Boiling Microfibers....

I

imported_weekendwarrior

New member
I always wash my towels in a pure detergent after each use, and dry them in the dryer with no fabric sheet. However, I had about 10 general purpose microfiber towels that had lost a little of their softness, as well as about 5 polishing cloths that had also lost a little softness. I had never tried boiling them before, but after reading about that here, I decided to try it.



I first boiled the general purpose ones, then rang the water out of them, and put them in the drier with no fabric sheet. I then cleaned the pot, put new water in, and boiled the polishing towels. After they were through, I rang them out, and put them in the dryer once the general purpose towels had dried, I threw the polishing towels in.



From this experience, I decided that for me, boiling towels really isn't worth the effort. The towels came out a little bit softer, but the results weren't worth the effort. I have never tried any of the microfiber restoration products, so I don't know what kind of results they provide in comparison to the boiling.
 
weekendwarrior- When you boiled them, did the water have a lot of wax/etc. in it afterwards? Could be that your towels weren't sufficiently loaded up with stuff that won't come out in a regular wash and thus didn't really need/benefit from the boiling.
 
No, there wasn't a lot of stuff in the water - it was pretty clean. I take it that it could just be the quality of the microfibers themselves that caused the loss of softness - and therefor no improvement from the boiling?
 
i have come to terms with the fact that MFs just do not last forever. i buy a pack of 12 from autozone about once a month to month and a half. you should see my collection of retired MFs :LOLOL
 
weekendwarrior said:
No, there wasn't a lot of stuff in the water - it was pretty clean. I take it that it could just be the quality of the microfibers themselves that caused the loss of softness - and therefor no improvement from the boiling?
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-AND-





Seankf1105 said:
i have come to terms with the fact that MFs just do not last forever.
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It could just be what Seankf1105 mentioned, but generally it's my *waffle weaves* that lose softness, not my general purpose/plush ones :think:



Did you try the Distilled White Vinegar rinse?



Do you have hard/soft water? Most of my loss-of-softness issues seem to be related to my water issues.
 
I just had a water softener installed. They specifically state one should use pure soaps to clean clothes since the detergents (like Tide) is strong and designed to work in hard water so they are "tough" on fabrics (real or synthetic). Over time, the detergents affect clothes, fading, loss of softness, etc. This may be one reason why some see a long term issue after numerous washes.



My water has from 6 to 9 grains of hardness and a pH of 6.3 to 6.8.
 
I boiled them 5-10 minutes. I have no data, but I wouldn't describe our water as hard or soft. I have lived places before with each type of water, so I know what hard and soft water looks and feels like. Regarding the vinegar - I have heard some people say that is good, and others say it is bad. I typically use a pure detergent, like Woolite, and wash on the delicate setting with warm water. Am I doing something wrong?
 
I've recently become so bored that I am ready to try this. I am concerned that if my wife comes home during the boiling process she will take my toys away.



It could be like that time I deep fried a 20 pound turkey and lit my part of my deck on fire.

Or when I took my Cayenne off road, because it was an "SUV" with 450hp and 45 profile tires!



I wash in Woolite and the Pakshak microfiber cleaner. If I see them get clogged Ranney gets a call for some new ones.
 
I have always washed my MFs with Woolite. Warm water, second rinse. But I do not put them in the dryer. I always hang them up to dry. Now that I have a gallon of the CG MF wash, I use that and have been very pleased with it, the MFs come out softer than with Woolite...
 
Bunky said:
I just had a water softener installed. They specifically state one should use pure soaps to clean clothes since the detergents (like Tide) is strong and designed to work in hard water so they are "tough" on fabrics (real or synthetic). Over time, the detergents affect clothes, fading, loss of softness, etc. This may be one reason why some see a long term issue after numerous washes.



My water has from 6 to 9 grains of hardness and a pH of 6.3 to 6.8.
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Pure Soap only comes in bar form. Not sure how you would use that in a washing machine. Liquid products never contain real soap. Softened water requires much less detergent and allows the detergent to work much more effectively. As for boiling MF, heat is only one component of cleaning. The others are mechanical action and dwell time. I would suggest adding a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Because vinegar is an acid, it helps to remove detergent residues and inorganic soiling. Vinegar does help with the softness of the towels and is completely safe.
 
I use "green" bar soap to clean my mf with good result (hand wash). For mf that are very dirty I use Tide (powder) it cleans better but mf lose some of the softness.



I have read several times here about woolite. Are you sure that woolite does not contain softeners?



About boiling....can mf stand hight temps without ruin their "micro" tread? (I have read in a guide about mf (over the internet) that you should not exceed 60 C.
 
deathlok said:
About boiling....can mf stand hight temps without ruin their "micro" tread? (I have read in a guide about mf (over the internet) that you should not exceed 60 C.
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I've never heard of any problems from boiling MFs, and some of my MFs came with instructions to boil them before the first use.



DFTowel has posted some good info about temperatures and detergents, and he has decades of experience in the textile industry.
 
i just toss them in the washer with all my pads and waffle weave and MF alike...toss in some liquid tide and everything comes out pretty darn clean...I used to wash my pads in the bucket with some APC, but tide and a washer do a much better job



also, I have boiled towels for 10 minutes with little to no effect on them, so I never did it again...they were the megs water magnets...I have deligated those to wheels and junk towels now...
 
Accumulator said:
I've never heard of any problems from boiling MFs, and some of my MFs came with instructions to boil them before the first use.



DFTowel has posted some good info about temperatures and detergents, and he has decades of experience in the textile industry.
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I find it



Microfiber Towels, Wash Mitts & Products for Car Detailing



"Wash in cold water only. Warm water can be tolerated, but hot water cannot. Polyester and polyamide both shrink in hot water. If you wash in hot water the fibers will shrink and the towel will not perform as intended."
 
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