Are My Microfiber Towels History?

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TheKonquerer

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Hello Autogeek,

I was working on removing some stubborn residue off of my paint this week and ended up going through the majority of my higher-quality towels I use for buffing, drying, and gentle wipe downs. Since none of these towels really hit the wheels or lower areas of the car, I decided to throw them in the wash together. However, I didn't realize that my wife had just run a fine-fiber rug through the wash and it had shed some of its fibers into the dryer bin (probably the washer too). I do inspect the dryer for chunks of cotton/lint before I throw the MF Towels in, but since this rug is so fine, I couldn't see the tiny fibers in the bin during my cursory inspection. Unfortunately now all of those MF towels that went through that dryer load now have rug particulate embedded in them.

Is there a way to get those finer fibers out of my prized MF towels? Or are these towels headed for general use around the house?
 
I don’t think washing them again with MF detergent would do much. Only thing I can think of is to try to tediously pick the strands out by hand but if there’s too many you may just have to use them for home use only.
 
I'm still really green to detailing, only starting dipping my toes into the "hobby" about a year ago. Are lint-rollers okay to run across MF Towels? These are the two towels that are mostly affected:


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I'm mostly worried about the first listed towel because its so plush (and expensive).
 
Get them wet and wring them out.
I think the problem fibers would be more noticeable and easier to pick at when the microfibers are more clumped.

Would the fibers really be a problem if you used those towels for rinseless washes. They are the same I use for rinseless washes.
 
If worse comes to worse, they might still be good enough for wheels or wells
 
Try washing and drying them again. A while back my window towels started leaving lint on glass thanks to throwing a new so called “high quality” microfiber in with my mitts & drying towels.. That stupid towel screwed with my best towels until I washed them again.
 
TheKonquerer said:
Hello Autogeek,

I was working on removing some stubborn residue off of my paint this week and ended up going through the majority of my higher-quality towels I use for buffing, drying, and gentle wipe downs. Since none of these towels really hit the wheels or lower areas of the car, I decided to throw them in the wash together. However, I didn't realize that my wife had just run a fine-fiber rug through the wash and it had shed some of its fibers into the dryer bin (probably the washer too).

I do inspect the dryer for chunks of cotton/lint before I throw the MF Towels in, but since this rug is so fine, I couldn't see the tiny fibers in the bin during my cursory inspection. Unfortunately now all of those MF towels that went through that dryer load now have rug particulate embedded in them.

Is there a way to get those finer fibers out of my prized MF towels?
Click to expand...

I don't believe there would be a way to 100% remove the contaminant-fibers to the point where you could 100% trust the towels to wipe scratch-sensitive paint.




TheKonquerer said:
Or are these towels headed for general use around the house?
Click to expand...


Yep.... or doing things like checking the oil.


:)
 
Because of the money spent on towels like that, I would have to spend some time decontaminating them. I'm frugal (er...cheap) like that!

After doing what i can I would do the ole CD test i.e. wipe the shiny side of a CD and see if they marr. If they do, relegate them to the dirty jobs.
 
I’ve got some towels that have been to hell and back and are still safe to use on paint... I honestly can’t think of a single microfiber towel that I’ve ever owned [not including ones that were super cheapo towels to begin with] that I can point to and say “don’t use THAT towel, because it scratches paint”. IME microfiber towels are pretty resilient, and while stains may set in sometimes, it doesn’t necessarily render a towel unsafe to use.

Now I’m not saying that I reach for my grade D towels when I’m polishing a car or anything... But if for some reason I had no other option, I wouldn’t consider having to use my batch of Freshly Washed grade D towels a dealbreaker because I’ve never seen them scratch paint.
 
I screwed up my wax towels by washing them with the microfiber t0wels I clean interiors with,I use cheap ones anyhow but try to keep them seperate to get the most mileage out of them I can.

I always have new ones folded up in the bottom drawer of my toolbox and a couple of good ones I keep in zip lock bags .

everything else is thrown in box and used for interior cleaning or other dirty work
 
Farmallluvr said:
I screwed up my wax towels by washing them with the microfiber t0wels I clean interiors with,I use cheap ones anyhow but try to keep them seperate to get the most mileage out of them I can.

I always have new ones folded up in the bottom drawer of my toolbox and a couple of good ones I keep in zip lock bags .

everything else is thrown in box and used for interior cleaning or other dirty work
Click to expand...
Personally, I would consider your wax towels as okay, considering what you've said. However, I wouldn't use any of your interior towels on inside glass anymore. I think the wax contaminated the interior towels, instead of the interior towels contaminating the wax towels.
I say, put them to use just as you did before, but get yourself dedicated glass towels that you keep seperate, wash seperate, and only use with clean hands. Personally, I do this and I keep a pair of disposable gloves in the glass towel bag for when I need them.
 
TheKonquerer said:
Hello Autogeek,

I was working on removing some stubborn residue off of my paint this week and ended up going through the majority of my higher-quality towels I use for buffing, drying, and gentle wipe downs. Since none of these towels really hit the wheels or lower areas of the car, I decided to throw them in the wash together. However, I didn't realize that my wife had just run a fine-fiber rug through the wash and it had shed some of its fibers into the dryer bin (probably the washer too). I do inspect the dryer for chunks of cotton/lint before I throw the MF Towels in, but since this rug is so fine, I couldn't see the tiny fibers in the bin during my cursory inspection. Unfortunately now all of those MF towels that went through that dryer load now have rug particulate embedded in them.

Is there a way to get those finer fibers out of my prized MF towels? Or are these towels headed for general use around the house?
Click to expand...

I am curious. Can you post a picture of the infected towel.

I find it very hard to believe they can't be revitalized. Like someone said, brush them out.
Those towels are expensive.
 
I would just be careful what you used them on for awhile. Sometimes after you wash them a couple times it cleans out bad stuff.
 
I stand corrected... I was down to my last usable microfiber towels this afternoon and had to use these plush ones that are my least favorite of all the ones I have.

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You can’t really see them in the pic, but there was tons of little twigs, rocks, just a bunch of stuff stuck in those towels. Supposed to be a clean towel but I guess the debris wasn’t able to come clean during the wash & dry. Those towels are too plush for their own good. Lol.
 
Maybe fly07sti will chime in... He’s the Master of All Microfibers.
 
If the fibers are what I think they are, they will never totally clean out of your towels. Might still be ok to use though. I am a little paranoid about my towels and especially the ones that are used for paint. I also use a lint roller whenever I want to double check how clean my towel is. Most importantly, I’m a HUGE advocate of having a lot of MF’s just in case a towel or two falls on the ground or whatever.
 
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