MF towel replacement

[Anonymous]

I know MF towels are cool to have around and all since they serve a lot of purpose for detailing your ride, now my question now is do you guys think its more practical to wash MF towels after use and reuse them again or just pitch old towels and buy more? If some of you guys do decide to keep your towels, how do ya wash them/get the chemicals and dirt off? thanks.

[alpha]

I normally wash them.  I just wash them with laundry detergent, sometimes twice.  I dry them without using a fabric softener though.

[Abailey4]

We just wash ours the same way Alpha does.  I used to put them in the dryer but I dont like to anymore cuz even with the fabric softner they would have a lot of static. Now I just air dry them.

[JohnnyG123]

and dont wash your microfiber towels in the same load as your terrycloth towels . mine have white cotton bits stuck all over them now

[RTexasF]

Throw them away? Pretty expensive habit. I've got some specialty MF towels that were $8.00 EACH and have 200+ total of various types. When they get real screwed up you keep them for wheels and door jambs. It's easy to keep them nice if you follow a few rules.
1. Wash them in liquid detergent like Tide Free that does not have perfumes or fabric softeners in it.
2. As mentioned wash them alone, nothing else with them unless it's microfiber.
3. Machine dry them alone with no fabric softener of any type or other fabrics.
4. If they don't seem to be coming clean and soft like they once were dissolve 2 scoops of Oxyclean in 2-3 gallons of hot water and soak the towels for 24 hours. Wash them in the washer and add one cup of white vinegar to the final rinse. They will be as close to new as possible.

Remember this:
-Fabric softener ruins microfiber towels, stay clear of it.
-New MF towels must always be washed before use.
-Never ever use bleach.
-Towels that have been dried or washed with fabric softener can be boiled to renew them but it may be more trouble than it's worth depending on their initial quality.

[timot_one]

I use the method that Rick described above with great results.  It's gonna get expensive to replace MF towels every time you clean your car.  I have 150+ MF towels and some specialty MF towels that were as expensive as Rick said.

[Mike]

I've actually always thrown mine out now that I see this I may buy some of the higher end stuff and see where I end up. Great hints on washing these.

[RTexasF]

You must be made of money! Even the low end towels will serve for a few years if taken care of properly. I'll take your discards.

[alpha]

So, question on microfiber care.  The above steps that Rick mentioned are great, and I plan to follow that.  I do have a question though.

How do you wash different types of microfiber together?  Do you separate your drying towels from quick detail towels from glass towels, etc.?  Or do you just wash them together, as long as they are all microfiber?

Thanks.

[alpha]

Ok, so I decided to use wash bags and toss them into one load.  I don't have enough to justify more than one load.  I will be using two loads this time around, as I have quite a few that are dirty and soiled, but I bought a bunch of new MF today, so I tossed all the clean ones into the washer.

[v6sicksspeed]

i dont put mine in the dryer, just a hang dry.  sometimes the dryer will get them all funny and they dont take too long just to hang up and let them air out.

[clapton924]

So, question on microfiber care.  The above steps that Rick mentioned are great, and I plan to follow that.  I do have a question though.

How do you wash different types of microfiber together?  Do you separate your drying towels from quick detail towels from glass towels, etc.?  Or do you just wash them together, as long as they are all microfiber?

Thanks.

I wash all of mine together.  Only time I would consider separating anything would be if I had some buffing towels that were really caked with wax.  Otherwise, they just all go in and come out looking new.

[RTexasF]

This all boils down to your own particular choices. I soak all my towels in a bucket of water + Oxyclean for a day or so. After that I wash them all in the washer but rinse at least twice. Not that it's wrong but hanging them on a line in a garage that is 105º F doesn't work for me because of where I live. They all go in the washer, they all go in the dryer. I'm not saying this is the way to do it, it's the way I do it. It has served me well for many, many years. We all have our own ways of cleaning & drying microfiber towels. This one works for me. Right? Wrong? Who is to say? What works for you is the way to do it.