How Often Do You Wash Your Towels?

Milestones said:
Obviously Leo has a great deal of knowledge regarding the care of MF towels.



In addition, the concours buffing towels carried by his company look like an absolutely amazing product.



However, there does appear to be a bona fide dispute between the experts as to the issue of cold water vs. hot water for washing MF towels.



Leo has indicated that he feels it is idiotic to treat MF towels like fine/delicate linens by washing them in cold water.



However, David B in the Autopia detailing guide indicates otherwise (quoting from the guide on "Maintaining Microfiber"):





"The best general purpose cleaner is a liquid detergent. It’s better to use too little than too much. Liquid is recommended over powder because some powders do not completely dissolve and the granules will lodge in the toweling.

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."





Perhaps this difference in opinion can be traced to the fact that Leo is speaking from his experience with his company's towels which I believe are made mostly out of cotton, whereas most MF towels are made out of a 80/20, 75/25, or 70/30 polyester/polyamide blends.



At any rate, I'm sorry my disagreement with Leo got so heated and I'm also sorry he has not chosen to respond to my attempt to bury the hatchet via PM.
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Do you think David has ever manufactured a towel? I'll take Leo's word for it.



Whatever occurs between Leo and yourself via PM should stay there - it has no business in the open forum.



P.S. Leo's towels are microfiber, too.
 
I've washed all my microfibers since day one. Interior towels, exterior towels, WW drying towels.



Still plush, and more absorbant than ever. When properly washed, there is no harm in destroying them.
 
ZaneO said:
Whatever occurs between Leo and yourself via PM should stay there - it has no business in the open forum.
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If something had occurred/does occur it will remain private other than perhaps a cusory note to let people know that we talked and moved on.



I would definitely not share the content of what was said between us.



However, I also don't think its right for people to pile on me on this thread when I've made the effort to try to resolve the dispute with Leo and he has pointedly failed to respond.



And yes - I know Leo's towels are MF as well. However, my understanding is that Leo's MFs have some cotton content.



My point on this is not that Leo is not right - he may very well be. As I stated already, he obviously knows his business.



My point is that obviously reasonable people with some knowledge of the subject can/do disagree on the issue of hot water vs. cold water for washing MFs.
 
One of the reasons towel sellers say to use warm or cold water is because the Chinese or Korean makers tell them that is the way to do it. In reality, boiling water won't harm the fabrics but will affect dyes and other chemicals that have been intorduced in the finishing process. Usually after a couple of washings the finishing chemicals are out anyway so hot water is always the best to use. The manufacturers are wisely playing it safe so as not to get many returns by people unhappy with faded product.Do not, however, use a hot dryer for artificial fibers such as polyester because hot spots can cause melting which will harm our finish.



FYI once fabrics are woven or knitted they need to go through a finish process to remove contaminants and must be either dyed or bleached before sale. The machines used in this process are huge pressure cookers that force dye fabrics under extreme pressure and temperatures as high as 275F or more, if that doesn't harm the fabric then household hot water of 140F certainly won't!

High_Temperature_and_High_Pressure_Automatic_Dye_Jig.jpg




Here is a good example... you have dirty greasy hands from working on your car, now wash with cold water and soap and see how long it takes to get them clean. Even once visually clean your hands will still not be clean to the touch, they will feel oily and sticky. Now wash with hot water and see how all the grease and olis are gone.
 
All my towels get washed after each use.

I'm using liquid detergent which is phosphate free and a little white vinegar and warm water twice and then hot water only the next time



The old WW's are still sucking away like new.

Oh and keep the towels on a rack in the laundry, don't hang on line outside as birds can **** on em, get hit by dust on windy days etc etc
 
All due respect Leo,



The transitional melt of PET is 495 Deg F. You'd need a really hot hot air blower to melt a polyster towel.

Also, with your reference to washing hands in cold vs. hot water. I don't disagree except that wimps that we are, none of us can tolerate hot (140 Deg F) water and we seem to get clean with warm water (around 100) and an appropriate soap. Depending on the soap or the cleaner, we would likely come clean with even cooler water.



I've only done a single load in Oxi Clean and warm water wash /cold water rinse, but they came out fluffy soft. These towels weren't badly soiled so a true test is still coming. I'd encourage you to also try it to see if our results compare. ??
 
Aside from the valid points leo has made, I'd point out the optical brightners that woolite has and leaves on fabrics.



Optical brightners attract ultra violet light, which degrades fabrics at an astronomical rate.



I use bi-o-kleen's products. even so I still like to add a bit of distilled vinegar to my wash load durring the rinse cycle.



