Hard Waffle Weave

R

Roger V

New member
I have noticed after about 10 washes my cobra waffle weaves are starting to get a little hard. Is there anyway to remedy this? I tried searching this topic, but found nothing of pertinence.
 
Roger V said:
Woolite with an extra rinse cycle. Should I be using hot rather then cold?
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I use hot or warm depending on how dirty they are. If they are getting hard then there is most likely product that is not getting removed, so I'd try a hot wash and throw some vinegar in the rinse. Also, the Woolite might not be strong enough to remove the products (wax,polish, etc.), so I'd try a different (liquid) detergent. Micro-Restore has worked well for me over the years, but others have good luck with OTC liquid detergents.



A quick boil in water for about 10 minutes will also do wonders in getting out old products and restoring softness.
 
Eliot Ness said:
I use hot or warm depending on how dirty they are. If they are getting hard then there is most likely product that is not getting removed, so I'd try a hot wash and throw some vinegar in the rinse. Also, the Woolite might not be strong enough to remove the products (wax,polish, etc.), so I'd try a different (liquid) detergent. Micro-Restore has worked well for me over the years, but others have good luck with OTC liquid detergents.



A quick boil in water for about 10 minutes will also do wonders in getting out old products and restoring softness.
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What do you recommend for a good OTC detergent?
 
Roger V said:
What do you recommend for a good OTC detergent?
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Since the only thing I use is Micro-Restore I really couldn't say. There are a lot of threads on this (MF washing) and it seems like a lot of members mention using an additive free detergent such as Tide Free.
 
FWIW the microfiber-centric detergents are the only ones that ever get my WWMFs nice and soft. Can't explain why (and some here have posted compelling arguments about why it shouldn't, *theoretically*, be so), but there you have it.



FWIW#2 I *always* wash 'em in hot water, it can't hurt them and it helps emulsify the stuff that detailing towels seem to get soiled with.
 
I use ERA with hot water for the first wash cycle and then do a 2nd wash with white vinegar.



The vinegar is good at helping make sure all detailing products are removed from MF towels and also getting out any stains.



I used to use Woolite, warm water, and the delicate dryer setting with my MFs but Leo Cerutti of DF Concours towels set me straight that you can use good OTC detergents, hot water, and the high/hot dryer setting to maintain your MFs. As he would put it, washing good MFs isn't like taking care of fine linens. Hot water and stronger cleaning agents will get MFs cleaner and Leo convinced me they will also not compromise the softness and/or durability of MFs.



He was right - a more rigorous treatment method for MFs works like a charm.......
 
Milestones said:
I use ERA with hot water for the first wash cycle and then do a 2nd wash with white vinegar.



The vinegar is good at helping make sure all products is removed from MF towels and also getting out any stains.



I used to use woolite, warm water, and the delicate dryer setting with my MFs but Leo Cerutti of DF Concours towels set me straight that you can use good OTC detergents, hot water, and the high/hot dryer setting to maintain your MFs. As he would put it, washing good MFs isn't like taking care of fine linens.



He was right - a more rigorous treatment method for MFs works like a charm.......
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What is ERA?
 
What the heck? Hot water? I thought the big thing was that MF could't take hot water because it shrinks the tips of the MF threads or something? Can anyone explain?
 
According to Leo Cerruti of DF Concours (he should know) - the temperature of hot water in a washing machine doesn't come any where near the temperature which would melt a MF cloth (which is made of polyester).



Maybe Leo will chime in on this thread. He has addressed this several times before on Autopia and he can obviously address this with much greater specificity and authority than I can.



The bottom line though is that the idea that MFs shouldn't be washed in hot water is a myth and you will get cleaner MFs without damaging them if you wash them in hot water.



The same thing goes for drying MFs on the highest heat setting of your dryer. Leo says that the inside of a dryer simply wouldn't get hot enough to melt a MF and cause damage. However, I believe Leo did indicate that theoretically there could be "hot spots" in the dryer which could melt a MF if they touched the exact hot spot - but he seemed to consider this prospect unlikely.







DF Concours products (Leo's web site) - great towels
 
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