Washing MicroFiber Cloths

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Shayla

Shayla

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I just read that microfiber cloths should be cleaned without using fabric softener or dryer sheets.
The reason is, they can absorb the substances from both, and eventually get clogged.
We rarely use them, but sharing here, for those who do.

And, here's a fun alternative, for the dryer.

 
We use microfiber for cleaning acrylic, and since that is what we primarily use, we use a lot of them. As long as they are clean, they can be hung to dry and reused on acrylic.

Good to know about the dryer sheets, but microfiber cloths have a relatively short use life with us. We never reuse a microfiber on acrylic once laundered, and have some other fairly stringent rules regarding their use (we try to keep them off the bench, and if they hit the ground, into the dirty laundry they go).

They really aren't much use as shop rags, but they make really good lizard traps, so we use them to catch lizards and reintroduce them to the outside world. The scales of the lizards get caught up in the micro-loops of the cloths. A Velcro capture.
 
Shayla said:
I just read that microfiber cloths should be cleaned without using fabric softener or dryer sheets.
The reason is, they can absorb the substances from both, and eventually get clogged.
We rarely use them, but sharing here, for those who do.

And, here's a fun alternative, for the dryer.

Click to expand...
I have those exact ones! As well as some which are made from some kind of wool, like llama or alpaca. I like the wooly ones better because they don't go *thunk *bang * clunk like the hardish plastic hedgehogs. But the hedgies are cute. 🦔
 
Shayla, fabric softeners &/or sheets have a side-effect you mention as cloths absorbing "substances" which eventually clog same, but they do more: they render cloth, both natural & microfiber, less absorbent, so much so that professional swimmers refuse to use towels thus "softened" (what good are non-water-absorbing towels?).

Furthermore, & this I merely surmise, would microfiber cloths softened with fabric softeners, either liquid or sheet, render those cloths more prone to scratching surfaces they're used upon, albeit at a microscopic level?

And this for both Nikodeumus & Shayla: Wool dryer balls (mine are reputedly of New Zealand sheep's wool, purchased off Temu.com) aren't just fun dryer alternatives, as they soften cloth far more thoroughly & effectively than synthetic fabric softeners! And they don't "add" anything into the fabric.
Also, the hedgies as-you-call-them are cute but rather mouthy (your verbal descriptions of their vocabulary are spot on). They remind me of medieval mace heads.
 
glamorsidhe said:
Shayla, fabric softeners &/or sheets have a side-effect you mention as cloths absorbing "substances" which eventually clog same, but they do more: they render cloth, both natural & microfiber, less absorbent, so much so that professional swimmers refuse to use towels thus "softened" (what good are non-water-absorbing towels?).
Click to expand...
Off topic, but I remember reading that a while ago not to use fabric softeners on bath towels as it has a wax in it that makes the towels less absorbent. I stopped using it for a couple weeks, turns out the softener also has anti-bacterial agents in it to keep the towels fresh smelling. The towels without softener started smelling like a rank locker room after two uses, so it's back to softener (I don't really notice the difference in absorbtion, either).
 
Echobelly said:
Off topic, but I remember reading that a while ago not to use fabric softeners on bath towels as it has a wax in it that makes the towels less absorbent. I stopped using it for a couple weeks, turns out the softener also has anti-bacterial agents in it to keep the towels fresh smelling. The towels without softener started smelling like a rank locker room after two uses, so it's back to softener (I don't really notice the difference in absorbtion, either).
Click to expand...
Maybe there was a rancid odor to the non-fabric-softened twice-used towels because they were outperforming in absorbency their fabric-softened brethren? Also, just because towels are fresh smelling doesn't mean they're relatively clean: "Perfumed" odors often merely hide real odors. And do "anti-bacterial agents" really continue functioning in twice-used towels? Just a thought ... or two.

And not to impugn what you said about not noticing absorption differences between the chemically-softened vs the unsoftened towels, as generally speaking, neither did I before & after abandoning both fabric softening liquids & sheets for my towels. Yet I believe & respect the conclusions of professional swimmers (including Olympic) regarding this topic. You apparently do not.

