uses for old towels

fizzel81

i was going to have ago at making some shaped nappies but wondered if hand sewing them would be good enough, cutting them would make the fray

im asking this as i was bought new ones for xmas and in my cupboard is the bag full of the ones ive had for the last 5 years i can put them out with the re-cycling but wondering if there is some other use for them without too much work being involved

i have no pets but dont drive either otherwise they would be used for that sort of thing

Crazychik

Oh dear, I was going to suggest the latter of your things mentioned. ie pets & car!
Occasionally old towels here (cut up) are used for rags, floor/windows/loo's, etc.

I have a carrier bag full of rags, and depends on their conditon either get washed & used again, or thrown away.

Try and use a sewing machine if you can, like you say, to stop them from fraying. But it depends just how good you actually are at sewing.
My mum did some for me,(t-towel size) when I had my children, and used them to put over my shoulder when winding the babies, (to catch the sick) or to use generally in place of a changing mat! They always wash well. And saves money on wipes/etc.

I have towels in my cupboard from when I was a child. Memories of the beach! I never throw them out or cut up, I just use these for when bathing the dog!

reverie

Dusting? Dishcloths? Bathroom cloths? (Shining sink etc). Cleaning floors? Hth.

black-saturn

If you make stuffed toys you can cut them up and use them as stuffing.

lynzpower

I think they are really useful for cleaning really dirty stuff liike the barbeque, windows, cars, dogs, wellington boots & shoes, gates, that sort of thing!

I often take old towels when i go backpacking, atr the end of my holiday i tend to leave them laundered in a backpackers hostel for someone else to make use of and thus free up much needed space in my rucksack for some treasures from duty free :beer:

MATH

Good for you with the nappy idea. To get the edges nice and neat you would bind them with cotton tailors tape. I re-bind my towels when they start to fray and it gives them another 5 years wear. All my towels were purchased under a tory government, some are pre-decimal:eek:

lambanana

I'd go with cutting them up as rags...wouldn't know where to start with making them into nappies though it does sound like a good idea

Nile

I use old towels cut up into face cloth size, then use the square towelling cloth to apply shoe polish. I wear rubber gloves too when polishing shoes, to stop my fingers/hands getting stained by the polish.;)

You could also cut up an old towel into face cloth size, dampen it under the cold tap, put it in a poly bag and put it in the car on a long journey. It's a perfect size to wipe sticky hands/faces and it's cooling on a hot day too.;)

For anglers, a cloth is useful to handle the fish you've just caught. Handling fish in bare hands can damage their scales, so a dampened towelling cloth will both protect the fish and keep your hands from getting slimey.;)

Regards

Nile

fizzel81

thank you there is some great ideas, still hanging out for the nappy idea, but could give some to the ex for his fishing

sairy2005

Our Cats Protection League is always grateful for old towels. They use them for bedding and can be washed easily. They also use old blankets so if you have some really worn ones they would be happy to take them. I know the seal Sanctuary in Hunstanton uses them too for the orphan seals but I think it is the wrong time of the year at the moment. I think any animal charity would be grateful but best ring them first just in case. They may already have loads

rosy

I would cut some up as mentioned above but also keep some whole - good for emergency mopping up of bigger spills e.g. washing machine leak, dropped bottle of wine etc ( speaking from bitter experience here! ) Also if you dye your hair at home wrap an old towel round your shoulders during the messy bit of the process, doesn't matter how much dye gets on the towel if it was going to be chucked out anyway!