How to Clean your Microfiber Towels

Microfiber is the substance of detailing that aids in crafting your vehicle's finish to perfection. The thought of it being just another type of fabric in the textile world is an understatement for the drastic difference it’s made in the detailing world. Microfiber is complex and a game changer in elevating your shine potential to the next level. Composed majorly of polyester and polyamide, microfiber utilizes a ratio of the two to craft a towel built for your choice-- The polyester side of things aids in the brunt of the work, or elbow grease, to assist with wax removal, scrubbing, or polishing while the polyamide side provides absorbency and rigidity to the towel. Commonly found ratios are 70/30 Polyester- Polyamide, or 80/20 for the heavier duty scrubbing sources.

Single Soft to Waterless Waffle Weave Towels, Glass Towels to Ultra Plush Drying Towels, and even more recently polishing pads, microfiber has forever changed how detailing enthusiasts keep their cars looking great and how detailers correct, protect, and care for customers cars. The argument could be made that no single advancement in the world of car care has had a larger impact in the last decade than microfiber. Professionals and enthusiasts alike all keep a hefty supply of a wide variety of towels on hand at all times, but despite its omnipresence in the car care world there is still a fair amount of mis-information and mis-understanding as to how they should be cared for.

Microfiber can be composed of many parts, most commonly in the detailing / car care industry we use a combination of polyester and polyamides. These microscopic laboratory born fibers are around 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, this ultra fine thread is what gives microfiber its delicate touch and a super soft feel. To put that size into perspective, if you were to think of a regulation basketball as the equivalent of the diameter of a human hair, an individual strand of microfiber would be smaller than an M&M chocolate candy.

Why is this important? While you might see a fluffy towel with your naked eye on a microscopic level there is a very tiny, but very uniform and durable strand there. Almost all microfiber will share an identical fiber structure, regardless of weave or pattern. How the fibers are laid out will impart different characteristics to the material (plush for delicate surfaces, waffle weave for drying or waterless washing, flat for glass, suede for coatings, etc)

Each individual strand has a star-like structure and all strands are virtually identical across the entire surface of a towel. If you could pull a fiber from one towel, and another from a different towel of similar quality and cross section them you'd likely not be able to tell them apart. This leads to a uniformly soft towel that performs the same regardless of fold or what portion is in contact with the surface. This is in stark contrast to the wild inconsistency of cotton fibers which can vary in shape and size from one strand to the next.

The star shaped structure on each strand allow microfiber to trap small particles, dirt, moisture and debris making them very effective for cleaning. Compared to the inconsistent, tube-like, shape of cotton which is absorbent, but not ideal for cleaning microfiber has a clear advantage.

In this article we’ll be covering the basics of cleaning and care for your microfiber towels and a little bit of background on what makes them the preferred choice of detailers.

These tiny man made textiles were actually being produced back as early as the 1950's though the applications were extremely limited. Technology at the time limited the had its limitations and it was next to impossible to produce long continuous strands in a consistent manner making it not only very expensive, but also very time consuming to produce. Technology began to catch up in the late 1960's when a team of Japanese researchers were able to produce microfibers in long continuous strands. This breakthrough lead to the adoption of microfiber for a variety of applications in the 1970's in the textiles industry. By the 1990's microfiber would gain popularity in the cleaning products market, but mostly in the janitorial and hospitality industries due to its sanitary properties and low tendency to shed or lint.

In the years after that microfiber would explode and become widely accepted as the best option for any kind of detailing. The towels continued to improve and find new configurations - waffle weave, glass towels, foam core towels, applicators, and most recently the microfiber buffing pads. Its funny to think back on a time before microfiber, when a cotton diaper was the best option now, and even stranger to think that it wasn't all that long ago.

GSM or "Grams Per Square Meter" or "g/m2" is also referred to as the towels "weight". This measurement dictates the materials fiber density. For instance, an 800 GSM towel provides a plush cushion of fibers to aid in polish removal, wax application, or a simple wipe down-- in this instance, we’re referring to our Single Soft Towel. Usually the higher the GSM the softer the towel. Plush towels for use on delicate surfaces should be at least 500gsm. Towels in the 200-350gsm range are best suited for non-delicate surfaces and tasks, like scrubbing leather seats or wiping off things under the hood.

