Washing your Microfiber Towels

I have to say sorry also to you guys for my laughing post but this all of a sudden got intense and it was really quite funny considering what the actual topic was. Washing towels of all things. :)
 
Thanks for the information on washing the towels. So far I have only washed mine with laundry detergent and they didn't come out too good. The soaking will start in a few minutes and we'll see the results. I'm sure that they will be better than just washing them alone.
 
I guess I have just been lucky so far. I take my towels and soak in APC for a few hrs and then on to the washing machine with Tide, Oxi-Clean and a cup of vinegar. my older towels seem to come out OK. I treat my Meguiars Ultimate wipes and Supreme Shines the same as my PakShaks and Sams Club towels.
 
BobbyG said:
Pre-Soak

A solution of hot water and a general purpose clothes wash....
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Sorry to dig up an old thread, and a great, very informative thread, but I have a question...


You say to use a solution of hot water when you are soaking the microfiber towels. However, on this very website's "Detailing Guide" they say NOT to use hot water when cleaning microfiber. Here at the bottom of this link when discussing "Maintaining Microfiber Towels":

Link:

The Benefits of the Chamois Towel, Microfiber Waffleweave Towels, and Other Great Microfiber Towels



I'm not saying you're wrong, because I wouldn't know, just looking for a little clarification.

Thanks!
 
There's plenty of people who use hot water with good results. It'll wash away the stains better. If you use cold water, it'll still clean the MF, but they towels may not look as clean.
 
Ive found that hot water cleans better also .

Maybe the MF last longer with using cold water but Ive had MF for years and years using hot water.
 
Haven't tried the white vinegar but will do it this weekend, though I've heard of this but honestly forgot. I'm doing everything you've suggested BobbyG except using regular HE Tide but adding a scoop of Oxiclean into the washer machine drum prior to adding any towels. I then spin the drum to dissipate the Oxiclean and set the machine for normal/soak 30/heavy or normal soil (depends on what I did). Towels come out perfectly every time. The Oxiclean does an amazing job.
 
Note to self: Neon-green rolled edge MF towels bleed on the first wash, making your Cobra golds look moldy =(
 
detailchick said:
Ive found that hot water cleans better also .

Maybe the MF last longer with using cold water but Ive had MF for years and years using hot water.
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Unless someone is boiling their towels, hot water usually means water that is 120 to 140 F from the water heater and of course will naturally cools so it is not that hot. The dryer can get towels much hotter. The question then is: Is microfiber stable as a plastic (individual microfibers do not change shape such as polymer chains relax to unkink, etc) at 150 to 212 F (for those that boil them).
 
The question then is if microfiber stable as a plastic (individual microfibers do not change shape such as polymer chains relax to unkink, etc) at 150 to 212 F (for those that boil them).

Bunky, not sure what your saying or asking. I'm easily confused sometimes.
 
Bunky said:
Unless someone is boiling their towels. Hot water usually means water than is 120 to 140 F from the water heater and of course will naturally cool so it is not that hot. The dryer can get towels much hotter. The question then is if microfiber stable as a plastic (individual microfibers do not change shape such as polymer chains relax to unkink, etc) at 150 to 212 F (for those that boil them).
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Exactly Al!

The hot water pre-soak when I do use it is from the tap and naturally begins to cool as soon as it hits the pail. By the time the towels see it I'll bet the temperature's closer to 115 degrees and I've never seen any negative signs or towel degradation. I do snap on one of those plastic lids to retain the heat while they soak.

I may take an old towel and do some experimenting and boil it for 30 seconds and see how it reacts...
 
Now I think I understand what you are saying Al after reading your post again. When I first bought MF towels probably 10 years ago at a trade show I was told then by the seller to boil them for a few minutes if I couldn't get them clean. Which I did and didn't notice any difference in towel what so ever. In fact I still have one of them.

Bobby take an old one and do it for a couple minutes I don't think your going to see a change. If you think about it people are wrapping their steamers with them all the time so the towels is subjected to the heat of the steam and your not seeing anyone coming back and saying my towel melted or I ruined my towels on my steamer.
 
rzatch said:
towel melted or I ruined my towels on my steamer.
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I do not think you would actually see them melt but thermoplastics can change their properties as temperatures increases. Microfiber is very fine fiber and maybe stressed to get a certain shape. A higher temperature may cause some property changes (like try to return their original state, etc) which could affect some key aspect. It is all speculation on what could happen.

I have had some mf made by Viking to lose their shape/squareness when washed in hot (meaning 120 to 140 F) water.
 
Anything is possible and as you say it's all speculation unless a scientific experiment was done which probably has been but good luck finding it.

Honestly the only towels I really care about are my paint towels the others not so much. The ones I wash in hot water are multi purpose towels and the change that may or may not happen are of no consequence. My good towels are never exposed to anything that would need that kind of temp to clean or soaked in APC. I'm pretty anal about my paint towels, they cost way to much to not take care of them and to use them for their intended purpose only.
 
Todd Helme said:
I used to use tide free or Woolite and always had good results. Then I tried a dedicated microfiber detergent and haven't looked back.

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Which MF detergent did you use? I picked up the Blackfire MF cleaner and it didn't really clean all my towels. I'm guessing some those stains just aren't coming off.
 
I just got a new top loading HE washing machine a week ago. I have done two loads of microfibers and they seem to be getting cleaner than my old machine. I was a bit worried with so much less water. I put in the same amount of Micro Restore so maybe with less water it's more concentrated and works better? Or maybe it's the fancy rinse cycle?
 

Has anyone noticed a lack of cleaning on these HE Front load washers? I have heard some people say they thought the new HE were less aggressive and thus not cleaning as well.

We may be in market for a new set soon and am wonder which version is better and what everyone uses and recommends.

 
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