Microfiber cleaning question please?

[jiverson04]

I wax my cars every 3 to 4 months but sometimes I like to put a coat of wax down inbetween for the added shine. My question is I dont like to wash my wax mf towels if I only have 3 or 4 mf. Is is ok to just put waxed towels in a bucket with MF cleaner in it and let it sit in the garage for a month or 2 or is that just crazy talk? I dont ever wash wax mf with any other mf I use for waterless or rinsless washes. What is your thoughts on this or should I just wash 3 or 4 mf towels at a time. My wife hates the wax towels and I want to do the least amount of washes I can.
Thanks for any input

Jeff rops:

 

[chevycruze]

Its okay to soak them by any means necessary. I would recommend soaking them in 2-3 gallons of water with a microfiber towel detergent...like micro restore mf detergent. There are other mf detergents on AGs site. Let them soak in that solution for probably a half hour in preferably hot water. Mainly because hot water boils the product out of the towel giving you superior results. Then when done soaking, rinse thoroughly and dry in drier on low heat with no fabric softener sheets.

 

[Theo_Auto_Fines]

I found that a mixture of oxy/hydrogen peroxide with hint of liq fabric softener does the trick.

Mainly I concocted this compound due to three factors:

1. You have to lift the residue of the towels hence the Oxy
2. I use light colors for the exterior of the car to know if paint still has dirt and mainly to show the customers that their paint is absolutely clean hence the Hydro Perox
3. You have to keep the fabric supple to ensure that there are no sharp edges hence the Liq fab softener.

 

[jiverson04]

So do you not wash your microfiber towels in the washer? Just rinse in bucket with mf degerent and rinse off then put mf towels in dryer on low no bounce sheet? If so does it get all the wax off the towels?
Thanks Jeff

Its okay to soak them by any means necessary. I would recommend soaking them in 2-3 gallons of water with a microfiber towel detergent...like micro restore mf detergent. There are other mf detergents on AGs site. Let them soak in that solution for probably a half hour in preferably hot water. Mainly because hot water boils the product out of the towel giving you superior results. Then when done soaking, rinse thoroughly and dry in drier on low heat with no fabric softener sheets.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I have a lot of towels and therefore like to accumulate pretty much a full washer-load before washing. Like you, that means it can be months before I need to wash, so I got the smart idea once to buy a covered bucket with a screw-on lid, and put some Snappy-Clean in there as a "soak" bucket. What I wound up with was a smelly mess.

If I have a towel that I'm not going to wash for a while that I'm worried is going to have some dried residue that will be hard to remove, I either do a presoak as has been talked about, then remove and wring out and hang to dry until machine washing, or I spray them with some APC and throw them in the bucket until wash time.

But if the towels you are talking about simply have LSP "dust" on them from wiping off hazed product, I really don't think it's going to make much difference if you wash them now or wait several months, it's already "dry". Your applicator would be a different story, that will likely be a lot easier to clean while it's wet with product than after it dries.

 

[FUNX650]

I found that a mixture of oxy/hydrogen peroxide with hint of liq fabric softener does the trick.

3. You have to keep the fabric supple to ensure that there are no sharp edges hence the Liq fab softener.

Although I've never used fabric softeners, (in any manner/concoction), for microfiber-care...
I'm glad to see that you're willing to fly in the face of convention.




Bob

 

[chevycruze]

So do you not wash your microfiber towels in the washer? Just rinse in bucket with mf degerent and rinse off then put mf towels in dryer on low no bounce sheet? If so does it get all the wax off the towels?
Thanks Jeff

You can machine wash them yes. In fact it is better to machine wash anyway on a delicate cycle. Reason for delicate cycle is if you set the washer on a regular load, it will act as if there were clothes or bath towels in there and it will just jerk them around and potentially rip them. I had that same problem awhile back on the first wash I did with mothers mf towels 12 pack I bought and I even had it on a delicate cycle. They sent me new towels. The idea of caring for mf towels is treating them like lingerie. That's how delicate the material is in mfs. All you have to do is remember these simple steps and your towels will stay fresh and soft all the time.: No fabric softener, no bleach, no heat, no dryer sheets. You can use reg laundry detergent but it leaves a filmy residue in the towels for one, number two it wont rinse out cleanly, and last of all it doesn't have water softeners in it like a microfiber towel detergent does. And if you have hot water to your washer, that's a huge plus since like I said it boils the material out of the towel and that makes the cleaning process much easier. If you dry them in dryer, id use low heat. I tried air drying them once and it didn't help the softness of the towel, so I rewashed them and dried them in the dryer on low heat and they were soft again.

 

[cardaddy]

Put them in a bucket to soak for weeks, or months? YES that IS crazy talk!

As has been said, if you have something that is really filled with crud then do a soak that day, rinse it well, then hang it out to dry. Only AFTER towel are dry do you store them away in a bin, box, bucket, whatever. If you put wet towels in a dark, damp place they'll all mold and ruin them.

I can't say I'd put any fabric softener in them either. By default they are made of millions of little hooks and loops and those little hooks and loops will totally fill up with the fabric softener over time. It *may* make them feel softer, and less 'grabby' on your hands... because they are filling up if no other reason.

Using your washer on delicate, with a small squirt of liquid detergent and a squirt of Woolite will get them clean. Storing them with residue from compounding, polishing, even using a LSP isn't going to hurt them however.

More importantly would be to 'grade' your towels as you uses them. After they are dirty separate them into different 'grades' depending on what and how they were used. If they only did paint duty, and only on the upper portions of the paint, then obviously they are the cream of the crop and should NEVER be mixed with other towels. If they get a little dirty, but don't do door jambs, rocker panels, or even clean wheels then they'd be your next level of towels. Same thing for the next level, the ones that do get jamb duty, rocker panels, grills etc. would be in their own bin. And finally the dirty ones, dirty wheels, lower rockers, exhaust, any mud or dirt and that's ONLY what they do from then on. I keep 4 boxes for mine and each time I use them they'll get put into the appropriate box after using.

Not so much sorting and grading for your higher end towels. Really is easy to know say your 700's are only for LSP duty and thus they get washed with other LSP only towels of similar construction. That being said, some 530's are good for early (dirty) work, including rinseless washing as well as LSP work. Those should be separated and washed with the others that are used for similar duty.

The key is expensive towels tend to only get the same job time after time. Where lesser towels may be good for (some) paint duty the first time or two around and the more they are used the more they get demoted to lesser duties.

 

[Meticulous-Detail]

I wash my towels after every time I use them with MF detergent in the washer machine. If they are vey dirty toss them in a bucket with some dawn and boiled water, let them soak for 20-30 mins and then toss in washer with MF detergent.

I never ever use fabric softner or a dry sheet. They might look clean, feel soft and smell like mountain breeze but their performance will be severely reduced.

 

[RMM]

...with hint of liq fabric softener does the trick...

That's an absolute no-no: this will ruin your MFs.

I always wash my MFs after they are used, even if they are only a few. After separating paint worthy vs non-paint worthy:
- dirty ones: wash them with basic detergent and something like Dr. Beckmann's Oxy Magic Powder, at a temperature between 60º C and 95º C;
- others: wash them with basic detergent, at a temperature between 40º C and 60º C
You can dry them in the drying machine in a normal cicle - they always come out grabby, like they should.