Now, the GSM rating isn't always the best way to define a towel. For example a waffle weave towel may have a lower GSM, but that's due to the way it's constructed not as much due to the quality of the material. To be safe always buy your towels from a reputable source, and before jumping in with both feet test it in a small area to make sure its delicate enough for the job you're about to do. If you use a low GSM towel all over your car without first testing you'll have a lot of paint correcting to do.

Because microfiber marks such a substantial investment in your detailing collection its important to do your best to preserve them to get the most use from them before they are retired. To this end it's always a good idea to segment your towels into various types.

Plush or deep fibers are generally best for extremely delicate jobs, like wiping or polishing clear coat, while shorter or looped fibers have superior scrubbing and cleaning power. Waffle weaves offer the best absorbency gram for gram and flat weave towels are ideal for non-delicate surfaces where streak free performance is paramount.

But don't just section your towels off by type. Sort your towels out in your collection for the jobs they're best suited for. Don't waste a good towel on a dirty job like wiping a door hinge or polishing metal. Preserve your best towels and retire old or stained towels to less important jobs.

When you think about the contamination that is in your towels after a use you're talking about a pretty thick mixture of polymers, waxes, oils, and other stubborn residues that need strong detergents to remove. For example waxes and sealants are products that are designed to resist removal from detergents, water, heat, etc on your paint. A "good durable" wax or sealant is defined by its ability to resist detergents through more than a few washes. A ceramic coating when cured rejects water for years, so the absorbed ceramic residue will harden, stiffen and cause the towel to become crusty. These products behave no differently when buried deep within the fibers of your towels. Anyone who's tried to strip wash a sealant knows that sometimes it takes a pretty aggressive mix of Strip Wash or All Purpose Cleaner to get it completely removed.

So knowing what kind of fight these products put up on your paint, why assume they'd be so much more easy going when bonded to a towel fiber? They aren't. This is why a stronger detergent or dedicated microfiber cleaner like Adam's Microfiber Revitalizer is key to maintaining your towels. Removing product residues is just as important to your microfiber as any other part of their care and this product was designed specifically to break down the things most commonly found in detailing towels. The types of contamination found in automotive detailing towels will be far different than the soil, food, and grime found in other towels around your home. While a dish towel might have a combination of last nights spaghetti sauce and that mystery food goo from the fridge, your detailing towels will be full of polish, wax, and sealant residues. Because of this, the type of detergent you choose is important.

Regular laundry soaps are still an effective option - most good detergents can remove most anything you find, or at the very least break them up enough to be effective. We've all seen the TV commercials where brand X removes grass stains, wine stains, ground in dirt - but I haven't seen one yet that says it'll remove carnauba waxes and polymer sealants. Removing a grass stain from your socks is a much different proposition to removing a sealant from your towels.

The option to avoid, and one incorrectly recommended by amateurs all over the web, are 'delicate' detergents. Products in this category are lacking in the areas needed to really remove all the residues found in your towels. When cleaning microfiber towels, the combination of warm/hot water and the strong formulated blend of Microfiber Revitalizer allows the caked up polish, wax, and detailing residues to become emulsified or loosened and released from the fibers. Sure, if you need to clean a silk shirt or delicate unmentionables by all means reach for your woolite, but we're dealing with tough residues embedded deep into very tiny fibers - use a detergent capable of getting the job done. While microfiber is important, and should be cared for appropriately, it is fairly durable stuff and can handle stronger detergents to make sure they are 100% clean. Weaker detergents will continually leave behind a small amount of detailing contamination, leading to a slow buildup and eventually hampered performance.

