How to make homemade compressed towels?
Use “starch” to help keep towels compact!!
Starch???? for towels??
Where can I get starch? From potatoes? Corn?
Wow! It’s a science experiment!!
Have you ever used a special spray while ironing your clothes? What kind of spray did you use?
Yes, that’s right! We can use starch spray for the final step when we make our DIY compressed towels! In this post, I will share with you my experiment making homemade compressed towels that are as small as possible and that keep their shape.
Most people iron their clothes to smooth out the wrinkles. Some ironing sprays help your clothes to keep their shape, after ironing. It’s the starch effect.
Ironing sprays that use the starch effect are usually made from wheat, potato, or corn
Do you use starch, in your normal daily life? What do you use it for? I use starch as a thickener when I make soup, and I sometimes use it as glue to stick papers together.
I used to help my family fix or renew SHOJI in my house.
I had the crazy idea that I might be able to use starch to keep my DIY compressed towels small and to help them retain their shape over long periods of time in my emergency stockpile.
Let’s try this starch idea to make DIY compressed towels.
Which starch?
I decided to use…
Vodka!!
Do you know what vodka is made from?
Vodka is an alcoholic beverage made by distilling any starch or sugar-rich plant material: wheat, corn, rye, potato, rice, soybeans, sugar beets, etc. It is made by distilling the fermented product (grain or starch) to at least 95% ethyl alcohol and then adding water to bring the concentration down to a minimum alcohol content of 40% (alcohol by volume).
Make a vodka spray
1. Ingredients : Vodka and Water
Easy ratio: One part vodka to two parts water (if you want a lighter starch, add more water)
Recommended Ingredients
▪︎ 2 cups water
▪︎ 1/2 cup vodka ( Any vodka )
❋ Optional : A few drops of essential oil
2. Mix them
I explained how to fold the towel and make it compact, in post #85.
3. Soak the towel and squeeze it out
I am a lazy person, so I use the same cup to soak the towel.
You can use whatever container you like, big or small!!
4. Dry it
I dried mine in the sun.
When I use vodka, the towel expands slightly but keeps its shape.
5. Keep the left over of vodka/water mix in a spray bottle for ironing or for spraying your laundry.
There are other ways to make starch spray, but using vodka is easy. I think this experiment was a success. And if you want, you can drink the left over vodka! Vodka is very useful for our daily lives and for emergencies. I recommend you set up a bottle of vodka in your emergency stockpile.
You can use vodka for….
• Deodorize clothes and shoes.
• Remove sticky residue from surfaces.
• Kill weeds naturally.
• Mouthwash.
• Mosquito bite relief.
• Eliminate pet odors.
Be careful if you have an alcohol allergy!
The best is the one that has many uses.
In emergency situations, you will be glad you prepared towels, even if they’re DIY compressed towels. It’s better than nothing!
When the time comes to use your homemade compressed towel, just loosen your towel by hand, or soak it in water. If you are worried that your DIY compressed towel was sitting in your emergency bag or stockpile for too long, just wash it and dry it in the sun!
See you next time.
Remember, “Protect your life by yourself” （自分の命は自分で守る). You need to survive first, and then you need your emergency supply. No matter how well you prepared your emergency supplies, if you die, then all of your preparations will have been for nothing. First and foremost, keep your health up all the time. Build your stamina so that if you need to, you can evacuate as quickly as possible. Stay healthy.