How To Wash Microfiber Towels (From The Company That Makes Them)
Summary
TLDRAnthony from The Rag Company offers a comprehensive guide on microfiber towel care, emphasizing the importance of material composition and weave types. He explains that microfiber towels are made of polyester and polyamide, with premium towels having a higher polyamide content. Anthony advises against washing with hot water and using powder detergents or fabric softeners, which can damage the towels. He recommends using a specific microfiber detergent, Rags to Riches, for thorough cleaning and suggests pre-soaking for heavily soiled towels. The video also covers proper washing, drying, and storage techniques to ensure the longevity and performance of microfiber towels.
Takeaways
- 🧶 Microfiber towels are made from a blend of polyester and polyamide, with the latter contributing to softness and absorbency.
- 💧 The quality and price of microfiber towels can vary based on the blend ratio, with premium towels having a higher polyamide content.
- 🌐 Microfiber towels come in various weaves, such as waffle, ultra plush, and proprietary hybrid weaves, each with unique properties.
- 🚫 Avoid washing microfiber towels with other fabrics to prevent color bleeding and lint transfer.
- 🔥 Heat is detrimental to microfiber towels, causing them to shrink and crumble, so washing in warm or cold water is recommended.
- 🧴 Rags to Riches microfiber detergent is designed to clean microfiber towels effectively, removing sealants and other residues.
- 🚿 Free and clear liquid detergents without dyes or sensors can be used as alternatives to Rags to Riches, but powder detergents should be avoided.
- 🙅♂️ Do not use fabric softeners on microfiber towels as they can clog the fibers and reduce absorbency.
- 🛁 For extremely soiled towels, a pre-wash using a bucket with water and detergent can help remove stubborn stains and sealants.
- 🔄 When drying, use low heat or no heat, and avoid mixing different types of towels to prevent cross-contamination.
- 📦 Store microfiber towels in enclosed containers to protect them from dust and maintain their quality.
Q & A
What are the main materials used to make a microfiber towel?
-A microfiber towel is primarily made of polyester, which forms the main base and body of the towel, and polyamide, which contributes to the softness and absorbency of the towel.
What is the typical blend percentage of polyester and polyamide in most microfiber towels?
-The typical blend percentage in most microfiber towels is 80% polyester and 20% polyamide.
Why is polyamide considered a more expensive material in microfiber towels?
-Polyamide is considered more expensive because it enhances the softness and absorbency of the towel, and it is used in higher proportions in premium range microfiber towels.
How does the quality of microfiber yarn affect the price of a microfiber towel?
-The quality of microfiber yarn usually determines the price of a microfiber towel, with higher quality yarns, such as those with a 70-30 blend, commanding a higher price.
What are some different weaves mentioned for microfiber towels and what are their characteristics?
-Some different weaves mentioned are the waffle weave, known for its absorbency and density; the ultra plush towel, which is extremely soft; and proprietary hybrid weaves like the Gauntlet drying towel, which has a unique design and is multicolored.
Why should microfiber towels not be washed with high heat?
-High heat can cause the polyester in microfiber towels to shrink and crumble, leading to a loss of absorbency and softness, and potentially causing damage to the towel's fibers.
What type of detergent is recommended for washing microfiber towels?
-Rags to Riches microfiber detergent is recommended, as it is specifically designed for microfiber towels and can effectively remove sealants. In its absence, a free and clear liquid detergent without dyes or sensors can be used.
Why should powder detergents and Tide Pods not be used for washing microfiber towels?
-Powder detergents and Tide Pods should not be used because they can leave behind residue that does not fully dissolve, which can get stuck in the毛巾' fibers and potentially ruin the towel or the surface being cleaned.
What is the purpose of Rags to Riches microfiber detergent and how is it used?
-Rags to Riches microfiber detergent is designed to clean microfiber towels from the backside out, removing all sealants effectively. It is used in a washing machine at a dosage of one to two ounces depending on the level of soiling.
