Microfiber Absorbancy

[tom p.]

Maybe it's just a limited-useful-life thing

Yeah, that's kinda where my head is at, too It's only affecting certain towels, the smaller style I favor. The larger towels, about the same vintage, same amount of use, work as expected.



We've got a heated Duet. I'll set that to 110% and see if it can revive these. Beyond that, I'll toss 'em and try to track down more. (It's not really worthwhile to invest more time trying to revive them...they've gotten worse.) Most of them came thru DavidB...I think he called them "Purple Passion".



Thx.

 

[Accumulator]

..Most of them came thru DavidB...I think he called them "Purple Passion".

Yeah, I have some old, gray WWs from him that are still super-soft and quite absorbent (uh...I mean *adsorbent*).

 

[TortoiseAWD]

Yeah, I have some old, gray WWs from him that are still super-soft and quite absorbent (uh...I man *adsorbent*).

Uh, you mean "mean", man.



(Good-natured ribbing. I'm giving you grief over a typo, but you know the difference between absorb/adsorb . . . knowledge wins.)



Tort

 

[wannafbody]

Have you tried washing them in Dawn? If it will remove wax then it might remove residue from MF.

 

[Accumulator]

..Good-natured ribbing. I'm giving you grief over a typo..

Shoulda proofread that instead of just tossing it off. Heh heh, when a pedantic [individual] like me makes a mistake, he's fair game :doh

 

[DM101]

The fibers are probably clogged up with gunk. Try washing them with a a few oz.'s of degreaser in hot water. Tide and Dawn are also good at breaking up the waxes, oils, and etc. from microfiber. Rinse with vinegar and then rinse with water.

 

[heatgain]

Just a thought....My understanding...MF is many small fibers made into "stalks" split at the ends. I'm over-simplifying and not using the right nomenclature.

Perhaps these ends, over time and use, wear down, and lose their original effectiveness?

Or maybe, I've had too much coffee this morning.

 

[DM101]

Exactly.... so either they are gunked up or worn out.

Just a thought....My understanding...MF is many small fibers made into "stalks" split at the ends. I'm over-simplifying and not using the right nomenclature.

Perhaps these ends, over time and use, wear down, and lose their original effectiveness?

Or maybe, I've had too much coffee this morning.

 

[tom p.]

The fibers are probably clogged up with gunk. Try washing them with a a few oz.'s of degreaser in hot water. Tide and Dawn are also good at breaking up the waxes, oils, and etc. from microfiber. Rinse with vinegar and then rinse with water.

These towels are pretty clean, I never wash them with any funky rags.



I washed every single one of them yesterday at a very hi temp. Wash cycle ran for one hour, total cycle was 2 hrs :wow:





If I ever wash my cars again (it's been raining here for weeks), I'm going to take every single one of these small towels and see if they absorb again. If not, they're going straight to the trash can.

 

[Accumulator]

..I washed every single one of them yesterday at a very hi temp. Wash cycle ran for one hour, total cycle was 2 hrs ...

Heh heh, yeah, some of those cycles are mighty long (I have a "sanitize" cycle + prewash + extra rinse going at present). IIRC I did about four of those cycles, without detergent, on my WWs when I revitalized them.



Don't toss 'em if they never bounce back; they can be handy for cleanups around the house, jobs that are less demanding of perfection thnt Autopian detailing.

 

[wannafbody]

Maybe try running them through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher.

 

[Accumulator]

I'd be a little concerned about how the dishwasher heats up...don't they have exposed heating elements

 

[citizen arcane]

If I ever wash my cars again (it's been raining here for weeks), I'm going to take every single one of these small towels and see if they absorb again. If not, they're going straight to the trash can.

I can't comment on how to condition these towels. I can attest that my drying MFs perform better once "primed"; now I soak my WWs and wring out excess water or put them in the washer on the spin cycle. I find they dry much better this way. You may want to try this before you chunk them. Let us know if this works for you.

 

[jzytaruk]

has anyone tried washing their MF towels in TSP? (Trisodium phosphate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Ive used it on regular clothing, and my work clothing (carharts, dickies, dakota) without any fading or non cleaning issues. Its removed everything but the caked on grease without pre-treatment.



However, Introducing Phosphates into the water table is a bad thing. So maybe use the stuff as a pre-treatment

 

[prix03gt]

holy long old post batman!



I always soak my MF drying towels in my ONR solution before I wash and wring then out till they are just damp. I find my MF dries much better when damp, not totally dry.