Shower Poofy Hack

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I thought I would share this DIY that I found. I haven't yet made them (I don't have a sewing machine lol) but if I can find a basic machine, or, ahem, ask my momma to do it for me... I thought these would be a great addition to sell at craft shows.
https://www.arosetintedworld.co.uk/how-to-make-a-shower-pouf-from-an-old-upcycled-towel/
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Good timing as I'm getting ready to replace all of our bathroom towels (some of them are older than our kids - oldest is 19!) They'll make good testers anyways, I imagine for selling I would want to use new towels - or do you think people would not be skeeved out by upcycled?
 
Good timing as I'm getting ready to replace all of our bathroom towels (some of them are older than our kids - oldest is 19!) They'll make good testers anyways, I imagine for selling I would want to use new towels - or do you think people would not be skeeved out by upcycled?
I would be exceptionally squicked out, and I would feel violated if I wasn't informed in advance of purchase, to buy a shower poof made from a used towel. No matter how much you insist it has been cleaned and sanitized before and/or after it was sewn in to such.
 
I offer only my personal opinion. But a shower poof is meant to clean. Emotionally I would feel unclean & dirty if I purchased and used a used towel for cleaning my body. It's used in the shower where I am as naked as can be and scrubbing my flesh with it. It requires complete and abject trust in a third, unknown, party that the poof was never used for major bodily fluids, for animal vomit, was regularly cleaned, was thoroughly cleaned before and after manufacture. I would be EXTREMELY squicked out.

It would feel violating, in addition to the above, to purchase it unaware of the fact that it was used. To me that borders on consent issues and possibly into kink territory. I would end up being even more suspect about certain bodily fluids.

All around, hard no for me on purchasing used towel shower poof. New towel hand crafted poof, that's fine.

As to the used bedding / clothing... I occasionally buy used clothing. OUTER clothing. I won't buy, and most second hand shops won't sell, used undergarments for similar reasons that I've already expressed. I would feel nearly as squicked out buying used bedding (such as sheets). Quilts made from recycled shirts and blue jeans... again I expect the listing to clear if I'm buying that from Etsy or someplace and I've never considered one because quilts in general and that type of quilt simply aren't my aesthetic.
 
I'm staying out of the debate about the propriety of reusing old towels. :cool:

I do have a concern about tightly gathering terrycloth into a pouf. I really question whether soap residue can be sufficiently rinsed out of the gathered center of the pouf. Also cotton or cotton-blend terry won't dry well in the center of the pouf. IMO, I'd expect the center will get moldy in fairly short order.

So, honestly, I'm not sure I'd do this even with new terry cloth -- it might be best to leave terry as flat washcloths that can be rinsed better and dried quicker. I think I'd find another material that rinses and dries better for making poufs. There's a reason why store-bought poufs are an open mesh plastic.
 
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I'm with Impkit on this. Used outer clothing-sure (almost my entire wardrobe, TBH). But used underwear, swimsuits, etc.? Nope, not for me.
Skin is constantly shedding cells, has bacteria (even if you just washed it), and a towel picks up that plus water. Even if it gets hung to dry and washed frequently, the bacteria does what bacteria does with the food it's got (eating/growing). Porous surfaces hang onto organic materials well, and while you could kill most of the bacteria with harsh chemicals (which then poses the problem of rinsing said chemicals), used towels will always have some degree of human cell material in them.
Others can make their own choices, but from my perspective, it's a nope.
The idea of scrubbing myself with a cloth with the remnants of someone else's dead skin cells and potentially bacteria in it absolutely creeps me out.

I'm sure someone will come in eventually who is fine with it, and I'm not looking to talk anyone out of it, but I would not be comfortable with it for the reasons I've mentioned.
 
I do have a concern about tightly gathering terrycloth into a pouf.
How I interpreted the instructions is that it's not sewn in place, so the gathering is only as tight as it's bunched together. To wash it you would simply untie it so it is flat again, wash it, dry it, and retie it. But that's just how I interpreted the instructions. I will also be curious to see how well they dry between uses.

Bah, the discussion regarding second hand or not is ridiculous - and taken a bit too far. I'm tapping out of it as well. Sorry I asked.
 
How I interpreted the instructions is that it's not sewn in place, so the gathering is only as tight as it's bunched together. To wash it you would simply untie it so it is flat again, wash it, dry it, and retie it. But that's just how I interpreted the instructions. I will also be curious to see how well they dry between uses.

Bah, the discussion regarding second hand or not is ridiculous - and taken a bit too far. I'm tapping out of it as well. Sorry I asked.
FWIW I think it's brilliant, I was trying to see if it was possible to crochet something like this but the consensus seemed to be that they were too heavy and floppy. This looks like exactly the solution I was looking for.
Maybe not old towels (and not touching that conversation with a barge pole) but for home use & gifting it seems like it would be easily done with suitable fabric scraps.
I presume the gathering could be achieved with a cord threaded through that would also serve as handle... Hmm, should probably stop speculating and check out the link!
 
Bah, the discussion regarding second hand or not is ridiculous - and taken a bit too far. I'm tapping out of it as well. Sorry I asked.
This seems rather disrespectful.

You asked if people would be skeeved out by it. To dismiss our feelings, experiences, and perspectives when responding to your direct question as "ridiculous - and taken a bit too far"... what did you expect? Unilateral agreement that anyone and everyone would see this idea as great and wonderful and awesome? Sorry but I have traumas in my past (and some not so past) that contextualize this idea beyond just a craft project. So no I didn't take it too far.
 
This seems rather disrespectful.
As did your responses.

Towels are not underwear. I can't correlate the similarities. I agree, I would never buy undergarments second hand. Apparently other people are gross with their towels.

Seems you could also make one, or even crochet one, out of net mesh fabric.
Thanks, but I don't knit or crochet. I haven't sewn in 20-ish years, but I could manage this. I'm also looking for an option that doesn't involve plastic.
 
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.

But just because I wouldn't, don't mean that someone else won't use it. Maybe create a survey for your customers to see what they would think if you plan on selling them.
 
I'm not sure if I'd buy one made from sometime else's used towels, but if I wanted a pouffe 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.

That said, I don't think there would be any real danger in using one made from a stranger's well cleaned upcycled towels - it's more of a personal sense of ickiness. We tend to be more germ-phobic than is actually necessary these days, in my opinion.

As has already been mentioned, hotel towels and bedding are a thing, plus there is a market for things like second hand washable nappies (diapers) / nappy rental services etc.
That's not a new concept either - before disposable nappies became common, towelling/terry cloth nappies were commonly passed on from baby to baby between families and friends. As long as they are properly washed there is little or no real danger.
 
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.
 
I think I’d only use white so that I could bleach them during the wash cycle. I have a white towel that has one corner completely shredded. Think I’ll experiment with that.

We shop at second-hand stores all the time. My conscientious daughter refuses to buy brand new clothes. She even bought her prom dress from Goodwill. I’ve caught on too and have bought some nice dresses. Line a seem hard to come buy. Probably because someone is conducting quality-control which didn’t even occur to me.
 

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