Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 25

Thread: What happened to blue Scott shop towels?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, Texas area
    Posts
    1,308

    What happened to blue Scott shop towels?

    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...
    Mark McFarlane

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    El Dorado Hills, CA, USA
    Posts
    208
    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...

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2020
    Location
    Leeds Point, NJ
    Posts
    29
    I've ordered these a few times and they've been the real-deal: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0035BTQ06

  4. #4
    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.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    3,063
    I've been getting them at Home Depot.
    Brian

    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger or more complicated...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - E.F. Schumacher

  6. #6
    Now that I think about it, they do seem thinner. Wow...

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Longmont, CO
    Posts
    810
    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.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Modesto, CA, USA
    Posts
    9,876
    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

  9. #9
    You're right Mark, they are producing some lower quality blue paper towels right now. I hope they go back to original formula.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, Texas area
    Posts
    1,308
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew Miles View Post
    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.
    Mark McFarlane

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by mark mcfarlane View Post
    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
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    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.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Posts
    968
    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

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Houston, Texas area
    Posts
    1,308
    Quote Originally Posted by Andrew More View Post
    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...
    Mark McFarlane

  15. #15
    In a word, Walmart.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •