I wish my microfiber towels didn't do this...

[FD777]

I've been using Dawn Power Dissolver for my hand washing of such stuff, seems to work a bit better than regular Dawn, but like the Collinite it sure can impart an odor to whatever you use it on.

Agreed, it does leave a strong smell. Is DPD safe to use on microfiber? I've only tried it on foam sponges.

Anyways, I'm curious to see how your towels turn out.

 

[mblgjr]

I've really never had any issues with any of mine doing this.



I generally wash mine in warm water and classic Tide; with a small amount of white vinegar.



I've been getting my MF from Justin @ Obsessive Detail and I really like them.



He just put 'em on sale too...plan on getting me a few...



Microfibers & Accessories

 

[matrix_808]

how long do you boil the MF?

 

[ptaylor_9849]

Here's a thread on this I started a while back.



http://autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/100080-microfiber-absorbancy.html?highlight=microfiber+absorbancy

 

[Accumulator]

... Is DPD safe to use on microfiber? I've only tried it on foam sponges.

Anyways, I'm curious to see how your towels turn out.

I don't see any reason why DPD would hurt MF and it's never done anything harmful that I could discern to mine. People here sometimes act like MF is fragile/sensitive but IME it's really not. Consider what it's made of...those synthetic materials are some pretty tough stuff.



I finally quit washing the two MFs in question (an older BBT and a gray one that *IIRC* came with the old "Block, Glyde, and Waffle" clay kit from the Autopia store). They were still sudsing a little bit during the extra-hot wash cycle but I had to get on to other laundry. I did *not* do a final vinegar rinse.



Pouring water on them resulted in *some* beading (still ) but it wasn't *nearly* as bad as before all the laundering. Most of the water did soak right into the towels, so IMO this is a big improvement.



BUT..(gee, always a "but"..) the towels didn't feel very soft :think: A quick CD-test resulted in some minor marring when I pressed pretty hard (harder than I usually would when drying).



So...are the two WWMFs in question due for retirement? Will continued washing help? Will a vinegar rinse help? Does my crappy water (and that's *after double filtration and softening) make my experiences unique? Oh, who knows?!? :grinno:



I'll probably work on this a bit more when I have the time and inclination. But for now, I'd recommend that people whose WWMF are pushing water around instead of getting it off the car wash 'em a zillion times in hot water or boil them.



Still waiting to hear how vinegar could affect ab/adsorbency...

 

[imported_etml12]

Still waiting to hear how vinegar could affect ab/adsorbency...

I take no credit for this explanation (or claim its validity). This is what a google-->wikipedia search resulted in.



"Fabric softeners work by coating the surface of the cloth fibers with a thin layer of chemicals; these chemicals have lubricant properties and are electrically conductive, thus making the fibers feel smoother and preventing buildup of static electricity. Other functions are improvements of iron glide during ironing, increased resistance to stains, and reduction of wrinkling.



Cationic softeners bind by electrostatic attraction to the negatively charged groups on the surface of the fibers and neutralizing their charge; the long aliphatic chains are then oriented towards the outside of the fiber, imparting lubricity. Vinegar works on some materials in a similar way, as the hydrogen ions bind to the anionic groups on the fibers.



The disadvantage of coating fibers by hydrophobic layer is in decreasing the water absorption properties of the fabric, which may be an issue with eg. towels and diapers. Therefore the cationic softeners are often combined with other chemicals with lower affinity to the fibers."

 

[Accumulator]

etml12- Thanks for posting that, now I have a better idea what the potential problem is. Not having retained whatever such knowledge I gleaned from my chem courses, it never woulda occurred to me. So there *is* more to it than just making that final rinse more acidic.



If we accept that vinegar is a cationic softener (as when it says "works on *some* [emphasis mine] materials in a similar way" we're assuming that includes MF), this might be a "degree of significance" issue, where one effect has to be balanced against another. I think of caveats against using "regular" fabric softeners on cotton and this brings up a topic that has aroused a bit of contention here in the past.



The idea is that softeners will leave a residue that a) can cause smearing and/or b) can negatively impact absorbency. I found that some softeners do both, and in a *huge* way (e.g., Final Touch) and that others (e.g., Ultra Downy) *used in very small quanties* do not do either, at least not to an extent that I can discern.



After all the previous discussion here, I basically quit using softeners other than vinegar on household towels/washcloths. Some were just fine, nice and soft. Others were stiff and coarse-feeling, sometimes to the point where my wife wouldn't use them. All were absorbent. When, at my wife's insistance, I went back to doing *her* towels/etc. with the Utra Downy, they were nice and soft and there were no absorbency/smearing (when used to clean eyeglass lenses) issues.



Getting back to MFs...the two I washed without vinegar are now more absorbent, but are also marring CDs, which they did *not* do before. If some softener (e.g., vinegar) adds surface lubricity to the point of preventing that marring, would it be worth some loss of adsorbency?



And do cationic softeners have the same effect on MF adsorbency that they presumably have on natural fiber absorbency?



I still can't offer an explanation for why I have the experiences that I do when laundering textiles :nixweiss I have some CBTs that have gone from nice and soft to coarse and stiff, no way would I ever touch paint with 'em (my plush MFs don't do this for some reason). I blame my crappy water and buy new toweling frequently but I sure wish I could get to the bottom of it and have a real solution.

 

[imported_weekendwarrior]

"If some softener (e.g., vinegar) adds surface lubricity to the point of preventing that marring, would it be worth some loss of adsorbency?" - Accumulator



Yes. I try to not get caught up in this deal of trying to dry an entire car with only 1 or 2 towels. As long as the towels are not marring, I will use as many as it takes to get the car dry. I do add vinegar in my washer.



Question - what is the difference between adding vinegar to the detergent in the wash cycle, versus adding it at the end before the final rinse?

 

[DM101]

I don't know if this has been posted but here goes.



Vinegar is acidic. Low pH Detergents are basic High pH. The vinegar neutralizes the soaps and lets them break free from the bond with the towels. I know this doesn't make cents but.....