Why should fabric softeners not be used when washing microfiber towels?
-Fabric softeners should not be used with microfiber towels because they can clog the fibers, reducing absorbency and effectiveness in cleaning tasks.
What is the recommended method for drying microfiber towels and why?
-Microfiber towels should be dried on a low heat setting or air tumble dried, and never with high heat, as high heat can melt the fibers. Drying with like items is also recommended to prevent cross-contamination and fiber damage.
How should microfiber towels be stored to maintain their quality?
-Microfiber towels should be stored in an enclosed container to protect them from dust and contaminants. Open storage, especially in dusty environments like garages, should be avoided as it can cause the fibers to collect dust and lint.
Outlines
🧵 Understanding Microfiber Towels
Anthony from The Rag Company introduces the topic of microfiber care and maintenance, explaining the composition of microfiber towels made from polyester and polyamide. He discusses the blend percentages and their impact on quality and cost, as well as the different weaves and their respective uses. The importance of avoiding heat when caring for microfiber is emphasized, as heat can damage the fibers and reduce the towel's performance.
🧼 Washing Microfiber Towels Correctly
The video provides washing instructions for microfiber towels, emphasizing the importance of separating colors and weaves to prevent color bleeding and linting. Anthony recommends using a specific microfiber detergent called Rags to Riches, which is designed to remove sealants from the towels. He also advises against using powder detergents, fabric softeners, and Tide Pods, suggesting free and clear liquid detergent or distilled white vinegar as alternatives.
🚫 Avoiding Fabric Softeners and Pre-Washing Tips
Anthony warns against using fabric softeners, as they can clog the microfiber and reduce absorbency. He then describes a pre-wash method using a bucket, Rags to Riches detergent, and Grit Guards for extremely soiled towels. This method helps to remove stubborn sealants and stains before machine washing. Additionally, he suggests using a spray with Rags to Riches for concentrated cleaning of specific stains.
🔥 Drying and Storing Microfiber Towels
The video outlines the correct way to dry microfiber towels, recommending low heat or air tumble drying to prevent melting the fibers. Anthony advises against high heat and using dryer sheets, which are similar to fabric softeners. He also discusses proper towel folding and storage, suggesting enclosed storage solutions to keep towels clean and free from dust. The video concludes with a reminder of the durability of microfiber towels when properly cared for.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Microfiber
💡Polyester
💡Polyamide
💡Microfiber Care
💡Wash Cycle
💡Detergent
💡Fabric Softener
💡Drying
💡Storage
💡Absorbency
💡Waffle Weave
💡Ultra Plush
💡Proprietary Hybrid Weave
💡Linting
Highlights
Microfiber towels are made from a blend of polyester and polyamide, with the latter contributing to the towel's softness and absorbency.
Higher quality microfiber towels typically have a 70% polyester and 30% polyamide blend, making them more expensive.
Microfiber towels come in various weaves, such as waffle weave for absorbency and ultra plush for softness.
Microfiber is a fine plastic-like material that can shrink and crumble when exposed to high heat.
To maintain the quality of microfiber towels, it's crucial to avoid high heat during washing and drying processes.
Microfiber towels should be washed separately from other fabrics to prevent color bleeding and lint transfer.
Rags to Riches microfiber detergent is specifically designed to clean microfiber towels, including removing sealants.
Using one to two ounces of Rags to Riches detergent is sufficient for a load of microfiber towels.
Avoid using powder detergents or fabric softeners on microfiber towels as they can damage the fibers and reduce absorbency.
If towels are extremely soiled, a pre-wash treatment using Rags to Riches detergent can help remove stubborn stains and sealants.
Drying microfiber towels should be done on low or no heat to prevent damage to the fibers.
Separate drying of different microfiber weaves prevents cross-contamination and maintains the integrity of each towel's fibers.
Proper folding and storage of microfiber towels in an enclosed space prevents dust accumulation and maintains their performance.
