Removing Wax Residue from MF Towels

M

micjmac

New member
I have a few MF towels that are brand new that I used to remove NXT paste wax from my car. I have used these towels on two different occassions to remove NXT. I applied too much NXT to the car, and now certain spots of my towels are caked with wax. I have machine washed them a few times with warm water and Tide liquid detergent. This has not done the trick. Are there any other solutions? The waxed spots are kind of rough, but I tested them on a CD and they didn't scratch the CD, so they should be safe on my paint?
 
Try Dawn Power Dissolver and Dawn Dish soap. If that does not work machine wash them with some type degreaser purple power, mean green, simple green, in hot water.
 
Could I use a stiff brush to scrub the residue off while they are sitting in the water or will this destroy the material?
 
....as mentioned, I would pre-soak them in an MF specific cleaner like Micro Restore first. I do this for my pads, applicators, etc. before washing them and never had an issue with product build up.
 
MDRX8 said:
Try Dawn Power Dissolver and Dawn Dish soap. If that does not work machine wash them with some type degreaser purple power, mean green, simple green, in hot water.
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Have you successfully used any of these methods to remove pesky wax residue buildup that a regular machine wash + laundry detergent did not remove for you on your first few attempts? I only ask because @ $2.50 per towel, I might as well just buy new towels instead of experimenting with chemicals that might not work. I'm looking for a tried and true method. Thanks.
 
Boiling them is the only thing that reall worked for me...but that was old towels with crap in them for a long time...
 
Yes it works. Try Dawn Power Dissolver and Dawn Dish soap. If that does not work machine wash them with some type degreaser purple power, mean green, simple green, in hot water. You can also wash in Meguiar's Super Degreaser.



micjmac said:
Have you successfully used any of these methods to remove pesky wax residue buildup that a regular machine wash + laundry detergent did not remove for you on your first few attempts? I only ask because @ $2.50 per towel, I might as well just buy new towels instead of experimenting with chemicals that might not work. I'm looking for a tried and true method. Thanks.
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White vinegar in the rinse cycle helps break chemical bonds. This is a simple and effective strategy.
 
Tide/Era/MF Restore in washing machine using HOT water

Second rinse cycle add distilled white vinegar.



Dry on low delicate setting or hang dry.
 
It's simply a matter of breaking down the wax. As others have stated, use one of the Dawns, or an APC, and apply it liberally to the spots. Let it soak for a while and then scrub the towel against itself to loosen the wax. Probably worth applying some more of your cleaner at this point and repeating the soaking and scrubbing. If that is too much work, as you say, just demote these towels to wheel duty and buy some new ones.



I personally don't do this because I think I would wind up with a bucket of mold, but you can pre-soak them right after you use them in a bucket of warm water and detergent. Maybe squeeze them out later and let them dry until you get around to washing them.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I personally don't do this because I think I would wind up with a bucket of mold, but you can pre-soak them right after you use them in a bucket of warm water and detergent. Maybe squeeze them out later and let them dry until you get around to washing them.
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....mold has never been a problem for me but then again, I'm not leaving them in a pre-soak solution long enough that it would be an issue. ....I would imagine that would take several days? In my case I just use one of my buckets and a Grit Gaurd to keep the items submerged below the surface. I toss the pads, applicators, etc. (anything that gets caked with product) in after use and let them dwell as I finish the car. At the end of the process, I agitate each item and then hand or machine wash.
 
I have tons of MF's and I like to wash them in a large load, which I only do every few months, or maybe longer if it's winter. If I have something on one that I think is going to set, I'll spray it with some APC before I throw it in the laundry basket. I'm sure I'd be better off having a soak bucket as you say and then wringing them out at the end and letting them dry until wash time, but that seems too much like work. Usually when I wash I mix up a bucket of hot Snappy Clean and soak all my caked MF's and applicators in there for a while an squeeze them out before washing. Someday I'll grow up to be like SuperBee and have one of those fancy front loaders with the sanitizing cycle and life will be so much easier...
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I have tons of MF's and I like to wash them in a large load, which I only do every few months, or maybe longer if it's winter. If I have something on one that I think is going to set, I'll spray it with some APC before I throw it in the laundry basket. I'm sure I'd be better off having a soak bucket as you say and then wringing them out at the end and letting them dry until wash time, but that seems too much like work. Usually when I wash I mix up a bucket of hot Snappy Clean and soak all my caked MF's and applicators in there for a while an squeeze them out before washing. Someday I'll grow up to be like SuperBee and have one of those fancy front loaders with the sanitizing cycle and life will be so much easier...
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....I do basically the same thing. I have a set of several drawers that are dedicated to MF towel storage. I reserve two of them for ones that are soiled. Typically, I don't pre-soak my good towels since I usually don't have a problem with excess product build up in them (although my MF detergent & washing machine seem to do a good job dispatching residue even form those that do). .....as for my "general duty" ones, I will usually let them sit and pre-soak (if at all) once I get a full load. The only items I pre-soak/wash with relative urgency are the applicators and pads. I just toss them in the pre-prepared bucket of solution as I go.



btw, how do you like Snappy Clean? How does it compare to other detergents you've tried?
 
Snappy Clean is pretty tough stuff. It's a bit of a pain because it's a powder, but it does seem to cut the residue pretty well. Tough on the hands, so I usually wear gloves. I haven't checked the pH, but my guess is it's pretty close to caustic.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Snappy Clean is pretty tough stuff. It's a bit of a pain because it's a powder, but it does seem to cut the residue pretty well. Tough on the hands, so I usually wear gloves. I haven't checked the pH, but my guess is it's pretty close to caustic.
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....thanks. I figured I would give it a go when I place my next order.
 
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