Lastly, in place of synthetic fabric softeners, consider sheeps' wool dryer balls (see other posts for same). They're far superior to fabric softeners.
 
glamorsidhe said:
Maybe there was a rancid odor to the non-fabric-softened twice-used towels because they were outperforming in absorbency their fabric-softened brethren? Also, just because towels are fresh smelling doesn't mean they're relatively clean: "Perfumed" odors often merely hide real odors. And do "anti-bacterial agents" really continue functioning in twice-used towels? Just a thought ... or two.

And not to impugn what you said about not noticing absorption differences between the chemically-softened vs the unsoftened towels, as generally speaking, neither did I before & after abandoning both fabric softening liquids & sheets for my towels. Yet I believe & respect the conclusions of professional swimmers (including Olympic) regarding this topic. You apparently do not.

Lastly, in place of synthetic fabric softeners, consider sheeps' wool dryer balls (see other posts for same). They're far superior to fabric softeners.
Click to expand...
Have you ever seen 'The Princess Bride'? :popc:
 
glamorsidhe said:
Lastly, in place of synthetic fabric softeners, consider sheeps' wool dryer balls (see other posts for same). They're far superior to fabric softeners.
Click to expand...

I use the larger wool balls when drying bed sheets. It helps keeping them from turning into a big ball and taking forever to dry.
 
Shayla said:
Like the sun?
Click to expand...
Here are the ones I use. Amazon tells me I bought them 3 years ago and they are still like new.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014WOWNAY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

815g0XTG5FS._AC_SL1500_.jpg
 
Years ago, here on The Grumble, someone said the best way to clean it is with Dawn and lukewarm water. Wet the MicroFiber cloth with lukewarm water. Put a few drops of Dawn on both sides, scrub it for a minute or two, rinse it over and over until all the suds are gone, then ring out the water and hand it anywhere until it dries. I purchased a bag of 24 MicroFiber clothes about 20 years ago and I still have 8 that were never used. It sure beat paper towels!
 
wpfay said:
We use microfiber for cleaning acrylic, and since that is what we primarily use, we use a lot of them. As long as they are clean, they can be hung to dry and reused on acrylic.

Good to know about the dryer sheets, but microfiber cloths have a relatively short use life with us. We never reuse a microfiber on acrylic once laundered, and have some other fairly stringent rules regarding their use (we try to keep them off the bench, and if they hit the ground, into the dirty laundry they go).

They really aren't much use as shop rags, but they make really good lizard traps, so we use them to catch lizards and reintroduce them to the outside world. The scales of the lizards get caught up in the micro-loops of the cloths. A Velcro capture.
Click to expand...
Can you take pictures of how this Lizard Capture works?
As my wife works with Reptiles, I am very interested.
 
MitchelC said:
Years ago, here on The Grumble, someone said the best way to clean it is with Dawn and lukewarm water. Wet the MicroFiber cloth with lukewarm water. Put a few drops of Dawn on both sides, scrub it for a minute or two, rinse it over and over until all the suds are gone, then ring out the water and hand it anywhere until it dries. I purchased a bag of 24 MicroFiber clothes about 20 years ago and I still have 8 that were never used. It sure beat paper towels!
Click to expand...
I'm curious as to what types of glazing you use them on. Do you use them on conservation surfaces and acrylic, or on just regular glass?
 
alacrity8 said:
Can you take pictures of how this Lizard Capture works?
As my wife works with Reptiles, I am very interested.
Click to expand...
It only works on smaller Anoles (Cuban and Green) as far as I know. We have Geckos as well, but leave them alone as they seem to thrive indoors.
You basically throw the cloth at the lizard and the scales get caught up in the microfiber loops.
 
glamorsidhe said:
I've seen the movie & I think you're alluding to the "mostly dead" Westley scene after his rescue by Inigo & Fezzik, though that's as far as any understanding of its allusion to what I said regarding odors & softeners (?).
Click to expand...
I've seen the movie many times, and I don't catch the allusion to the topic of discussion either. I need a hint.
:popc: Rick
 
glamorsidhe said:
I've seen the movie & I think you're alluding to the "mostly dead" Westley scene after his rescue by Inigo & Fezzik, though that's as far as any understanding of its allusion to what I said regarding odors & softeners (?).
Click to expand...
The verbiage/tone of the note brought to mind some of the dialogue in it.
 
