Shop Towels Instead of Paper Towels

We use Shop Towels (those blue towels you get in the automotive section) for just about anything one would use paper towels for. They're more absorbent than your average paper towel *and* they can be washed and reused endless times. We bought a roll (under $3) about four years ago and we're *still* using it.

We keep a roll of extremely cheap paper towels around in case there's something really unsanitary that one must clean up, like if one of our cats has a piece of poop sticking on his butt, we'd use a paper towel to take it off and throw it out. Having said this, we bought a double-pack of paper towels two years ago and still haven't gone through the first roll.

Anyway, after you use the Shop Towels, let them dry out or just throw them in with the other clothes for washing. They just wash normally, they don't tear apart or anything. After washing, hang them on a rack or whatever. They dry in a couple of hours. They dry in less than five minutes in the dryer and don't shrink at all. Then just roll them up. Like I said, absorbent, strong and *cheap*. And good for the environment.

The Hans

Didn't know they were that durable! i'll have to try this out

i use these shop towels in the kitchen as well... they are great really thick i usually use one a day in the kitchen. Parts source usually has them on sale once a year for 99 cents try to get as much as i can

Originally Posted by nano

i use these shop towels in the kitchen as well... they are great really thick i usually use one a day in the kitchen. Parts source usually has them on sale once a year for 99 cents try to get as much as i can

Around when ?

are these different from the microfibre auto cloths?

Originally Posted by jayk

are these different from the microfibre auto cloths?

They aren't microfibre cloths. They're super-strong paper towels of some kind. They're in a blue roll, kind of like paper towels.


The Hans

What are these made from? Are they cotton or wood product, or are they synthetic?

Originally Posted by Impossibles

What are these made from? Are they cotton or wood product, or are they synthetic?

No idea really. They certainly feel like paper. But they're reinforced somehow. This is the site:

http://www.kcdiy.com/diy/products/Shop-Towels.asp

They're made by Kimberly-Clark. Which also suggests they might be paper somehow, because doesn't Kimberly-Clark make all those name-brand paper towels?

The Hans

I believe it is more green to use paper towels that can go into the green bin.
Shop towels that are washed require the use of soaps and that polutes the environment. There's too much soap and phosphates in the sewage already.
Paper towels are compostable and come from renewable resources.

Originally Posted by nelsonmp5

I believe it is more green to use paper towels that can go into the green bin.
Shop towels that are washed require the use of soaps and that polutes the environment. There's too much soap and phosphates in the sewage already.
Paper towels are compostable and come from renewable resources.

Most people have to wash their clothes anyway one way or the other. You don't wash them in a special way, you just put them in with the clothes. And you can choose to use phosphate-free and/or environmental-friendly soaps.

And one roll of Shop Towels lasts for *years*. With the money you save, you can buy the more expensive, aforementioned environmental-friendly soap. :-)

There's a difference between re-using and constantly using new things, whether they're compostable or from renewable resources. Even if you use paper towels that are from recycled paper *some* energy and god-knows-what has gone into producing them. I'm more on the "use less" side. I think it's just simpler. That's just my point of view.

The Hans

Originally Posted by TheHans

No idea really. They certainly feel like paper. But they're reinforced somehow. This is the site:

http://www.kcdiy.com/diy/products/Shop-Towels.asp

They're made by Kimberly-Clark. Which also suggests they might be paper somehow, because doesn't Kimberly-Clark make all those name-brand paper towels?

The Hans

They also make huggies, which are synthetic 'disposable' diapers.

Thanks OP for the great tip. I have an unopened roll sitting on my shelf for a few months, time to start saving !!!

I use shop towels on Swiffer. After it gets dirty, I change it and thrown the dirty one into the hamper with the floor mats. When the hamper gets full, I take it to the laundro mat where everything gets cleaned (never wash floor mats in my own washer) for re-use.

I've done this for 2 - 3 years and still on the first roll of shop towels. That's way cheaper than buying new swiffer pads.

Originally Posted by eelfliw

I use shop towels on Swiffer. After it gets dirty, I change it and thrown the dirty one into the hamper with the floor mats. When the hamper gets full, I take it to the laundro mat where everything gets cleaned (never wash floor mats in my own washer) for re-use.

I've done this for 2 - 3 years and still on the first roll of shop towels. That's way cheaper than buying new swiffer pads.

FTW! Great post, thanks.