Using a dedicated microfiber detergent like Rags to Riches can significantly extend the life of microfiber towels.
Microfiber towels are durable and with proper care, they can last for years and hundreds of washes.
Storing microfiber towels in plastic totes or clean trash bags is a practical and effective way to keep them clean and ready for use.
Transcripts
Hey guys, Anthony from The Rag Company
and in today's video
we're talking about microfiber
care and maintenance to keep your towels
soft and safe. Let's jump into it.
All right, so before we jump into the
microfiber care and
techniques and things like that,
we're going to briefly discuss what a
microfiber towel actually is
because this is going to help
understand why we use certain products to
clean these things. So a
microfiber towel doesn't just
start off life as a microfiber towel, it
starts off as microfiber
yarn and microfiber yarn is
made of two different materials. You're
going to have polyester,
which many of you guys know what
polyester is and that's going to be the
main base and body of the towel and
you're also going to have
polyamide. Polyamide is going to account
for the softness and
absorbency of the towel. When you
combine these two materials together,
it's going to create a very
high quality microfiber yarn
that's going to have a percentage blend.
So typically you're going
to have an 80% polyester
and a 20% polyamide blend that's pretty
standard amongst most microfiber towels,
but when you get to the premium range of
microfiber towels, you're
going to have a 70% polyester and
30% polyamide towel because polyamide is
going to be the more
expensive material of the two making
up of that microfiber yarn. So with that
said, microfiber starts
off as microfiber yarn and
depending on the quality of the yarn is
usually going to account for
the price that you're paying.
So typically the higher price is going to
be because it's a 70-30
blend, the lower price is
going to be because it's maybe something
like a 95-5 blend or a 90-10 blend. So
now that we understand
that, we can also note that microfiber is
not all equal. There's
different ways to weave microfiber
towels and come up with different
microfiber constructions. So
for example, we have a waffle
weave here, right? Pretty standard weave
here, but this is going to
be a very absorbent style
of towel because it's going to be
extremely dense and have plenty of thirst
pockets on here that
covers basically just very large surface
area. Then we also have
what's called an ultra plush
towel, which is going to be woven
completely different and
it's going to be extremely soft.
You're going to be able to whack your
hand on here, you're able to
see your hand print on here,
which is really cool. And then we also
have really cool proprietary hybrid
weaves like our Gauntlet
drying towel, which has a super cool
design on it and is
multicolored, which is really cool as
well. So microfiber can be made in so
many different ways. It's
not all the same. So when
people ask what's the difference between
TRC microfiber and maybe
store-bought microfiber,
well, I'm telling you right now that most
store-bought microfiber isn't
going to be making weaves like
this. It's not going to be making weaves
like this, but it's
definitely going to be making more of
your standard terry-style weave, which
there's nothing wrong with
that. It's just that there's
a big difference there when it comes to
quality. So microfiber yarn is
essentially a very, very,
very fine plastic style of material, and
it's so fine that it feels
soft and it does feel like a
fabric, but at the end of the day, it's
still polyester, right?
And so what happens when you
introduce heat to polyester? Polyester
will shrink, it'll crumble. So if you
think of microfiber as
being kind of like your hand with all
these fingers here, the
second they introduce heat,
those fingers start shrinking and
shrinking and shrinking and shrinking and
eventually crumble up.
So when you look at a towel, let's just
say an ultra plush towel,
those fibers may really start
to curl up and ball up and not look
correct. And because of that, you're
going to lose a lot of
that absorbency in the towel and you're
going to lose a lot of that softness,
meaning that it's not
going to pick up water, it's not going to
perform its job, and it may
actually induce some light
marring when it comes to cleaning your
vehicle. So heat is going to
be the enemy across the board.
We'll talk more about that when we get to
the drawing step and just
remember that and your towels
should for the most part last a very long
time. So let's talk about
washing. You know what's even
more crazy than microfiber towels? You
not being subscribed to the
Rag Company YouTube channel.