I book marked your page DFTowel. i think i know where i will be shopping.
 
abbeysdad said:
I've only done a single load in Oxi Clean and warm water wash /cold water rinse, but they came out fluffy soft. These towels weren't badly soiled so a true test is still coming. I'd encourage you to also try it to see if our results compare. ??
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I do my towels much the same way. I use Zero which is basically Woolite and put a bit of Oxi Clean in the wash. Normal cycle and of course no fabric softener. Air dry and my towels are still in great shape, very soft. Of course over the course of the past year the dye has faded somewhat but no problems whatsover. Oh and I wash them after each use.
 
Ben Kenobi said:
I do my towels much the same way. I use Zero which is basically Woolite and put a bit of Oxi Clean in the wash. Normal cycle and of course no fabric softener. Air dry and my towels are still in great shape, very soft. Of course over the course of the past year the dye has faded somewhat but no problems whatsover. Oh and I wash them after each use.
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It seems there's some confusion. I'm using the Oxi Clean Toss 'n Go ball:

PICT0001b.jpg




I don't know if this is on all store shelves yet.
 
At first I wasn't drying mine in the dryer, but then there were too many, damp for too long so I am drying them now. A question of dryers destroying towels is like a question of dryers destroying your clothes. I'm thinking that the warm air generated to drive off moisture is the least abuse these fabrics are seeing.

Besides, when we're likely talking a use life of several years, if drying them in the dryer shortens the overall use life by a few months, does it really matter?
 
StumpyDetailing said:
Do dryers destroy MF towels eventually? Or is extra-low heat fine?



Tumble dry?.......
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I use the dryer on low heat and take them out before they are 100% dry.... just slightly damp.... to cut down on the "static cling".
 
Eventually MF towels just wear or get too stained, or otherwise simply need replaced, just like any other textile that gets used the way they do. For me, not being a pro, this is usually after many years of use. I've never seen *any* sign that washing in hot water or drying in the dryer (on low) causes any problems or accelerates the wear. I've sure never had a MF melt or otherwise show heat-related damage. A few years ago many of my MFs came with the instructions to *boil* them before using! The ones that came with my steamer this year still advised to do that.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Is this true? I thought Meg's APC (which they recommend for interiors) had optical brighteners?
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Optical brightners do a number on fabrics and tufted fibers. I can not tell you how many patches in carpets i have done because of some product with an optical brightner sun bleaching the fiber, making it colorless and very very brittle.
 
Grouse said:
Aside from the valid points leo has made, I'd point out the optical brightners that woolite has and leaves on fabrics.

Optical brightners attract ultra violet light, which degrades fabrics at an astronomical rate.

I use bi-o-kleen's products. even so I still like to add a bit of distilled vinegar to my wash load durring the rinse cycle.

I book marked your page DFTowel. i think i know where i will be shopping.
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I've seen that a lot of Autopians use a Woolite/water mix for general interior cleaning. What you say here is that Woolite, renound for washing fine delicates, has optical brightners that destroy fabrics.



I guess it should never be used? I mean if it destroys fabric, we certainly wouldn't want it in/on carpet or upholstery. Right?
 
You guys need to tone the sarcasm down a bit in this thread, we're here to learn, not to bash. There actually used to be a rule that new members could only post in a "new guy" forum until they had a certain number of posts...some of the posts in here make me long for those days...
 
Setec Astronomy said:
You guys need to tone the sarcasm down a bit in this thread, we're here to learn, not to bash. There actually used to be a rule that new members could only post in a "new guy" forum until they had a certain number of posts...some of the posts in here make me long for those days...
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If you were refering to me, I was not being sarcastic, but asking legitimate follow-up questions. Sometimes a question is just a challenging question.



It's always been my impression that Woolite, used for fine washables, was a very safe detergent to use for interior cleaning. I don't think I'm alone in this thinking.

If on the other hand, it has (optical brighteners) substances that damage fabric, we shouldn't be using it for interior cleaning. But before I stop using it and either throw it away or save it for the sweater Aunt Martha gave me, I'd like a confirmation.



I realize this is the company line, but nothing suggests optical brighteners that damage fabrics:

Woolite
 
abbeysdad said:
I've seen that a lot of Autopians use a Woolite/water mix for general interior cleaning. What you say here is that Woolite, renound for washing fine delicates, has optical brightners that destroy fabrics.



I guess it should never be used? I mean if it destroys fabric, we certainly wouldn't want it in/on carpet or upholstery. Right?
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fine delacates are not generally stored in sunlight like the interior of a car, or carpets/couches next to a window. optical brightners attract ultaviolet light, that degrades colors and fibers when left to exposure of sunlight. It is the combination of long exposure to direct sunlite and optical brightners. One by its lonesome is not likely to cause the issue.



That is also not taking in consideration what standard water based detergents do to the fatty oils that are in leather. the same oils that give it the very suppleness that we like.



just because people use it does not mean it is the propper thing to use.



I
 
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