Ed Thomas Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I'm starting to get quite a collection of seriously greasy oily rags that are too good to throw out. But many decades ago I remember that washing them in the washing machine left enough black gunk to spectacularly affect the next load of whites. I was in the doghouse for awhile then and am expected to be even smarter now. If I screw up this time, I might have to build a bunk room in the shop. :shock: Sooo... anybody got any helpful hints on safely washing a boatload of greasy, oily black rags in a household washing machine? (Next up: How do I keep my egg soufflee from falling? and... What's the best way to remove those pesky water spots from the good crystal???) :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike-hr Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Some friends used to take month long road trips in central America. They would put some clothes in a plastic 5 gallon bucket with soap and water,seal the lid, and as they drove down bumpy roads, the 'washboard' roads would create enough agitation to do a pretty good job. I've found that putting a can of pepsi in the wash helps take out greasy stains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan B Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 Before throwing them into the DG's washer mix up a bucket of warm water and GOOP. The hand cleaner available almost every where. Soak the rags in this solution and stir now and then to remove 90% of the grease :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mills Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I personally am thinking "Borax in a Bucket", warm water, let soak til you remember to do something with them. Use a strong solution. Afterwards you may wish to run them through the machine. I recommend that you plan to do an empty load afterwards, Just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 a collection of seriously greasy oily rags that are too good to throw out you'd only hear that from a blacksmith :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irnsrgn Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 soak in bucket of water and lots of Dawn dishwashing liquid, wash in dawn and oxyclean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 I just go through the dumpster at the thrift store and pick up new clean rags on a regular basis, greasy rags go into the woodstove. Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacksmithtech Posted January 20, 2006 Share Posted January 20, 2006 ............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan@modernblacksmith Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 gone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted January 21, 2006 Author Share Posted January 21, 2006 Thanks to those who offered useful advice. Looks like a simple case of a manual pre-wash cycle. Most of these rags are good heavy shop rags, not old T-shirts, etc. It is dumb and wasteful to throw them out, in my opinion. It will take me less time to re-cycle a bucket of these than to find a dumpster full of old clothes, most of which don't make good rags anyway. The nearest thrift stores are 40 miles away. I will try very hard not to throw my dirty rags under your deck, Dan. However, if machine grease was THAT prone to spontaneously combust, all the machines in my shop would have gone up in flames years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian C. Posted January 21, 2006 Share Posted January 21, 2006 Ditto on being careful with the linseed oil for those who use it. Several years ago I investigated a garage fire that turned out to have been started by an open bucket of linseed oil soaked rags. Machinery grease is a whole 'nother animal. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Well I only take the 100% cotton stuff home with me and it's only a 15 minure drive to the largest town in the county---about 10,000 people when school is in session, drops by about 1000 when it's out... We have a true old time thrift store---run by volunteers, filled by donations and at least once a month they have everything on sale for 10 cents a piece. It's worth my time and effort to check their dumpster rather than run the risk of annoying my wife---there's too much desert out this way just crying for a shallow grave to want to annoy the person that cooks the vittles! I have never seen a laundrymat that had a shop rag washer in it but have seen a lot of them with NO SHOP RAGS ALLOWED signs. Thomas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 Well, right now every old dirty greasy rag I could find in the shop and barn is stuffed into a 5 gallon bucket filled with dish soap. My wife handed me "Joy" instead of "Dawn", but I don't think the grease cares. It was a tight fit. A friend gave me discards from the hospital which are even better than shop towels. I don't mind throwing out T-shirts and such, but these are just too nice. Big, sturdy, cotton, and absorbant. Another friend said his wife also used to get some from the hospital and noted that sometimes they show up with some... er... unusual stains. eck. :shock: Oh, well. Childbirth is natural, isn't it? I haven't seen any like that yet, but I try not to look too hard now. They have all been thorougly laundered before I get them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ten Hammers Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 I can simplify things a bunch. Just use those blue rags on a roll ( towels). while the rag bucket is washin. No joke on the Dawn. Buy yerself a small bottle and put some on your hands of a night before you head back to the house. THen, rinse lightly in the slack tub and work it into the hands. Makes for less mess in the house sink and for me, less gripe by the cook is less headache for me. 35 years ago I learned that a full company of men could put their dress whites in 2 GI cans full of bleach water. Then a volunteer ( this is boot camp) plunged the cans for couple of days. bingo, best lookin whites in the Batallion. Bucket wash works well, especially if you forget it for a week or 2. Let Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leah Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Hey Ed, I have a good idea. Why not put the rags in a little bit bigger bucket/tub and get in there with your shoes off and your pant legs rolled up? You know, kinda like Lucy stomping the grapes. Not only would you end up with clean rags, your feet would have that fresh, lemon smell :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Thomas Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 Leah: I think a more likely result is that my feet would get all black and slimey and the rags would all jump out of the bucket in stark fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henerythe8th Posted January 29, 2006 Share Posted January 29, 2006 A bit late for the first load, but you'll dirty them all up again... One of the probs with the bucket idea will likely be getting the soap rinsed out well enough. Where do the local mechanics get their shop towels laundered? Their "guy" would likely be happy to take a 5 spot, and/or perhaps, a half rack of their fave beverage off your hands in trade! How about a dedicated washing machine? I don't know about your area, but where I am at you can find a "non-working" machine for free on a regular basis. Usually, what makes these machines non-working is a bad timer, which may actually be better for washing rags. You could then manually advance the timer and therefore leave them in the wash and rinse cycles a good long time... If these rags are really greasy then it would probably be best to discharge the water through a bucket of fine sand to be disposed of appropriately... Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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