Oily rag bin
Just bought an oily rag bin from Justrite and am a bit confused as to how to use it.
The bin instructions say to empty the bin every night. But, I’ve had several people tell me not to put my oily rags in the trash until pick up day (the whole spontaneous combustion thing!).. So, if I empty the Justrite bin at the end of every night, where do I put them until garbage day?
Can I not just keep the rags in the bin until garbage day? Or does it really need to be emptied at the end of each day? Thanks!
Oily or solvent-soaked rags can generate heat, which has been the cause of many print shop fires. Since I don’t use many rags at a time, I have a spot outside where I put my used rags so that the solvents can evaporate, and not be a threat of fire or fumes, then I put them in the trash. I have a rag bin from Justrite that I haven’t really ever used, it lives in storage now, but if I were to take on a teaching situation again it would be useful. If you have a high volume of rags you might want to investigate hiring a rag service. I worked at a high volume shop that kept their rags in a bin until the rag service picked them up weekly. The problem is that it is too easy to keep filling the can for weeks, and not empty it often enough.
Hi again,
What if I kept the rags in a bin filled with water until pick up? I don’t have a spot I can dry them out (winter is coming!).
I feel weird about all those dirty inky solvent soaked rags going in the trash - shouldn’t they be disposed of through a hazardous waste facility like any other old paint or oil, ect?
I can’t believe somebody sells a bin with instructions. It just requires a bit of common sense.
My rags go in a metal bin with a metal lid. It is not allowed to get full and the rags go outside in a sack to dry. The ones I can reuse are dropped in a tub of water and washing-up liquid. The crusty ones go in the trash.
When the solvents have evaporated out of the rags they are no more toxic than any newspaper. Putting the rags in a sack outside is still confining them, especially if they are heated by the sun. Soaked rags need air to circulate around them to dry quickly. In that way they would be the least likely to spontaneously combust.
Cleaning rags from the Press go in a safety can, there is one with every Press. Oily rags drop in a bucket with citron based cleaner, works wonders. Everything get’s washed inhouse, if i give it out of house, the rags for the presses lint, can’t have that.
Justrite is covering their behind with that behind wipe of instructions. Levae them in the can, that’s why it’s called a safety can. As long as every Liquid is in a proper canister you’re fine by Osha. They tend to come by once a month here. With the Boys from Hazmat/ Fire Dept.
Rags stored for a long time can combust even in a safety can, given the right conditions. It is not a good idea to store solvent-soaked rags for an extended time.