Your microfiber should be cleaned after every use. While it might be tempting to let that drying towel sit and use it again next weekend you run the risk of contamination causing swirls or letting something set into the towels that will be more difficult to remove later. Cleaning microfiber is usually the least enjoyable part of a detail, but in the end staying on top of your laundry just ensures that your towels will be at their best and ready when you are. After all, you’ve made the investment in purchasing high quality microfiber towels, so let us help you keep your premium purchase feeling and performing like new.

To start, it is important to note that separating your towels into various levels could make the difference between a perfect polishing session, or a swirl free finish. For instance, a towel that has been used for engine bay detailing 4 times probably shouldn’t be the first in line for your next wipe down with Detail Spray. Separating your towels into 4 levels can help properly delineate your towel choice when washing and help your restoration process be much more effective. New and very lightly used towels can stay in level 1, very lightly to mildly used towels can be compiled into level 2, mild to moderately used towels such as after Metal Polishing should be moved to level 3, and any towel after that can reside in level 4. By separating these levels out, you can wash your towels in sequence rather than all together to avoid unnecessary absorption of contaminants and soils-- after all, that is what microfiber is designed to do.

Always separate your dirtiest towels, like those used to clean wheels or for metal polishing, from your 'good' plush and drying towels to avoid cross contamination and wash them in separate loads.

• Keep cotton and other materials out of the wash loads. Wash microfiber only with other microfiber.
• Use a dedicated microfiber detergent like Towel & Pad Revitalizer or a dye free/perfume free liquid laundry soap - no powders or granulated.
• Set washer to a warm water setting. Some heat is required to break down waxes and polishes. Cold settings will not clean towels as effectively.
• If your washer is equipped with an extra rinse cycle, use it. This will make sure as much of the contamination and remaining soap is removed from the towels as possible.
• Microfiber can be machine dried if you prefer, use a low heat setting and NO FABRIC SOFTENER. Air or line drying is also an option, be sure to do this somewhere the towels cannot be contaminated with dust or lint.

• Just like with towels, separate any extremely dirty or contaminated pads from the group and wash separately to avoid cross contamination.
• Wash pads and applicators separate from towels. The foam backing and velcro can become snagged and damaged during agitation by a towel in the same load.
• Use a brush to break up heavy, caked in, polish residues on pads before washing.
• Microfiber Revitalizer is preferred, but if using regular laundry soap make sure its dye/perfume free.
• Set washer to a warm setting, not hot. Pads have a glue membrane that is sensitive to high heat so stick to warm wash water settings.
• Air dry all pads and applicators on a wire rack to maximize airflow and expedite drying.

No matter what there is going to be occasions where a towel becomes extremely contaminated or stained from either something you removed from a vehicle (grease, oil, tar, etc) or it becomes saturated with a product to the point there is some discoloration. In these situations pre-treating or at the very minimum pre-soaking the microfiber to keep these stains from setting in is key. Obviously, you can't stop mid-detail and clean your microfiber accessories, so here are some quick tips to help with heavier contamination on the fly.

• Pre-treat any towel that becomes heavily soiled with grease, oil, brake dust, etc - spray liberally with Towel & Pad Revitalizer. Soak the heaviest contamination and rub the towel against itself to agitate, then set aside for cleaning later.
• Pre-soak towels to help start the cleaning process long before you get around to doing your detail laundry. Prep a separate bucket with clean water and add 2-3oz of Towel & Pad Revitalizer. As towels become too dirty to continue using toss them into the pre-soak bucket. Place a grit guard, upside down and ON TOP of the towels after they've been put in the mix to hold them in the solution as they try to float to the top.
• For microfiber polishing pads or applicators use a stiff brush, like the pad conditioning brush, to break up residues before they harden and set in. Pads can also be added to your pre-soak bucket if desired.
• If a towel ever becomes so contaminated that it doesn't wash clean, it may be time to retire it to a new job. Rotate towels that have been heavily stained to less delicate tasks.

