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Hey all!

I didn't know where else to post this question, so...

Do you folks give any consideration oily rag disposal? I grew up hearing warnings about spontaneous combustion with oily rags, but I've never actually heard of an instance of it happening.

I don't have a lot, but when I do oil changes, I throw the paper towels (they can be pretty soaked) that I clean up with in the regular trash can as well as the used oil filters. The warnings are always in the back of my mind though.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

I never keep used oil rags in my place.. You might try checking with your garbage p/up Co & ask if they have special p/up for that ?

I don't store oily in any enclosed so there has been no problem.

Now use oil filter do get crushed here to extract most the used oil before disposal and the oil is then sent to be recycled. Good for the environment in my opinion.

Engine oil soaked rags will compost quite happily
Engine oil soaked rags do not spontaneously combust
Vegetable soaked rags are the ones that can spontaneously combust and it is quite rare .
This is due to the bacteria that produce methane gas
Same story with oily rags in a metal shop they sit on fresh steel turnings which rust and that creates hydrogen gas .
The bacteria that break down engine oil do not reproduce very fast so they do not cause the rags to get hot
I use oily rags for weed suppression & it takes about 2 years for them to rot away completely under a compost mulch .

Another option for the paper towels soaked with oil is to just burn them in small piles so the smoke level is low. But for regular shop rags I simply wash them every so often. The problem of keeping oily rags around in a shop is the potential for sparks and hot mufflers setting them on fire. This is why they recommend a metal containers with a tight fitting lids. And I have seen the rags to get quite warm on their own here on hot days but that is because being dark absorbs more heat from the sun.

Although drying oils rather than lubricating oils seem to be most vulnerable to spontaneous combustion i don't take a chance with any oils .
For a inexpensive container , find a stainless stock pot with a lid at the recycle center .
Shop towels to be saved can be washed with paint thinner and dried then washed with a detergent if desired .

Hmmm I only washing mine in Dawn Ultra and sometimes with washing soda added. This is with even grease laden shop rags and they comes fairly clean other some oil strains. I even the oil and grease out my work mechanic's navy blue uniforms.

AdamE said:

Hey all!

I didn't know where else to post this question, so...

Do you folks give any consideration oily rag disposal? I grew up hearing warnings about spontaneous combustion with oily rags, but I've never actually heard of an instance of it happening.

I don't have a lot, but when I do oil changes, I throw the paper towels (they can be pretty soaked) that I clean up with in the regular trash can as well as the used oil filters. The warnings are always in the back of my mind though.

Thoughts?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

warnings?
Oil does no self combust.
The warnings ( such as they are) are as to Oxygen curing oils like treated linseed oil which being exothermic, does generate some heat as it cures.
However warnings aside, I've never seen it get hot enough to matter.
The youtuber Bourbon Moth Faked a Video where he got them to combust but it was bullshit

At the mechanic shop I used to work at, we'd put all the oily rags in a 55 gallon drum. It would sit there for months without any problems.
Sometimes there'd be two full drums just sitting there for several months.

Machine Shop I apprenticed in, in high school, never kept the oily rags around. But they had a service pick them up with our aprons etc & replace with freshly cleaned..