What are you doing? Subscribe to us,
please. It's going to be great for you.
It's going to be great
for us. It costs you nothing. And plus,
where else are you getting all this good
microfiber knowledge from?
Seriously, subscribe. All right, so
jumping into the washing
process for microfiber towels,
this is an area where a lot more common
sense is involved in
what most people think,
because when it comes to washing towels,
you got to think about it
kind of like washing any other
fabric or maybe even the clothes that
you're wearing right now.
So I'm not going to take this
red shirt right here and wash it with a
bunch of my white socks. Why?
Because I don't want a bunch
of semi-pink socks. It's going to be the
same concept with
microfiber towels. I do not want to
wash my red, beautiful Eagle edgeless
towel with my beautiful
white Everest 550 towel, because
what's going to happen? I'm going to have
a pink towel and I don't
want that. So keep that in mind
washing anything across the board. Always
wash with light colors if you
can. Wash your dark with your
darks, your lights with your lights and
things such as that. Now, the
other thing to keep in mind is
going to be the differences in weaves and
whether or not you should cross wash
different weaves with
other weaves. So a good example of this
would be taking our glass
towel here. A glass towel is an
extremely tight weave. This is a
herringbone weave and this is going to
hold on to pretty much
anything that it gets washed with,
including other fibers from
other towels. So you want to wash
something like this separately, because
what's going to happen is
if I take this towel and I
really rub it up on here, there's a good
chance that I have picked
up some of those Eagle fibers
into my glass towel and those Eagle
fibers may come off on my
glass the next time I go to clean
it, which means now I have this linting
towel and a linting glass towel isn't any
good. So try to wash
with light weaves as well. So I'm going
to take my ultra-plushes
here, wash these together. Heck,
I can even throw on my wash mitt because
this is an ultra-plush as
well. Throw those together.
Maybe I want to wash my applicators on
their own so I can take all my
applicators, wash those on
their own. And let's just say I have an
FTW, a twist loop weave,
right? Pretty tight weave,
not really any type of loose fibers. I'm
probably going to wash
that with a waffle weave here
because that makes the most sense. So
again, light colors like weaves and like
jobs. So another thing
too is that I don't want to wash my wheel
towels with my paint
polishing towels, just in case that
those wheel towels didn't get clean
enough in the wash. I do not
want to mix those together. So
start off by separating your colors, your
weaves, and your jobs based
on the towel before you even
turn on that washing machine. All right,
so the washing machine,
what setting do you turn this
thing on to? Well, you're going to throw
in all of your light colors, your light
towels, however you're
going to do it, throw them in, and you're
going to wash on a normal
setting or a bulk setting,
depending on how many towels you're
throwing in. Meaning it's just going to
be a normal wash cycle,
but the biggest thing is going to be the
temperature in which you're washing at.
So microfiber towels, I told you again,
heat is the enemy. Most hot water systems
are set to hopefully
140 degrees or less, ideally. So you can
wash on a hot water setting
if you want to. We try to tell
people not to unless it's like a really,
really bad situation, but
warm washes, cold washes, all
day long. You are never going to hurt
those towels in a warm or cold setting.
So that's where you're
going to start. Now, as far as which
detergent to use, that's going to be the
important part as well.
So Rags to Riches, microfiber detergent.
This is made by P&S in
collaboration with us. This is meant
for microfiber towels. The reason why
this is so good is because
this is one of the only microfiber
detergents, if not the only one, that can
actually successfully
remove sealants out of microfiber
towels, which is massive because
basically their surface tension of Rags
to Riches is lower than
that of the sealants in the towels. It's
lower than that of the
fibers on the towels, meaning
that this is going to be able to dive
into those towels and really
clean them from the backside
out and get all the sealants out of the
towels. So Rags to Riches,
it's safe. It's extremely
economical. It can be used in any type of
washing machine, and it has
a measure here on the bottle
itself, especially in the 32 ounce size.
