What happened to blue Scott shop towels?

[mark mcfarlane]

Over the decades blue Scott shop towels used to be soft, relatively thick and behaved as if they were 'woven' fibers. Early in the pandemic (April 2020) I bought a few rolls of what I think were Scott shop towels at an auto parts store and they are thiner, scratchier, stamped to give some appearance of grain, and do not absorb finish nearly as well. In use it almost feels as though I am wiping with a plastic bag.

Anyone else have this experience? Did Scott change their manufacturing or materials?

Maybe I got some knock-offs, but I'm pretty sure they said Scott on the package.

It's time to reorder...

[Dave Mills]

Check Walmart if you have one. Last time I needed them, the auto stores had some crappy blue towels, so I ordered on Amazon but they came from Walmart. Nice blue towels the way they should be. But it has been a year or so...

[Chris Luke]

I've ordered these a few times and they've been the real-deal: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035BTQ06

[Mark e Kessler]

I was buying them at Costco and saw them there a week ago. I switched to wypall x70 and there is no going back, the x60 is pretty good but the x70 is a pretty legit replacement for rags and seem to last forever.

[Brian Tymchak]

I've been getting them at Home Depot.

[Erik Loza]

Now that I think about it, they do seem thinner. Wow...

Erik

[Adam Herman]

agree, the last box of Scotts I got were linty and not at all what I remember from the previous. a box lasts me a while. i acutally got a box of the white ones at harbor freight and they are okish. need to try the wipealls next time.

[Bill Dufour]

They got wiped out by pandemic hoarders using them for mask filters. I imagine they are still having problems producing enough to meet demand.
Bill D

[Andrew Miles]

You're right Mark, they are producing some lower quality blue paper towels right now. I hope they go back to original formula.

[mark mcfarlane]

You're right Mark, they are producing some lower quality blue paper towels right now. I hope they go back to original formula.

I bought 3 rolls at Home Depot last week and they were the old woven type rather than the essentially non-absorbent ones I got last year.

[Erik Loza]

I bought 3 rolls at Home Depot last week and they were the old woven type rather than the essentially non-absorbent ones I got last year.

Oooohhh... Well, I do need some other building supplies now that I think about it.

Erik

[Jim Becker]

The "Rags in a box" paper towels are not like they used to be, for sure. I like to use them for finishing purposes because they are lint-free and more durable than other paper products, but I'm less happy with the box I'm working through now than previous generations. 'Glad that the blue ones are ok, Mark.

[Andrew More]

FWIW, Project Farm did a test of "Shop" towels, including the Scott's Blue, which did surprisingly poorly. I wonder if he got the same ones you did. He seem to conclude Wypall was the way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65TWwirfuIk

[mark mcfarlane]

FWIW, Project Farm did a test of "Shop" towels, including the Scott's Blue, which did surprisingly poorly. I wonder if he got the same ones you did. He seem to conclude Wypall was the way to go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65TWwirfuIk

The close-up of the Scott towel at 10:41 in that video doesn't really look like the old Scott towels. It looks a little more like the crappy ones I got last year but the crappy ones had more of a uniform texture in them, like they were run through a 'dimple press'. It is possible Scott had to change formulations a few times last year due to supply chain problems...

[johnny means]

In a word, Walmart.

[Warren Lake]

Mark used auto suppliers many times for stuff as usually a level above cabinet suppliers. For tape likely five choices, other stuff usually more than one choice. These were the last shop things I have but staining furniture for the most part just used old flannel sheets. There were no issues with these.

466749

[Warren Lake]

cant edit my post so here are a few from auto suppliers,



466750 466751466752

[mark mcfarlane]

Thanks Johnny and Warren.

[Jim Becker]

In a word, Walmart.

But what about for those of us who refuse to walk into Wally-World for any reason? :) :D

[Brian Tymchak]

Following this thread, I looked at the Wypall x70 wipes. On Amazon they have a 100 count popup box for about $20. The Scotts blue shop towels are 3 rolls @ 55 towels per roll for $6 at HD. Are the Wypall towels 5x better in quality to justify the cost difference? Or did I mess up the math? .. I'm still working on my first cup of tea this morning...

[Warren Lake]

I called Kimberley Clarke but she was not there. The lady on the phone said no more Krew 600 wipes and the new model is the 33352 Wipe All. Not sure if the quality is the same or not but the Krew stuff was good. I told her a number of people are not happy about the lower quality blue Scott ones they make. Seemed like she has heard that before.

[johnny means]

But what about for those of us who refuse to walk into Wally-World for any reason? :) :D

I'm not even anti Walmart. But the effect they had on how items are produced drives me nuts. I'm all for affordable, poorly made products for people that want them. But it bites having to search far and wide for a decently made hamper.

[Jim Becker]

My issue isn't about Wally-world products, etc. They serve a need/desire for sure. Rather it's personal about how a family member was treated while in their employ. My question was more tongue in cheek and rhetorical :cool:

[Rich Engelhardt]

But what about for those of us who refuse to walk into Wally-World for any reason? :) :DOrder online for pickup......pull in - call them - they bring your stuff out so you don't have to go in! :D :D

(I know - it isn't an issue of going in - it's an issue of giving them your money - I was just responding to how you worded it... ;) ).

[Jim Becker]

LOL. Good point, Rich.

I'm "reminiscing" about the last time I bought the 'box of rags" from the 'borg. I very carefully picked through the (small) pile to fine the one box that nobody has pried open the hand-holds or other openings. I use these for finishing work and minimizing the chance of dust getting into the package while it's sitting around is a priority for me. Go to checkout. Checkout person opens the hand holds. I was LIVID. They just didn't get it when I explained it, either. I can carry a small, 1 pound box without handholds, too.