reusing towels

[quote name='White95Max']If there's any ill effects to the following load of laundry, I want it to be on my clothes.
That explains why people say you smell like petroleum distillates! :lol



David, I understand that these chemicals are toxic in nature and appreciate the concern for your children's allergic reactions.



The chemicals that my cleaning woman uses to clean my home once a week are toxic. She uses a giant tub of rags and old MF's that I wash in the machine. She uses Simple Green, Pine Sol, Windex, Fantastic, Soft Scrub, Tilex, Pledge, Dawn, carpet spotter, etc... Everything is fine.



Bleach is toxic to the skin and it is used in the washing machine.



I have not experienced any ill effects on my clothes or skin (and my father has bad skin allergies).



The only time I have noticed ill effects on my clothes have been from chlorine bleach and spotting from dryer sheets.
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White95Max said:
If there's any ill effects to the following load of laundry, I want it to be on my clothes.
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That explains why people say you smell like petroleum distillates! :lol



David, I understand that these chemicals are toxic in nature and appreciate the concern for your children's allergic reactions.



The chemicals that my cleaning woman uses to clean my home once a week are toxic. She uses a giant tub of rags and old MF's that I wash in the machine. She uses Simple Green, Pine Sol, Windex, Fantastic, Soft Scrub, Tilex, Pledge, Dawn, carpet spotter, etc... Everything is fine.



Bleach is toxic to the skin and it is used in the washing machine.



I have not experienced any ill effects on my clothes or skin (and my father has bad skin allergies).



The only time I have noticed ill effects on my clothes have been from chlorine bleach and spotting from dryer sheets.
 
I think those contaminants are a bit different from the chemicals found in my car wash soap and polish which they don't mention.



They're talking about serious industrial toxins from workers who get covered in this stuff in concentrated amounts.



When I detail a car, I'm left with dirty hands and some splatter of polish on my T-shirt. The only toxin that affects my family is my stench of perspiration from a muggy, 96 degree summer day :p
 
Spilchy said:
I think those contaminants are a bit different from the chemicals found in my car wash soap and polish which they don't mention.



They're talking about serious industrial toxins from workers who get covered in this stuff in concentrated amounts.



When I detail a car, I'm left with dirty hands and some splatter of polish on my T-shirt. The only toxin that affects my family is my stench of perspiration from a muggy, 96 degree summer day :p
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Our towels ARE soaked in chemicals from waxes, compounds, degreasers, window cleaners(amonia) and solvents. These are bad things, just check out the MSDS sheets on these products. I know it's difficult to understand, especially for the person doing a complete car wash in their driveway, but it's not good. Do you think all the chemicals get washed out of the towels - NO. Then that means their still on them and inside the washing machine too. What's worse now is then they go into the dryer where their heated up to high temperatures. Oil and water do not mix(that's why we wax our cars in the 1st place), so they definately don't get removed from inside your washing machine.
 
OK, oil and water DO mix, they just don't combine. Your logic about the towels not washing clean or contaminating the washer and drier MIGHT be valid if all you did was wash with cold water and no detergent. However, since you are washing with detergent and, hopefully, hot water the detergent acts as a surfactant which allows water to lift dirt and other contaminants from the fabric. Same is true for things like glass cleaners or hand soap... water alone, not so good, add soap and you're all squeeky clean again.



Lets take a poll... all those who have gotten sick, been poisoned, gotton a bad rash, or had body parts fall off after washing, waxing, or otherwise pampering your car... raise your hands. Unless you are someone who suffers from extreme chemical allergies I'd say you are safe. Why? Because the toxins in these products are so minute they mean nothing. The MSDS sheets are like drug label warnings, they mention all the possibilities in extreme cases. Manufacturers don't want to get sued so it's in their best interest not to poison you.
 
David, I commend you on trying to protect your children, but I have to agree with Spilchy that the contaminants on that NIOSH website are not ones that you would encounter in detailing your car (RDX, I believe, is an explosive, used in missile warheads). Due to VOC restrictions, there isn't too much solvent in your detailing products, and what is in there has likely evaporated before the laundry (just as it evaporates, by design, from your carnauba wax as you put it on the car). Most of us don't use ammonia-based window cleaners, either. Another thing about MSDS's...they are a CYA for the mfr., virtually every one of them says to wear gloves, etc. Reading MSDS's is not really a good way to find out if something is harmful in casual contact (talking about the things on the milder end of the scale, that is, for example, I'm sure if you got an MSDS on dishwashing liquid [say, if you worked in a restarurant kitchen], it would tell you to wear gloves, is that really necessary? Have any of us received harm from washing our dishes bare-handed?).
 
