Rags?

[Al Willits]

Just curious, if you don't have an inside line on lint free rags, what do you guys/gals do for rags?

I have tons of paper towels, but they are far from lint free and am not sure where to find lint free rags, key here would be cheap rags.

I've tried a couple boxes of the rags from the Borgs and contrary to what they think, lint free they ain't.

Next step is to get a homeless sign that says, "Will work for lint free" :)

Al

[Steve Clardy]

I use t-shirts mainly.
Get wiping rags from my cabinet supplier, from here at home, neighbors, customers.
I just ask around, and seem to get plenty.
Lint free? Sometimes.

[Per Swenson]

Al,

The blue paper shop towels

available at the borgs.

Pricey but effective.

Per

[Jim Becker]

Scotts' Rags-in-a-box....lint-free heavy paper towels in the square, yellow and blue boxes from the 'borg.

[Alan Turner]

We buy rags from a distributor in NY, with the seams, at 80 cents a pound. I then launder them once or twice and they seem fine. Been awhile since I ordered and can't recall the name of the co.

[Norman Hitt]

I use old T shirts, AND the same blue Shop Towels as Per. I also discovered (by accident) that they are washable and reuseable also, IF you haven't rubbed a hole in them or used them to rub SOME thinners etc.

[Al Willits]

I'll try the Borgs and other suggestions thanks.
Tee shirt material works pretty well, just not a lot of it around that others aren't using for rags too...:)

Al

[Charles McKinley]

Check Sam's club or Costco etc. I paid $0.75 a roll for the blue paper shop towels. If you have an auto body shop near you ask them where they get their rags.

[Mark Rios]

Check Sam's club or Costco etc. I paid $0.75 a roll for the blue paper shop towels. If you have an auto body shop near you ask them where they get their rags.



Generally, most bodyshops use a service for their shop towels and their work uniforms (as well as stuff like floor area mats for the office, those towel-on-a-roll thingies in the bathroom and other stuff like that). There is a service here in CA called "Mission Linen Supply" (I'm sure that there are more but there is one plant that I can see from my back yard :D) that goes to the businesses once a week and swaps out dirties for clean. The businesses are charged for their shop towels at something like 15 to 35 cents (maybe more) per rag. You might see if you can buy some from them.

[Andy Hoyt]

There's a no name auto parts store nearby that sells teeshirt-like material for $20 a bale. The stuff is the cut off scraps from a clothing manufacturer somewhere and each piece is usually about the size of a paper towel, although typically oddly shaped.

I run them through the laundry room tools to de-lint and de-irish penant them and then use 'em like there's no tomorrow. Takes about a year to use up one bale.

[John W. Willis]

Paint stores, the honest to goodness paint stores usually carry them to sell to painters. I worked in one for many years and there was a real market for them. We bought ours from a fellow that lived in N.C. near the fabric mills. He came around and sold them out of his van by the pound. Usually T-Shirt seconds.

[Joe Unni]

Al,

Funny you should mention rags. The guy across the hall from me is a rag vendor. I'm pretty sure he delivers/ships anywhere.

I get old restaurant napkins, jersey sheets (t-shirt material) and the paper box-o-rags that the borgs sell - though you don't get the fancy box - by the pound. Not sure the per pound price, but he sells by 50 lb (I think) boxes. I even think he sells rubber/nitrile gloves in bulk.

If you pm me, I'd be happy to give you his contact info.

Nope, I've no affiliation with him.

-joe