So as far as how much to use, you're
going to use one to two
ounces, depending on how soiled your
towels are. If they're lightly dirty,
I'll just use one ounce,
and that's like with 20 to 30 different
towels in the washing
machine. So it's extremely
economical. Just one ounce is all I need.
But if I have extremely
soiled towels, really, really bad
wheel towels, I'll typically use two
ounces. And so one to two ounces is all
you need in the washing
machine and you are good to go. Throw
them in there. You don't need any
vinegar. You don't need
any detergent or anything else. This is
the detergent. There's a lot of
microfiber detergents
out there that are typically just
boosters for cleaning your
microfiber towels. It's not a
dedicated detergent. It's simply just an
add on. So this is no add
on. This is everything you need
all in one. What if you don't have Rags
to Riches, microfiber
detergent? Can you use a different
detergent? Yes, you can use a free and
clear liquid detergent. As long as it
doesn't have any dyes or
any type of sensor or anything like that,
it's going to be
completely safe. You can also use
distilled white vinegar if you want to
add a little bit of extra
cleaning power. But by no means,
no means should you ever use a powder
detergent. Do not use powder detergents.
Do not use Tide Pods
because you're going to have leftover
material that's going to
not dissolve all the way. It's
going to get stuck in your towels and
possibly ruin the towel, if
not ruin the next thing that
you're wiping those towels with. So
something to keep in mind. Now lastly
here, because there's a
lot of softies out there. I don't know if
I can say that, but fabric
softener users. Do not use
fabric softeners on microfiber towels.
There is no need to do that. Fabric
softeners are essentially
more kind of fine plastics that are going
to get caught in these fine plastics
because people think
it's going to make the towel softer. Yes,
it's going to make the
towel softer, but it's also
going to clog the h*ck out of these
towels and they are not going to be
absorbent. So if you've
ever wondered why your towels aren't
absorbing anything and you've
been using fabric softeners,
that's why. Fabric softeners will ruin
these towels 100 percent.
And if you have a washer that's
coated in leftover fabric softener
residue, then that can get on these
towels and ruin those towels
as well. So try to stay away from fabric
softeners. It's kind of a scam in the
first place. I'm not
going to get into the whole ordeal, but
you don't need to be using
them. Trust me. Use just Rags,
to Riches, use distilled white vinegar and
your clothes and your
other textiles, such as your
towels are going to be much, much
happier. All right. So now that you know
the basics of washing,
one other thing I want to cover is what
if the towels are
extremely, extremely soiled and you
don't want to throw them in there with
your other microfiber
towels. Or let's just say you don't
want to just throw them into the wash and
go through multiple
different cycles to try to get
out certain stains or things like that.
That's when a pre-wash is
going to be necessary and
something that you can totally do with
Rags to Riches here. So
what does a pre-wash look like?
You're going to take a bucket, you're
going to fill this thing up
with water and you're going
to put one to two ounces into this bucket
here. You're going to
remove one of your Grit Guards
here. Hopefully you have a second one.
You're going to toss your towels into the
liquid and then you're
going to let them hover in here. You can
take an additional Grit
Guard, go over the top,
shove that down and that's going to hold
those towels in place
there and you're going to let
those soak for about a day if not two
days. That's going to
remove any extra sealants that
you haven't been able to get out and it's
also going to help remove
some stains. And that from
there, taking these and throwing them
into the wash is going to
be a massive improvement over
what a standard wash can do alone. Now
another trick, you can
take a towel. Let's just say
there's a gnarly stain right here. We'll
just kind of pretend. I can take a
sprayer here that has
water in it with a little bit of Rags to
Riches. This bottle right here has
roughly about a quarter
ounce of Rags to Riches in it. Not very
much at all. I could take
that stain, spray it with some
Rags to Riches and then throw this in the
wash and it's going to
have a much more concentrated
effect on cleaning that stain or that
product out of that towel. Okay, so as
far as other washing
techniques go, is there other ways to
wash towels? Yes. If you want
to straight up put towels and a
little bit of detergent into a bucket and
literally grate them,
you could do that if you
want to. If you want to throw them in the
bathtub, you can do that
if you want to. But a washer
typically is going to give the best
overall clean and that's
how we recommend doing it.
