I personally only use washcloths for my face and they are not used for anything else. I can see how it might be easier to use a washcloth as a poof but I personally wouldn't buy a used one no matter how clean it was cleaned. But then I don't even share a bar of soap. Hubby has a habit of using bar to skin and that drives me crazy.
I giggled a bit because our kids are the same - they won't touch the soap unless they know 100% that it's their own bar! Hubby and I are "if it's there use it" kind of people. And that's why there's 6 bars of soap in every shower at any given time.
I would also add, hotel linens, wash cloths and towels are also "used", yet people trust them.
Right?! I was discussing this idea with hubs last night and he made the same comment, and also added "I don't wear the towel as underwear, I'm using it to dry a body that I just (theoretically) cleaned."
I rather like this idea and I have a sewing machine. I think I'll give this a try!
Let me know how it goes! My sister has a small machine that she's not using so I'm hoping to pick it up this weekend.
A little tag showing how to wash them would be very helpful for anyone considering purchase. (Like those tags on some scarves showing different ways they can be worn.)
Great idea! If these work well - I have the same concern DeeAnna mentioned above regarding properly drying where the poofy is bunched - I hope I remember this!
I'd have no issue with making one from our own used towels or those of a close friend/family member after a good wash in very hot water, possibly preceded by a soak in bleach for aesthetic reasons.
As long as they are properly washed there is little or no real danger.
At my daughter's concert last night, I bumped into a friend of mine who owns one of the local thrift stores. So I asked her how vetting towels works for her store. She told me that probably only 1/4 of the towels she gets actually make it to the shelf. She critiques personal items (bedding, towels, and yes, people do donate undergarments) thoroughly. The towels and bedding that don't pass her muster are donated to the humane society. She doesn't bleach the towels that she keeps, but she does wash them on hot cycle. (Like me she has the question that if you add bleach to a colored load, will it take out the color? I dunno, I've never done it and neither has she, lol.) I realize not all thrifts are like this - Jamie's store is considered an "upscale" thrift store, so she charges a bit more than the Goodwill, but she also doesn't put out every piece of junk that comes in - but I wouldn't think twice about asking the store about how something was washed.
If I were intentionally buying thrifted towels for resale, I would be very fussy. My husband told me our washer has a sanitize option but he's never used it. [I haven't done laundry in 4 years so I have no idea how our machine works or the options it has, hubs does all the laundry. No I don't loan him out.] I might do some reading into what the sanitize option does. Mulling over things, I'm thinking when it comes down to it that because I will probably want specific colors (or even patterns) for the poofs that buying new will probably be easier. As appealing as repurposing is, it's probably easier to repurpose within the house that the object came from. Who knows... maybe I'll offer it as an option: Send me your used towels and I'll send them back as shower poofs. But this is all thinking inside the head at the moment. I'd give them several months of testing [drying issues, funk smell, ease of washing, ease of making, durability] before making a decision to make for other people, definitely a 2022 product offering at best case.
