BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Spinning Drum Carder tip, thanks to jaquiew

Along with the instructions for my drum carder came the tip to use what we here in Australia call a Chux wipe or Jiffy cloth stretched over, and pushed down onto the carding cloth. Its easily replaced and helps keep the carder much cleaner after blending different colours or types of fibre.
Much as I tried, I couldn't get anything to stay down over my carding cloth, , and when I ran into jaquiew elsewhere, she suggested using a dish-washing brush or scrubbing brush to push the Chux down. It works! I stretched the cloth (which is a sort of woven paper) over the drums, after trimming it to size, and thumped it down into position with a nail brush. Problem solved!
A big thank you to jacquiew, and a suggestion that others try this.
Cheers, Caroline in Adelaide, who is about to put her malamute blend through her drum carder now she can easily clean up afterwards!

Hey, now! that idea would have kept the drum cloth much cleaner when I started using it to card grease wool! It would have saved me many hours with the toothbrush scrubbing the thing with rubbing alcohol.

Chux wipes? the same as baby wipes?

I'm not sure, but I don't think so. They are a generally blue and white coloured paper cleaning cloth that you can wash in the washing machine. Its quite stretchy and has a sort of cut out diamond pattern in it. Its the same stuff that they make nappy/diaper liners out of here. Its an open weave anyway, which is how you can get it down over the spikes - sheeting just doesn't seem to do the job unfortunately. My carder is now resplendant in its "nappy" waiting for me to use it.
I tend to use my carder for raw fleece, as that is what I prefer spinning, but in the past I have spent hours carding different blends that would have only taken a few minutes if my carder had worn a nappy! Now its all systems go!
Cheers, Caroline

Oh! Ok, we have some of those things. Cannot at this moment think of the name of them.

I will have to get some when I go to town. Then I will have "nappy" on my carding drum too.

I just hate cleaning that thing.

If I ever get to use the big electric Patrick Green carder at the State Fair I will remember that and put a nappy on it too! Who ever is using it for demos that day has to quit 2 hours before we shut down the displays to clean the darned thing.

After Googling, I think what I am talking about you guys know as J-cloths - you only need the regular ones, not the heavy duty, and you guys also have a choice of colour! We get blue, and if we use a cheap knock-off, yellow, so its easy to see who goes for brand names, hehe! 1 regular one (the cheap knock-off) was about the right size for my drum carder with a half one for the smaller drum.

Totally cool! I really like the idea of not having to spend hours and hours cleaning the carder drums after using them. Also when going from grease wool to something nice and white and clean!!

Cheap knock-offs?? who doesn't spend the least they can for cleaning supplies?? That is, when we stop playing with fibers long enough to see the dirt and dust that has accumulated!

I wouldn't even stop some days to cook and eat if I didn't have to!

Wow you really did go ahead and try it i am really pleased, as its a few minutes to save a lot of work.

Yes, thanks to you I had that "aha" moment, and it was dead simple once I knew how to do it. The silly part is I'd tried before with thin fabric but obviously the weave was still too close to pack down. Great tip!

Could someone please tell me what the name of the cloth is here in the US?


Deana
Iowa

This isn't much help but I have seem those in the States and know just what you're talking about. Problem is that I can't recall the name of the product for sure. I'm pretty sure that I have a package of them around but we're right in the middle of moving and I know it's at our town house and I'm at the farm
Try looking in the cleaning products aisle at the grocery or at a home improvement center. Also check the Auto cleaning supply ailse - seems that there was a heavy duty one for washing cars.
If all that doesn't work, remind me in a couple months - by then I will hopefully be unpacked - but don't bet on it...I have a HUGE stash to stow heaven only knows where!

I found J-cloth on an American site when I googled it- its a woven paper cleaning cloth that survives being put through the washing machine. It is also used for nappy liners here in OZ - thats if you still use cloth nappies. Its nice and stretchy, which makes it ideal for the drum carder.
No wonder non-English speakers get confused, when us English speakers from opposite sides of the globe cannot find the correct word to describe a product we all probably use, lol! Over to you Llyn, to see if you can find what I am talking about!
I would guess a soft knitted cotton fabric would also do the job; the kind I'm thinking of is also sold in our supermarkets as a car cleaning rag and comes knitted in a tube, rather like a cheap kind of T-shirt material. The main factor to consider is whether it stretches slightly, and has holes that will easily go over the wire. Sheeting and calico didn't do the job.
Cheers, Caroline from Australia

Well, nylon netting would certainly fit down over the carding teeth. But it's doubtful that it would help keep the carding cloth very clean. I do recall that it is a non-woven cloth.

I can see the product we're trying to name in my mind - I just can't come up with the name. Handi-wipes, maybe?

I believe they're called Handi-wipes. That's the Clorox brand name for them...not sure what the generic name would be.

Pam in VA

The brand name for these in the US is Handi Wipes. They're a non-woven re-usable cleaning cloth that can be machine washed. To see a picture, take a look at this Amazon link, although you should be able to find them at your local dollar store if they're not stocked at your regular grocery.

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Thanks, thats exactly what they are!
Handy wipes over here are those little pre-moistened cloths you get in round plastic containers for wiping hands, babies, etc. You'd think the marketing and advertising gurus would get their names straight around the world these days, !
Cheers, Caroline in Australia

Handi-Wipes! That's what I thought they were called but didn't want to say for sure until I could actually see some and give them a try.

Glad I was able to help... I have a used drum carder on its way to me and was thrilled to see this tip. Anything that simplifies clean-up increases the odds that I'll really use the drum carder. I can't wait. I've got a closet full of fiber awaiting my attention. I'm wondering if the local fiber shop might be interested in carrying some carded batts... They don't have any at this time, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't carry them if someone were willing to supply them. (Daydreaming already about how to finance an upgrade to a Pat Greene Supercarder.)

Why not? It sounds like a great idea to make your hobby self-supporting, and you can go out and get more fibre with the profits, hehe! What an excuse to go out shopping again! There is a demand for OOAK batts on Ebay and according to some of the groups I belong to. And its great fun getting adventurous and spinning feral yarns. Not that I have managed to actually put up any of my batts or yarns for sale - how could I pick what I would be happy to part with? Which is why I have a yarn mountain, hehe!
Cheers, Caroline, who is meant to be stash-busting - really!!

What is an OOAK batt?

And, Caroline - I have a fleece mountain for the same reason you have a yarn mountain

OOAK = one of a kind, which means you can put anything and everything including the kitchen sink into them. In fact there are some sellers on Etsy who specialise in this kind of batt It sort of turns left-overs into designer products! Seriously, its a good way to get an accent yarn with a little luxury, but I don't think they come cheap. They certainly sell quickly!
They are quite easy to make. You need your base tops or roving, divide it up (a spare coffee table is good for this, I have a large tray), and then start adding bits to it, from alpaca, or silk, to 6 inch lengths of that cheap nasty nylon yarn you got on special last year - it all goes in, and gets carded together. How many times depends on how you want the finished product to look. I also garnett any ends of homespun, and add bits of felt. Depending on what you put in it, depends on how classy it is - my recipe is a bit feral, but the top of the range batts use buffalo, cashmere, etc and the colours probably all blend together nicely without clashing.
Its great fun, and you can never be quite sure how its going to turn out, hehe!
My mountains are rather static at the moment; the youngest and newest fur baby is teething, so anything wood has been put out of the way - the end result is I don't know what to do with my hands as I watch TV,

If the correct material can't be found, I should think cheesecloth would work. Maybe use a few layers.

Sue, the Moldy Old Crone

Mendocino Coast
Northern California