I have some rags (as I'm sure we all do) that are covered in oil and other various fluids. Is it alright to wash these in a standard washing machine and then air dry them? Is there a specific detergent I should use if I wash them at home?


What I do is to first hand wash/rinse them in a 5 gallon buckets with a strong mix of laundry detergent. This removes most of the heavy oil along with the smell and the grit. Then they go in the washer on hot wash cycle. I then just hang them to dry on a rope in the shed. Using the dryer seems to release some of the waxes and residual oil onto the dryer drum. If the rags seemed really messy I'll run the washer through a cycle empty just to rinse out any leftover dirt.

  • Good answer, but please add spaces after periods for it is hard to read. Those grammar rules are there for a reason. – theUg May 27 '12 at 0:22

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