Adam’s Towel & Pad Revitalizer is an ultra-concentrated detergent designed to clean compound residues, waxes, and contamination from your microfiber towels. You spend 100’s of dollars purchasing the most premium microfiber towels, so take the necessary precautions to make sure your towels last long and are contaminant free. Adam’s Towel & Pad Revitalizer brightens the white pile of your Single, Double, and Ultra Plush Drying Towels without weakening the fibers of the towel. Adam’s Towel & Pad Revitalizer effectively restores your microfiber towels after cleaning, polishing and waxing your vehicle. Cleaning your towels is one of, if not the most important task following your details. Without the highest quality microfiber towels, all the hours spent perfecting your vehicle can be wasted in one simple swipe. Taking care of such important accessories is a key to keeping them soft, supple and looking like new.

Adam's Towel & Pad Revitalizer has been formulated with specially designed surfactants and detergents is specifically targeted at removing the waxes, polymers, polishes, and oils commonly associated with detailing. While effective at removing such contamination it's also formulated to be gentle on the delicate microfiber materials. Unlike traditional detergents Adam's Towel & Pad Revitalizer contains no dyes or perfumes that can potentially clog the fibers of your towels and render them less effective.

Use Adam's Towel & Pad Revitalizer as an effectively pre-treat heavily soiled areas before a wash to remove stubborn stains or add a few ounces to your washer and use as an in wash solution to loosen waxes and other detail chemicals from your towels. Adam's Towel & Pad Revitalizer is HE compatible and safe for use in all HE certified washing machines.

Using Adam's Microfiber Polishing Pads? Then you NEED Towel & Pad Revitalizer. Caked in polish residues don't stand a chance against this special blend of detergents, leaving your polishing pads clean and ready for your next paint polishing session.

Where your towels are kept when they are not in use is just as important as how they are cared for, so make sure you have a solution for keeping your towels out of harm's way and dust free between uses. Plastic storage totes are an inexpensive solution - the lid will keep your towels from collecting dust in an area like a garage and will also minimize the amount of crawly insects that might find a new home buried in all that plush softness.

Always be sure your microfiber is completely dry before storage. Mildew will form on towels in some climates if they are even slightly damp. This is especially true of microfiber applicators and pads. The foam backing and cores is a magnet for moisture avoid using air tight containers for anything with a foam core or backing unless you are completely confident it is dry all the way through.

Over time your microfiber may become contaminated past the point it can be completely cleaned using traditional methods. Typically this will present itself during use - drying towels will begin to feel less absorbent. Plush towels may lint slightly or smear products more than remove them. This is an indication that the fibers are 'full' either from residues deposited during use or things like fabric softener accidentally introduced during cleaning. In any event, if your towels begin to loose their performance or just don't feel as good as they did new boiling is the solution, a last resort, to bring them back. NOTE: this process applies only to towels and microfiber without foam cores or backing. Never boil pads or applicators.

1. Fill a large cooking pot approximately 2/3rd full of water and bring to a boil
2. Add approximately 1-2oz of distilled white vinegar per gallon of water and stir
3. Place a few of the towels to be treated into the pot, maintaining a slow boil
4. Stir continuously with a large spoon, avoid letting the towels rest against the bottom or sides for too long
5. After about 60-90 seconds in the boil, remove the towels using tongs and rinse under cool water
6. Wash using the "Regular Cleaning" guidelines outlined earlier and they should be as good as new.
7. NOTE: Should boiling fail to bring absorbance to a towel or the towel continues to lint then you are most likely dealing with a towel at the end of its lifespan. Retire the towel to less important tasks and replace with a new one for future use.

There really is no set answer to that question. Depending on how frequently they are used, how well they are cared for, and the types of products they're used with a towel can last for a very short or very long time. On average a towel should last the average user at least a year or two. Understand that no towels are good forever, they wear out eventually like any other product that sees frequent use.

If you experience diminished performance after some time and try the recommended boiling method it might be time to retire that towel and replace it with a new one. Your vehicle is a big investment and towels by comparison are a relatively small price in making sure it stays looking nice.

One thing is for certain - the better care you take of your microfiber towels and accessories, the better they'll do at caring for your vehicles.