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#179043 - 08/11/09 01:26 PM Towels - The Urban Staple
celler Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/03
Posts: 410
Loc: Jupiter, FL
I have lots of towels around. A few in the car, one or two in the office, and one of those fancy microfiber jobs in my man-bag. Here in Florida, they come in handy not only to wipe perspiration, but as a make-shift hat, bandage, ice-pack, tourniquet,filter, cool compress, glove, and all the other "normal" stuff.

I'm interested if others consider the towel a staple. Do you like the microfiber types or stick with the old cotton version? What size do you find most useful? What unique uses in the urban environment have you found?

Craig.

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#179046 - 08/11/09 02:00 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: celler]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
I keep a ShamWow! (TM) in the center console of my car, for no special reason except to wipe the inside of the windshield now and again. Its dirty enough that I would hesitate to use it to stop bleeding, although in a pinch anything will do. And I hike with a hiking towel in my daypack and backpack (and BOB), they are absorbent and are can dry an entire body after a dip in a freezing mountain lake. Any of the versions listed at rei.com work just fine - http://www.rei.com/search?query=hiking+towel. I think its cotton, about the size of a bandana.

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#179049 - 08/11/09 03:06 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: Lono]
Dagny Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/25/08
Posts: 1918
Loc: Washington, DC

I keep both in my Honda Element -- cotton and microfiber.

Black towels to cover stuff so it can't be seen through the tinted windows. Microfiber for wet dog days.


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#179051 - 08/11/09 03:20 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: Dagny]
7point82 Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/24/05
Posts: 478
Loc: Orange Beach, AL
I keep a couple tucked away with the spare tire. I have 8 year old twin boys too so I ALWAYS have a roll of paper towels in the car too.
_________________________
"There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother." -Theodore Roosevelt

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#179053 - 08/11/09 03:41 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: 7point82]
celler Offline
Addict

Registered: 12/25/03
Posts: 410
Loc: Jupiter, FL
Originally Posted By: 7point82
<snip>I ALWAYS have a roll of paper towels in the car too.


Griot's Garage used to have a nylon paper towel roll cover for the car that kept the roll from "unrolling". It used velcro to close the cover and keep the towels clean. I've not seen it in a long time though.

Craig.

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#179056 - 08/11/09 04:27 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: celler]
Todd W Offline
Product Tester
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/14/04
Posts: 1928
Loc: Mountains of CA
We have microfiber for dusting and car detailing and then the ol`plain cotton for other things.

I use a plain cotton one on my office chair to keep my cool... I just swap out towels when it heats up smile
_________________________
Self Sufficient Home - Our journey to self sufficiency.

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#179060 - 08/11/09 05:36 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: Todd W]
JBMat Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 745
Loc: NC
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy said you should always have a bath size towel with you.

Always good advice.


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#179063 - 08/11/09 06:03 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: JBMat]
scafool Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 12/18/08
Posts: 1534
Loc: Muskoka
Towels in the bath, big fluffy beach towels for drying off.

Towels in the kitchen. Tea towels for wiping spills, drying dishes, handling hot pots.

Towels in the shop. Ratty tea towels and cotton rags for wiping parts, counters tools and hands.

Towels for first aid. From bandannas through triangular bandages to bulky bath towels for everything from wound dressing to splint padding. Towels for wrapping ice packs in, they keep you from freezing your patient's skin.

Towels for the car. Ragged ones for wiping dip sticks, windshields, head lights and brake lights. Bulky ones for padding things that you do not want rattling around when driving. (and a wool blanket for the same job as well as first aid, or warmth if stranded).

Towels for padding under peoples heads or feet when resting.

The list of uses goes on and on. Obviously I use towels a lot and have different types from silk bandannas to huge cotton beach towels available.

I am not greatly dependent on synthetics. Straight cotton has a lot of advantages. Cotton is quite absorbent for example, Cotton is also good at insulating from heat when it is dry.
Cottons disadvantages are mostly that it can catch fire and that it is hard to dry. If it stays damp it gets moldy too.

With microfiber I worry about them melting if they touch anything hot.
I do have microfiber towels in my emergency and camping gear simply because they are easier to dry and do not get moldy like cotton does.
Cellulose towels like the artificial shammies are a fair compromise sometimes.

I agree with Douglas Adams about always knowing where your towel is.
_________________________
May set off to explore without any sense of direction or how to return.

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#179072 - 08/11/09 09:28 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: scafool]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
Microfiber towels are polyester (plastic resin) or nylon, or a combination of the two. Don't flip it around a fire or hot tailpipe.

A cotton towel soaked with water and mostly wrung out can be hung around your neck or over your head to help cool you down.

Driving into the hot summer sun with no air conditioning with a dog in the cab of the truck, wet a bath towel and lay it over the dog.

Suspend a box of perishable food and drape a wet towel over it. It works best in the SUN, not the shade. It might keep the food as cool as 62F, but no cooler, so don't risk food poisoning.


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#179074 - 08/11/09 10:51 PM Re: Towels - The Urban Staple [Re: Susan]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA
BOING !!!!--plastic towel..a few years ago i traded my old cotton for a poly dog washing one for my canoe tripping..it soaks up lots of water but the blazing,melting towel was never a thought.good-thanks--

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