How long do you keep a handkerchief? I am not asking how long between laundering; what I am asking is, presuming you launder the handkerchief between uses, how long can you hang onto a hanky before it becomes too stained to keep? This will sound like a really dumb series of questions, but as I am blind and cannot see tobacco stains etc. on my handkerchiefs, I need to ask. Does the tobacco snot (for lack of a better term) permanently stain the handkerchief? I heard one snuff taker declare that he uses a handkerchief *once*, and when it is thoroughly filthy, just throws it away. Sounds like kind of a waste to me, even if you’ve only paid a couple bucks for the hanky. What do you use to get out tobacco stains on handkerchiefs (presuming that the tobacco stains the cloth)? Finally, is there a particularly stain-prone type of snuff (i.e. do schmalzlers stain a handkerchief worse than other types)? Thanks for answering the questions. I have a stack of handkerchiefs which I have used and washed repeatedly. Just wondering how ugly they’re getting and whether or not it was time (after two weeks) to replace them. TIA.
I keeps um till I wears a hole in um . Then I sells um on Ebay ( vintage ) then I buy two for what I get for it .
@kurtsnose - hahaha, thats too funny
I really prefer paper tissue or TP (because I’m so classy)…whatever is on hand. After a while I’ve grown immune and they don’t irritate my nose. Just my opinion, but I’d rather spend my money on more snuff than a fancy snot rag.
I love Costco paper towels 10 big rolls for $14.00 there thick and soft and leave no lint , about 1/3 of a roll per day is all I use. Your right it is classy and when people ask I just tell them it’s the new pattern .
@scurvy - ditto, here… I do try to be discreet with the TP - don’t want anyone to think I have some far worse habit than snuff, bringing brown TP to my nose… shudder
get dark colors they’re cheap. I’ve only thrown one out and that wasn’t cause of regular use.
@scurvy - ditto, here… I do try to be discreet with the TP - don’t want anyone to think I have some far worse habit than snuff, bringing brown TP to my nose… shudder
HA! :)) I blow-- then fold, roll, and use the twisted ends to dig up in my nose and scrape out the sides. I abuse TP and it looks pretty funky when I’m done with it.
Just tried TP way to fragile for me folded 2ply 4 times , Biew right thru it , Now its on my notebook and every thing, I’m gona have to use the PC until some one cleans this up .
@Uncle_Squinty If you’re using white hankies they will get stained quite quickly. After a wash it just looks as though coffee has been spilled on them and then dried, or like they’ve been sitting in a puddle. I made myself a half-dozen or so hankies many years ago from some good, soft cloth material and they’re still going now. They’re a dark burgundy colour which solves the problem of the coffee/puddle stains. Sometimes you’ll find a hardened little fellow in there after a wash, but unless someone’s inspecting your hankies, nobody is likely to notice this. You don’t need to make your own though, obviously. One can usually find bandanas at the local dollar store, usually in either blue or red. The blue I find is better for disguising snuff stains. These work great and are nice and big. Of course if you’re using one hanky to last you a week, the stains will be harder to disguise and it’s more likely that one wash won’t properly clean them. I’m a moderate snuffer and I go through a hanky a day. When I remember (which isn’t that often) I give them a good shaking-out before I put them in the washing machine. You should get years of service from them that way.
Bob, Screwtape…thanks for the advice and suggestions. You other guys…LOL I mean it. I had a mental picture of a shifty-looking character raising a wad of well-browned toilet tissue to his nose, glancing furtively about… too funny! Screwtape, I bought a bunch of dark-colored handkerchiefs for about $2.00/each from wholesaleforeveryone.com, all in dark colors. Like you, I am a moderate snuffer and go through 1 or 2 handkerchiefs per day, after which they get immediately washed. So I think I’m probably good to go. Thanks again for the advice and the laughs. Oh, and BTW, never use a pipe nail to pick out the brown intranostrilar crust. People are sickened by such behavior. 
I haven’t had my hankies very long but i use black, red, and blue ones and wash them with my clothes. I’ve yet to notice a permanent stain on them. I can get away with reusing the same hanky a few days sometimes, mainly because I’ll often use kleenex that i flush so as not to have my trash can filled with what appear to be asswipes.
i wait until after Christmas and buy a few of the gift sets, they usually clearance out to well under a buck a piece. Ive found that the Stafford ones at JCPenny last the longest for me. And always go for colored. At this point i could probably do a full laundry load of just hankies!
I never use my handkerchief to blow my nose into, only wipe around the outside. I use kleenex or bathroom tissue if I need to evacuate my sinuses, it’s too gross otherwise.
I bought a load of white handkerchiefs and dyed them brown.
I bought a load of white handkerchiefs and dyed them brown.
I did that quite a few years ago. Works great as long as they are 100% cotton.
I went on cheaperthandirtDOTcom and bought like… 30 handkerchiefs for 19.00 bucks. I use one a day and throw them in the hamper at the end of the day.
I have about 20 handkercheifs. Small ones I will use up in a day, sometimes 2 a day. Large ones can last a day to a day and a half, or even two days. What I do when they are filled with expelled snuff, is drop them in a small basket in my bathroom. Then, when its shower time, I bring one or two in the shower with me and let the shower wash off the heavyist soiling. After that they hang dry and go to the regular laundry. I learned the hard way to pre wash large soil off before doing laundry (mostly from cement dust I think, but snuff may have played a part). I had been washing them in the sink with a washboard until I thought of the shower trick. I always fold them in my pocket so the soiled side is in. While at the computer, or sitting watching or reading, one is laid across my lap at the ready. I do have a large number of white ones from my pre-snuffing days, and I use these still, just not usually in public. As @Screwtape says, they will stain, but its never bothered me much. Eventually, I suppose they will take on a new sepia color in their entirety. Oh, and handkerchiefs are much more economical than paper. Good ones last for many years. Bad ones even last for years! Paper you have to buy and buy again!
Yes Xander, I agree that cloth is far more economical and “green” than using paper, and softer on the nose as well. Excellent ideas re: pre-laundering handkerchiefs before throwing them into the washing machine. I have already I suspect, permanently stained a pair of jeans by not putting a 21-square across my lap, so I’ll start doing that with my next snuff at the computer. I appreciate all the input and advice. I guess I worry that if I choose to take snuff while in public, I’d rather not disgrace myself by flourishing a handkerchief that I thought to be clean…and wave a brown snot-stain flag instead. Thumbs up, all. Thanks.
I can see it now. A pictures of hankies thread.