Glue/Shop Rags....What do you do??

[Pete Hotard]

So here's a question that I haven't seen covered before. Tried the search and came up with nothing. I just finished a large glue up and am about to start a new one. I have a large pile of dirty rags from wiping glue, cleaning tools and wiping blades after sharpening (wet stone, sandpaper grit, and glass cleaner my makeshift lapping fluid) The question is, what do you do with your shop rags? Do you attempt to wash them or do you simply throw them away and get more? I have an old washing machine so i'm not worried about ruining it. To be clear, these are not oily, fire prone rags that i'm saving. So the danger of storing them is not too bad. Thought this could spark an interesting discussion

[Jim Andrew]

I use paper towels and put them in the trash when I'm finished with them. If you let a rag dry with glue on it, it is hard to get it soaked up soft enough to wash out the glue. If you want to reuse a glue soaked rag, you should just throw it in the washer right then.

[Von Bickley]

I live in a rural area, so I just throw them on my burn pile.

[Bill Huber]

I use the blue towels rolls I get from Auto Zone or Walmart, they take water really good and work good when dry.

[Brian Tymchak]

I use the blue towels rolls I get from Auto Zone or Walmart, they take water really good and work good when dry.

+1. I get mine at HD.

[Stan Mitchell]

Definitely disposable.

I keep a keep roll of cheap paper towels handy for wiping up glue.

And like Bill, I also use the disposable blue shop towels - at least for heavy duty applications.

[Ole Anderson]

Three words: blue shop towels

[Erik Loza]

I use the blue towels rolls...

+1. I get mine at HD.

+3. Could not live without them, great for everything. My wife drew the line at replacing our toilet paper with them, though....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Stan Krupowies]

I use the blue towels rolls I get from Auto Zone or Walmart, they take water really good and work good when dry.

+1 - I get mine at HD or BJ's wholesale. I use them for just about everything!

[John Coloccia]

I mostly use paper towels or the blue rags. For other jobs, I buy boxes of lint free cloth. They look like ripped up old t-shirts. They're cheap enough that I just toss them when I'm done.

That said, stop wiping up the glue. Let it gum up for 5 or 10 minutes, and then come back with a "glue chisel". Just go to the antique store and find a beat up old paring chisel (something long). Clean up the edge but leave it dull. This is perfect for scraping off glue, and it's especially good when the glue is slightly gummed up so you don't smear it all of the place. The chisel also lets you get right into a corner. I very rarely wipe up fresh glue anymore.

[glenn bradley]

Paper towels. They go in the recycle bin once used.

[Brian Tymchak]

+3. Could not live without them, great for everything. My wife drew the line at replacing our toilet paper with them, though....

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

Well, now, there's a use for 'em that had never occurred to me...

[Rick Potter]

Okay, I will be the oddball. I buy terrycloth rags and microfiber rags at Costco, and, unless they get something like glue or globs of grease on them, I wash them in the regular washing machine. The ones with a LOT of dirt on them get rinsed in the slop sink first. They come out just fine, and useable. The microfiber rags are for car washing, outside furniture, porch rails, etc.

For bad jobs, I also have paper towels, and blue towels. Just finished wiping off stain on a couple face frames....used paper towels for that. Set them out to dry, then in the trash.

Rick Potter

[Art Mulder]

toss 'em. between old t-shirts, and socks with holes in them, I have no shortage of rags for this hobbyist.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Okay, I will be the oddball. I buy terrycloth rags and microfiber rags at Costco.
Rick Potter

I buy them too. Anyone know how to get the wood chips out of a microfiber cloth? After they get loaded up with wood chips, I use them to wipe up glue then finally toss them out. I cant seem to get wood chips out of the micro fiber. Washing/drying seems to make them stick better.