But the big thing is going to be drying.
A lot of people have no
idea how to properly dry their
microfiber towels and that's where things
get kind of sketchy because
they don't know. Do I hang and
dry them? Do I tumble to dry them? Do I
dry them with heat? How does
this work? Do they get kind of
static-y with heat? What's the process?
So drying, this is another situation
where again, you want to
probably dry with like towels. So again,
I want to dry my ultra-plushes
together. I don't want to dry
my ultra-plush with my glass towel
together because again, I'm
going to have cross-contamination
there and I'm going to get some of these
fibers that are going to
become loose and end up in this
towel which I don't want either. So dry
with like things, so start
there first, but you're going to
want to dry on a low heat setting. Low or
no heat. Meaning air tumble
dry or low heat. Never go full
heat or never go high heat. It will melt
those fibers. I promise
you there's a lot of dryers
out there that have really bad regulators
that get exceptionally hot.
I have one. My clothes shrink
all the time and I can feel my clothes
coming out of there and they
are on fire. I do not want that
happening with my precious microfiber
towels. So low or no heat
or you can simply hang dry,
but we find that when you hang dry
towels, you're going to get them feeling
a little bit crustier
than they should be just because of maybe
the water purity that
you may have at your home.
So another thing you can do is go ahead
and hang dry them and then
throw them back on the dryer
for just a quick tumble dry just to get
that softness back.
Again, no dryer sheets. Dryer
sheets are also fabric softeners. You do
not want anything in
there. So before you throw your
microfiber towels into the dryer, do a
quick inspection. Look
around, make sure there's no
loose dryer sheets and then throw the
towels in there and then
clean out your lint trap as well,
because you don't want any leftover lint
or dog hair ending up in
your towels as well. After that,
that's when it comes to the towel folding
and storage. All right.
So the big question here is
towel folding and storage. How should you
fold your towels? You
should fold them however the
heck you want to fold them or don't fold
them at all. Just go like
this, throw them into a pile,
and then from there, throw them into your
storage solution. So
speaking of storage solution, how
should you store your microfiber towels?
I tell people to not store
them in the open air, right?
Do not store them on an open shelf,
especially in your garage,
because what happens in garages,
garages get dusty and you do not want all
that dust landing into your
towel. So however you want
to do it, just store them in something
enclosed. You do not leave
them open into the air because
these fibers right here do a very good
job of catching dust. And
if it's in a dusty garage,
it's going to catch all that dust. And
the next time you go to use
it, you're going to wonder,
why is there this lint and stuff coming
off my towel? It's because
you're storing them in a dusty
garage. So don't do that. And you should
be on the right track. Levi
will store his sometimes in
trash bags. Seriously, he'll take a clean
trash bag and he'll throw
them in there. And that's
actually an okay option because you know,
it's fully enclosed. I
myself like to store them in
plastic totes. That's the easiest way for
me to do them. I simply
organize them by their job.
So hopefully you have learned something
new in today's video. And
hopefully you guys are ready
to care for your microfiber towels the
way that they need to be
cared for. Now, if you follow the
techniques in this video and you follow
some of the things I've said,
there is no reason why these
towels shouldn't be lasting you years and
years, if not hundreds and
hundreds of washes in one way,
shape or form. Seriously, microfiber
towels are extremely durable and they're
meant to last a very
long time. And you should be getting a
lot of life out of them, especially if
you're using a dedicated
microfiber detergent. So again, hopefully
you guys learned something
new. Hopefully you enjoyed this.
And as always, if you guys enjoy and love
the microfiber content,
please make sure to give us a
big thumbs up, subscribe down below for
more and stay tuned for more videos right
here at The Rag Company.
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