DFTowel- As always, I find your input on this thread informative. BTW, I forgot to thank you for the epson salts for colors tip over on MOL, I'll have to try that.



By watching the amount of detergent and using vinegar in the final rinse (as per your advice), I *have* been able to get many of my cotton textiles soft without using a softener. Not sure what's going on with the ones that're still stiff but they aren't detailing towels so I'm not worrying about it.



DFTowel said:
If your machine is leaving residue on the tub sides then it isn't doing a very good job of cleaning or rinsing is it? If you use hot water, and you always should, any residue will go down the drain..
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The washing machine I use in the garage *does* get residue build up in the basket- nthing awful but enough that I clean it from time to time. I always wash with hot water (and detergent ;) ) but it doesn't provide the option of rinsing with hot water (only warm). Not sure what I can do as I don't want to replace the washer.



I plan on having both pairs of washers/dryers serviced one of these days (free with the service plan so why not) so any advice would be appreciated.
 
I group various MF towels and wash them as such, in two groups. Leather/vinyl and 303 Protectant treatment towels in one group; wash/dry towels, QD towels and window towels in another group. Twice a year I use the Klasse twins and those buffing towels are also washed separate.



I wash these groups of towels alone although I sometimes throw in my golf towels (but never my bath towels or any clothes). I wash them with warm water (never hot) and rinse in cool water. I use whatever detergent I have on hand (no bleach, no vinegar). I never put them in the dryer as I prefer to let them hang and air dry. The real dirty ones still turn out stained but I don't care, they are clean even if stained. I've done this routine for a long time and have never had any problem whatsoever.
 
I have paint towels and then I have dirty towels (engines, wheel wells, etc). The paint towels get a hot/warm wash/rinse in our house's laundry machine whenever the pile gets big enough for a load. The dirty towels I take the the laundrymat seeing as I would rather dirty up their washers vs our own.
 
Neothin said:
I have paint towels and then I have dirty towels (engines, wheel wells, etc). The paint towels get a hot/warm wash/rinse in our house's laundry machine whenever the pile gets big enough for a load. The dirty towels I take the the laundrymat seeing as I would rather dirty up their washers vs our own.
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Contrary to popular beliefs on the topic, you're not really "dirtying" up your washing machine. Everything from your towels are being washed right out, go down the drain and your washer is left clean again. :wall
 
Well, when everything goes right the dirt all goes down the drain ;) The [stuff] I clean out of the garage washer's basket is building up in there, no question about it. Easy to see on the basket's white finish.



Could be that the basket's finish is compromised from years of use (it's almost 20 years old)...the stainless basket in our household washer stays spotlessly clean but we're only doing household laundery in it.
 
Accumulator, your garage washing machine is used solely for this purpose, so it is understandable that after a couple of DECADES, you will get build up. My basket is porcelin and and given that finish, there is no build up of any kind on it. Given the HOT wash I do and the surfactants I use to do the cleaning, all dirt goes bye bye. The frequency of my MF washings is no where near the amount that would cause issues. I have a few hundred MF's and they go into a bin until I can do a full load. In the interim, there are dozens of regular clothes loads going. Therefore, washing in *my* machine is not, and never has been an issue. I live with a family of neat and clean freaks. Believe me, if my folks thought there was an issue, I'd be in the coin-op laundry mat before I had the chance to whine about it.



Also, I would say 90% of the detailing supplies I use do not harm my skin. I don't wear gloves and have never had probelms. Waxes, polishes, glazes, protectants, dressings, etc... do not harm my skin. The APC's I use in their dilluted concentrations do not affect my skin. I can pour them or wipe them on my hands and they're ok.



You know what affects my skin? Household Chlorine bleach. Unlike my detailing supplies, pouring that stuff on my hands WILL cause a reaction and a bad one. But, we all use that in our washing machines for whites!
 
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