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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on November 29, 2010 at 12:35am

Yikes I don't even want to think about how quickly costs would add up if I threw away a paper towel (or whatever) every time I wiped something off.

Microfiber towels make my heart melt.

Change them out when they're dirty (it's obvious, but it varies so that's about as rigid a guideline as you can apply) and just wash them yourself.

It's really not that big a deal to run two full loads of towels a week, and that's probably about the most you'll need to be washing them.

Otherwise, if you don't want to wash them, either wait for all of the laundry services to walk through your door in the first month (because they will), or just type "commercial laundry services" into google followed by your area code and be amazed at the 1,000s of results.

Cintas is obviously everywhere...

-bry

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Permalink Reply by David Lanning on November 29, 2010 at 6:51am

I would second Byran on avoiding disposable towels.

Get yourself a 5 gallon bucket with a lid (very important because damp, dirty towels STINK) and make it your "Dirty Towel Bin".

Then once or twice a week bring it home and launder. Or, drop off at a local wash and fold laundry mat.

We average 6-7 towels a day (one for the steam wand, one dry towel, one for wiping/disinfecting, couple in the kitchen, etc). Way too much to be throwing them away.

Just make sure you keep up with a regular schedule of washing and ALWAYS have clean towels available for use.

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Permalink Reply by Jay Caragay on November 29, 2010 at 8:57am

ALLOW ME TO REPRIMAND YOU FOR A TOO TRIVIAL QUESTION!!!!


That said, I think the choice is really up to you. Disposable cloths have the advantage that you never worry about them. Use them until they're done and then toss them. No worries, no muss, no fuss. But you do have the continued expense of ordering and buying more.

Washable towels save you money from constantly purchasing new cases of disposables but require you to either: 1) constantly wash, or 2) use a service. The former can be a pain in the butt to manage and the latter still costs you weekly.

What we've been doing for years is buying those 48 packs of white terry cloth automotive towels at Costco for like $13 and washing them ourselves. It is a bit of a PITA but not horrifically bad. Though, as we grow and expand to more locations, we almost certainly will go to a laundry/linen service that will pickup and deliver towels on a weekly basis.

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