How to Clean Used Rags for Commercial Cleaning
If you are cleaning at home, you can use any rag that lands in your hand if the mood strikes you to use it. Commercial cleaners need to meet a higher standard, however, because they are getting paid to do a good job. When commercial cleaners get good rags that are absorbent and do not leave residue, it makes sense for them to reuse them. The cleaner will profit each time the rags are washed and reused instead of replaced. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Washing machine
- Borax
- Laundry detergent
- Dryer fabric softener sheets (optional)
- Dryer
Instructions
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1
Turn the washer on its hottest setting and let it begin to fill.
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2
Pour 1 cup borax and 1 scoop load's worth of laundry detergent into the water and add the dirty rags. The borax works as a disinfectant and also helps to release soil from cleaning rags.
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3
Let the washing machine agitate long enough to mix the borax and detergent and stop the washer. Let the rags stand in the hot soapy water for a minimum of one hour.
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4
Let the washing machine finish its wash and rinse cycle after the rags have soaked.
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5
Put the softener sheet into the dryer if you have chosen to use one and put the cleaning rags in with it.
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6
Set the dryer on its high-heat cycle and let the rags dry completely.
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Tips & Warnings
Three-fourths of a cup of bleach can be substituted for the borax but it may cause some cottons and synthetic fabrics to break down faster.
Borate-based products, such as borax, claim to neutralize some of the detrimental effects from chlorine.
