy water throughout all the rags. Then they come out smelling oily and have a greasy feel.

Just throw in 1 or 2 per non-white load, and they come out nicer. If you keep at it you'll have a pile of clean rags in a couple weeks.

Your washer will eventually get a grease ring around the top of the tub, which cleans up with Fantastic.

 

[Barts Dad]

I was gifted an old Maytag ringer type washing machine years ago that I used for about 10 years in my HS Auto Shop. I found that dishwashing detergent worked better that just plain laundry soap. I used 1/2 cp detergent and 1/4 Iron Out and it worked pretty well. Ran them through the wringer several times and draped them over a few lines strung between the hoists. Weren’t perfect but usable.

 

[1948CaseVAI]

Has anyone come up with a way to clean the red shop rags at home? I have used laundry detergent many years ago but it never really cleaned them well. Wondering about a degreaser product if nothing else.

Why woould you try to clean them? They are dirt cheap and made to throw away.

 

[Phil T]

I pick up old towels in yard sales and you can buy a whole bag full at Salvation Army for $5. Best rags you can get.

 

[matthies]

Shop foreman always added a bottle of coke pop to the machine to clean his work pants, told the wife and she said it does help.

 

[JOCCO]

I am with the others dispose of them and get new ones. It must be me but when I am done with them cleaning them would cause an environmental disaster of magnitude proportions. Next no way I am putting them in my washer!! My work clothes are bad enough. I did just as Phil said collected clothes and such and have ample supply of rags. Last auto parts stores sell paper towels that are far better than Houshold paper towels. I use lots of them too.

 

[Fawteen]

Easy. Throw them in the fire pile and grab a new one from the package.

This. There is NOTHING to be gained by trying to wash them. IMHO, when you factor in time, detergent, power for the water heater etc. you've paid for another package of them.

I also recycle worn out tee shirts and other suitable fabrics as well as raggedy bath towels when SWMBO decides we need new ones.

 

[CEP ACB]

When my dad started as a mechanic his boss would get old cotton dresses from a thrift store .
here's a dress cut your own rags . He'd get a dress or two a week.
this would've been in the 1940's

 

[Duner Wi]

Letting them soak in soapy water make a big difference.

 

[Hobo,NC]

July 2019 I brought a case of Scott 50606 Essential Plus Hard Roll Towels 8" x 600 ft, 1 3/4" Core dia, White (Case of 6 Rolls) around $50. I dry my hands with them and save in a box to wipe up spills with. I csn reuse them several times over my hanging them and let them dry. I just opened up my last roll.

Nov 2024 I brought a roll of

WypAll® PowerClean™ X80 Heavy Duty Cloths, Jumbo Roll (41055), Extended Use Towels, Red (475 Sheets/Roll, 1 Roll/Case, 475 Sheets/Case)​

I have used less than haft the roll like the paper towels I recycle till they have to be thrown away. When I brought them they were around $60. I probably have enoufh red rags to last me 10 years I prefer the WypALL product. Ebay use to have the best price for red rags.

I looked

1000 INDUSTRIAL A-GRADE SHOP RAGS / CLEANING TOWELS RED | eBay

SINCE THERE ARE NO MIDDLE MAN, WE CAN PASS THE SAVINGS TO YOU DIRECTLY! -Size approx 14"x15". -155 lb quality.

www.ebay.com

 

[Mule Meat]

Use to wash them in a poly tub cement mixer. Throw a load in with some borax and dish soap and let them run a few minutes then set up a water hose to spray water into the drum until it was clear. It did a good job cleaning them but was more of a hassle than it was worth.

Then I started getting them from the uniform company that would take the dirty ones and give you a few large garbage bags full of clean in return.

I will just buy 500-1000 packs when my used drawerz and wore out jeans are exhausted.

 

[Tony in SD]

I buy the blue disposable rags when they are on sale.

 

[Alan K]

Thank you for the replies. I want to clean them because they aren't that dirty with grease and oil but don't want to put them in the washer. They still cost money to buy and I don't use them to wipe off grease or clean oil up, that is where I use throw away rags.

 

[PJH]

Has anyone come up with a way to clean the red shop rags at home? I have used laundry detergent many years ago but it never really cleaned them well. Wondering about a degreaser product if nothing else.

When I was young a friend who was a good mechanic opened a one bay tin shop in his back yard. His wife, trying to save money, would rinse his shop rags at the gas barrel before putting them in her washing machine. She did this for a year or so, but one day she forgot to add the detergent in her washer. When she raised the lid to add the detergent it exploded and blew the utility room window out in the yard, frame and all, amazingly intact without breaking the glass. Her sweater and her hair were singed, but she was otherwise unharmed. Husband Gary thought the blast was from the rock quarry two miles away and was unconcerned until Pattie ran out of the house singed and frazzled. I was especially dismayed because I myself had installed that pre-hung window in their utility room. No broken glass??? We set the window back in place, nailed it in and re-caulked the molding. 15 minute fix. No more gas barrel prerinsing for Pattie.

 

[joeysmith]

Thank you for the replies. I want to clean them because they aren't that dirty with grease and oil but don't want to put them in the washer. They still cost money to buy and I don't use them to wipe off grease or clean oil up, that is where I use throw away rags.

Pressure washer works well if you got something to pin them to so they don't blow away

 

[Ray,IN]

I agree, by the time you buy a cleaner for greasy cloth (Purple Power liquid, TSP powder are 2) then consider the beating from DW for messing up her clothes washer, it's better to discard them and buy new.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

The best solution is a mixture of propane and spark.

 

[showcrop]

I used to supply detergents for commercial laundries. You can't/don't want to use the sort of stuff that they use for shop cloths. I wash mine but I start with not getting grease or significant oil on them. I use paper towels for that. Next, When I am going to do a batch, I presoak in hot water with caustic in it. Dollar store oven cleaner. I agitate a little after the soak, then dump the water out and let it drain for awhile. I then wash in the laundry machine, on heavy with double the detergent. I usually eat lunch while it washes, and when I hear it go into spin I let it stop, then shut it off, add more soap and restart it for another heavy cycle. The main things that then industrial laundries do are: hotter water; caustic detergent; lots of time.