Shayla said:
The verbiage/tone of the note brought to mind some of the dialogue in it.
Click to expand...
It also brings to mind many conversations that my brain has, with itself. lol...
 
Shayla said:
The verbiage/tone of the note brought to mind some of the dialogue in it.
Click to expand...
So ..., the "verbiage" & "tone" of what I wrote reminded you of a comedic movie. Interesting. But you didn't say you agreed or disagreed with my comments.

My art background includes teaching therein, particularly with freshmen/frosh, but if you know anything about teaching creative skills to beginners (excluding such within legalistic, scientific & technical disciplines), you'll understand that a verbose teacher reaches far more students within a class than a brief & concise one. Why? Different students with differing backgrounds respond to different words, analogies, inferences (individualistic tutoring is a different matter). Within my first art class, I assumed that my frosh students would have at least a general grasp of artspeak (same as would-be lawyers of legalese). I was wrong & even a simple assignment was completely misunderstood, which necessitated me to completely revise my approach to teaching: I had to go down to their level in order to have any words of mine resonate within their understanding: the first class' F's very quickly rose to B's, C's & A's, & remained within the latter grade for the majority of the students thruout the semester. For them, more proved more. And I've remained somewhat within that mindset to this day.

So much for my verbiage & tone speaking-style then.

Regarding perfumed odors hiding rancid hidden odors & fresh smells not being the same as actual cleanliness, when I wrote that I was actually thinking historically of European aristocrats, particularly French, of both genders, & their powdered wigs & elaborate hairstyles hiding actual hair remnants, & their whiteface creams disguising pox, syphilis & gonorrhea ravages --- all this & more when after the collapse of Western Rome & their "Roman bathing" norms, European cleansing consisted largely of washing faces & hands, but never body-water-immersion bathing (except for medical reasons), dry-washing the body instead, changing dirty underwear into clean linen underwear, etc. --- in an age when water bathing was believed to transmit diseases (however the term was misunderstood then). Louis XIV, France's "Sun-King," reputedly only took 3-4 total body baths in his entire life .... This nonsense continued somewhat past the French Revolution (even into Napoleonic times, although by then it was more an issue of fragrant smells & perfumes as opposed to fears of bathing. This, & more, is history. Is it comedic, or merely factual?
 
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Shayla said:
It also brings to mind many conversations that my brain has, with itself. lol...
Click to expand...
Ah, so that's the caveat of your The Princess Bride allusion/comment. My brain's constantly chattering, with itself, & very often unconsciously. On the bright side of this howe'er, this is also often the realm of chaotic or flux thinking, an extremely creative, though time-consuming, methodology of thought.
 
I have an alpaca (I think) dryer ball that my sister got me a few years ago.
I have never used fabric softener or dryer sheets on anything, but I've already known from years ago not to use them on microfiber cloths.
Also, I don't use dryer sheets because years ago I read that they will clog up the lint filter so the air doesn't go through it.
 
MarkyW said:
I have an alpaca (I think) dryer ball that my sister got me a few years ago.
I have never used fabric softener or dryer sheets on anything, but I've already known from years ago not to use them on microfiber cloths.
Also, I don't use dryer sheets because years ago I read that they will clog up the lint filter so the air doesn't go through it.
Click to expand...
Marky, just a few comments (none negative) to your 3 comments/sentences:

First, for an average load, 1 sheep's wool dryer ball isn't enough. General recommendation, 2-3 balls per load --- except for singular small-item drying perhaps?

Second, the liquid or sheet fabric softeners & microfiber cloth issue has already been discussed profusely. Your conclusions, from years ago, correctly preempted the recent ones. Very, very astute.

And third, regarding dryer sheets possibly contributing to lint filter clogging, that I never even considered, but since said sheets release substances into adjacent cloths, why not into the lint filter as well. Sounds logical, & for myself, another reason not to use them. Sometimes a concept needs to be stated for it to even be considered. Thanks for stating it.
 
glamorsidhe said:
First, for an average load, 1 sheep's wool dryer ball isn't enough. General recommendation, 2-3 balls per load --- except for singular small-item drying perhaps?
Click to expand...
Hmm, I did not know that. My sister only got me one. I'll have to pick up a couple more then.
 
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