A little common sense before washing towels

[Eldorado2k]

It’s raining today, so it’s a good day to finally wash all my microfiber towels. Reason I haven’t been in a rush to do so is because I’ve recently been guilty of leaving my dirty towels separated in several plastic bags in the backyard, which leads to the worst possible situation in regards to dirty towels.

I did the bare minimum and at least tied some of the bags, and 1 of the bags containing my “good” batch of Kirklands I did stuff into a bucket and loosely covered it with a lid [not airtight to prevent mold]

But what I usually wind up doing in this case before washing them is going through the tedious task of nitpicking almost all the the leaves & twigs off prior to tossing them into the washing machine because my OCD simply doesn’t have enough faith in them coming out of the machine completely clean if I don’t.

But today the lightbulb finally came on.
Why not just try to quickly rinse them off 1 by 1 with the hose nozzle and see if I can get the debris off that way. It worked. Why didn’t I think of this before?

Does anyone else run into this situation with their towels? Or and I guilty of breaking a commandment of detailing by allowing twigs to occasionally get on my all purpose microfiber towels? Lol.

But hey, the important part is they get clean.

 

[UncleDavy]

Good idea. I have always hosed off my wash mitts but not the towels. The ones that end up falling on the ground usually go through a process of picking debris out of the fibers, much like gorillas picking bugs out of each other's hair.

 

[Rsurfer]

Didn't know Costco had good MF's..I would rate them fair for grunge work.

 

[fly07sti]

Twigs & leaves?!?! I almost dropped my phone in disbelief.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Didn't know Costco had good MF's..I would rate them fair for grunge work.

My waterless wash towels could easily qualify as most peoples “grunge” towels if you saw how dirty they wind up after each time I wipedown my car.

I have “premium” towels, but I would never use them for anything that’s considered cleaning. They’re strictly for polish & compound removal.

Twigs & leaves?!?! I almost dropped my phone in disbelief.

Allow me to clarify. Just about all the towels I’m referring to are my grade C towels aka interior/metal polishing towels. They wind up too dirty to put away next to nicer towels so they wait outside in plastic bags until it’s time to wash them.

It sounds worse than it is. Here’s 1 of the bags.

Here’s another. You can see what I mean as far as the debris that can wind up on them even though I tie the bags closed.

Underneath the top layer they’re not so bad. But still, none of these towels ever see exterior paint.

These are the twigs & leaves on what right now I’d call a metal polishing towel.

But most of the time they wash up fairly well enough to remain worthy of cleaning dirty interiors i.e. more than capable of using to clean grimy cupholders on a vehicle that’s never been detailed before.

I don’t use these towels on my own interior.
Only thing I’d use them for would maybe be for door jambs.

Here’s a towel that’s been used with metal polish/trunk jambs. Once it’s washed it can certainly do that again.

Another bag with the same type of towels with leaves & twigs on them.

But that doesn’t mean my Grade B towels [towels used for waterless washing] get super special treatment. They also wind up in bags, but I do my best to keep them covered [in a bag then inside a 5 gallon bucket w/lid] but because they’re usually soaking wet & really dirty after use they must remain outside. I’m not keeping grimy soaked towels indoors. Not a chance.

My Grade A towels are Meguiars Ultimate Wipes. They never get wet so they remain indoors even the dirty ones.

I hope that clarifies.

 

[chilly]

I have 2 buckets that everything goes into as it’s used

I wash up after every job unless I know it’s a multi day job and as long as I have enough towels I will wait until the job is done

The one time recently I forgot and left some towels in the bucket they got really rank in a week or so

It took multiple vinegar soaks and baking soda washes to get the smell out

If anything hits the ground it’s separated and monkey picked prior to washing separately and carefully gone over after drying


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[Eldorado2k]

If anything hits the ground it’s separated and monkey picked prior to washing separately and carefully gone over after drying


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That’s where rinsing with the hose nozzle helped out today. The more I think about having to monkey pick through most of the towels, the longer it takes me to get around to washing them.

I’ve got a Big Red Sponge, but I can’t seem to embrace rinseless washing. It’s too bad because the sponge would alleviate alot of the wet & dirty towels I accumulate.

I guess in my mind once I have to drag out a bucket to fill the convenience goes out the window. For me waterless washing is super ideal, I just hate the stack of wet towels afterwards.

 

[chilly]

That’s where rinsing with the hose nozzle helped out today. The more I think about having to monkey pick through most of the towels, the longer it takes me to get around to washing them.

