“The manner in which you wash and dry your microfiber towels can deeply impact the effectiveness of the towel.” For starters, microfiber towels should be washed in cold or warm water, advises Sweeney, noting that the temperature should never exceed around 105 degrees Fahrenheit.
Some people have been washing them in hot water and/or adding bleach to the wash cycle. Many members replied that using hot water is not good for the cloth because it breaks down the fiber, and most agreed that adding bleach is never a good idea.
After the lint trap has been emptied, you can place your microfiber towels inside the dryer separately from garments made with natural fibers as they tend to shed. Avoid adding dryer sheets and using high heat settings to dry microfiber towels as this may damage the fibers.
But to get the best results while cleaning, you must wash your microfiber cloths—either in the machine or by hand—separately from other laundered items in cold or warm water. Next, dry your microfiber towels and store them carefully so they don't attract lint and dust before the next cleaning job.
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.
Harsip said that the main reason why microfiber towels are ruined is drying them at high heat. Remember that it's not just bad for microfiber towels to be dried at too high of heat, but it can ruin them completely. Once the damage has been done from heat, it cannot be reversed.
The polyester in microfiber towels has a low melting point, and cannot handle the high heat that other fabrics that go in washing machines can. If the towels are dried at high heat, then the fibers will melt together and it will be like “cleaning with Plexiglas,” said Gartland.
Before you wash your microfiber cloths, it is important to know that you should never use fabric softener or bleach. Fabric softener will clog the spaces in the fibers and render your cloth useless. Bleach, on the other hand, will erode the fibers.
Tips for maintaining microfiber towels
Don't use strong, chemical-based cleaning products. Surprisingly, they work best when used with just water. Avoid washing cloths after every use by giving the towel a good shake and thorough rinse in the sink after a cleaning session.
Re: Tide and microfiber towels.
Tide is fine. I like to add Oxy Clean and/or Vinegar.
Prep a separate bucket with VERY HOT clean water and add blue dawn dish soap along with gentle tide. Add towels. Soak towels for roughly 2 hours. If a towel ever becomes so contaminated that it doesn't wash clean, it may be time to retire it to a new job.
Always wash new microfiber towels prior to first use to remove any loose factory production fibers. Always wash newer black, orange, and red colored towels separately from lighter colored towels to avoid any risk of bleeding.
☠️ Avoid At All Cost: Never use the Towel Cycle, Sanitizer Cycle, or any other high heat cycle on your washer or dryer, as the heat melts and shrinks microfiber. Kill Germs Without Damage: 135º for 1 hour is the minimum temperature & time required to kill germs in the dryer and is safe for microfiber towels and pads.
All those extra ingredients, lubricants, and fragrances from fabric softener and dryer sheets actually coat the teeny tiny microfibers. And this isn't a good thing. If you've ever used fabric softener or dryer sheets on microfiber, you may have noticed that your microfiber becomes waxy-feeling.
In fact, you'll want to make sure you put them straight into the washing machine when you're finished cleaning. “Ideally, you want to wash your microfiber towels after every use to remove any dirt or grime build-up from cleaning,” shares Chris Willatt, owner and founder of Alpine Maids in Denver, Colorado.
One of the benefits of cleaning with microfiber is that it lasts a long time. Many microfiber cloths can take up to 500 washings. That's up to two years in a typical household. Unfortunately, they don't last forever; at some point, microfiber cloth cleaning won't have the same revitalizing effect it once did.
In fact, a UC Davis study showed that microfiber cloths can pick up to 99% of bacteria on surfaces compared to 30% with their cotton counterparts. This means that good quality microfiber cloths make cleaning easy and eliminates the need to clean with harsh chemicals.
Use a Non-Sudsing Dish Liquid– You can use Dawn, Norwex's Dishwashing Liquid, or any other non-sudsing dish liquid to clean your microfiber. I recommend doing this once every other day or so. All you have to do is put a drop of liquid on a wet cloth, rub the cloth together, then rinse with warm water.
Hand washing works best for cleaning microfiber cloths that have been used to clean dry messes, such as for dusting. For dirtier cloths or those used to mop up spills, you will need to machine-wash them.
Start a hot-water rinse cycle and let it fill up completely. The hot water helps break down chemicals and contaminants on the towels. Add about a cup of white vinegar to the mix, which will further help break down any chemicals that have made your towels less absorbent.