I’ve got a Big Red Sponge, but I can’t seem to embrace rinseless washing. It’s too bad because the sponge would alleviate alot of the wet & dirty towels I accumulate.

I guess in my mind once I have to drag out a bucket to fill the convenience goes out the window. For me waterless washing is super ideal, I just hate the stack of wet towels afterwards.

Honestly, I enjoy washing up towels and mitts and stuff after, and inspecting and folding them out of the dryer

It is kind of zen for me

Now, cleaning up pads?

Not so much fun...

 

[Eldorado2k]

Honestly, I enjoy washing up towels and mitts and stuff after, and inspecting and folding them out of the dryer

It is kind of zen for me

Now, cleaning up pads?

Not so much fun...

My inner El Cheapo could never run the washer that frequently. You’re talking to a guy who’s favorite toothpaste is Aqua Fresh, mainly because I can get it at the 99 cent store.

I geek out on saving a few bucks. If I can save $40 on cat food, I’ll buy $200 dollars worth. Lol.

 

[Bill D]

My local dollar store is now $1.25. Sad times.

 

[chilly]

My inner El Cheapo could never run the washer that frequently. You’re talking to a guy who’s favorite toothpaste is Aqua Fresh, mainly because I can get it at the 99 cent store.

I geek out on saving a few bucks. If I can save $40 on cat food, I’ll buy $200 dollars worth. Lol.

I have 28 solar panels and solar water heater so I do laundry, run the dishwasher, etc during the day, and my water bill averages $3 a month, so I'm good to go

lol

 

[chilly]

Didn't know Costco had good MF's..I would rate them fair for grunge work.

Costco towels are awesome

I hand Donna a stack of 10 several times a year

She thinks they are from my detailing stuffs

Bwahahahahahaha

 

[Eldorado2k]

My local dollar store is now $1.25. Sad times.

I know what the heck. They better change the name of their chain. False advertising.

 

[Eldorado2k]

I have 28 solar panels and solar water heater so I do laundry, run the dishwasher, etc during the day, and my water bill averages $3 a month, so I'm good to go

lol

lol.

 

[fly07sti]

I’m just messin with you Ric. Whatever works for you my dude. For me, if I can’t pick one or two little things out quickly, they become trash quickly. Also gives me an excuse to buy a case or two of MF’s.

 

[DETAILROOKIE]

I typically throw them in a bucket filled with water and some ONR after every wash. I leave them there until I have time to do wash then I lint roll them after I dry them.

Even after all that I still find little twigs and crap that I have to pick out with tweezers and I dont even let them touch the ground. Lol



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[Eldorado2k]

I’m just messin with you Ric. Whatever works for you my dude. For me, if I can’t pick one or two little things out quickly, they become trash quickly. Also gives me an excuse to buy a case or two of MF’s.

You had me legit wanting to clarify the situation. I didn’t want to lose some respect from the Master of all Microfibers. Lol.

Even after all that I still find little twigs and crap that I have to pick out with tweezers and I dont even let them touch the ground. Lol



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Speaking of things touching the ground, a few days ago I was claying that limo and as I was going back n forth the claybar snagged on the gas cap as my hand was coming towards me, so for a split second I completely lost it and I felt that empty feeling in my gut as if I knew disaster was about to strike.

Luckily the tackiness of the claybar allowed it to stick to the paint for a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to change my hands direction and pin it back onto the panel and narrowly save it from falling to the ground. The entire 200gm. claybar! Damn I was so glad for that bit of luck thank goodness. Lol.

 

[chilly]

I typically throw them in a bucket filled with water and some ONR after every wash. I leave them there until I have time to do wash then I lint roll them after I dry them.

Even after all that I still find little twigs and crap that I have to pick out with tweezers and I dont even let them touch the ground. Lol



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Oh snap

Never thought of a lint roller




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[Coatingsarecrack]

My local dollar store is now $1.25. Sad times.

Haven’t to one in a couple years cuz Covid. I went in and couldn’t believe it. Inflation hit the dollar store by 25%


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[Coatingsarecrack]

I typically throw them in a bucket filled with water and some ONR after every wash. I leave them there until I have time to do wash then I lint roll them after I dry them.

Even after all that I still find little twigs and crap that I have to pick out with tweezers and I dont even let them touch the ground. Lol



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I swear the same motha Fu(k!n& gremlins who steal my socks throw tiny twigs in my washer! I can do a load if new towels and find those little things.


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