Microfiber... Why it is effective and how to care for them

Microfiber towels have quickly become the industry standard for automotive detailing because of their exceptional performance compared to regular cotton towels, paper towels, etc. In this article we’ll look at what microfiber towels are, how they work and what applications maximize the benefits of microfiber towels.


4 of our General Purpose Microfiber Towels in a gallon Ziploc bag courtesy of Derek.

Microfiber towels use a unique blend of materials with innovative weave and fiber designs to create a special product. The blend of materials is a special ultra fine synthetic yarn made of polyester and nylon. How fine? Each strand is approximately 0.2 denier, which is equivalent to 1/20th of a strand of silk or 1/100th of a human hair. Despite its ultra thin design it’s extremely durable, soft and virtually lint free. During manufacturing the fiber starts off as a round strand, when you look at a cross section of the fiber, and then microscopic wedges are removed from the outer edge to create pockets. If you can visualize an asterisk (*), this is a good example of what a cross sectional picture looks like after the wedges have been removed. This has two main benefits: 1.) it greatly increases the surface area of each fiber, 2.) gives dust and contaminates a place to collect. Microfiber towels can be put in the washer and dryer with regular detergents, just don’t use fabric softeners and dry on low settings.

This design is really revolutionary because it helps collect and trap contaminates as opposed to pushing them around. Traditional fabrics are significantly flatter and tend to push around contaminates and not pick them up. On dry surfaces the microfiber towels use electro static energy to easily lift and collect large amounts of dust, dirt, oil, liquid and more in the micro wedges of the fiber. These towels are excellent drying tools because the wedge design in the fiber allows the towel to absorb large amounts of water. The fibers capillary action forces any liquid it comes in contact with to be readily absorbed. Best of all these towels dry significantly faster than regular towels because air more readily dries the fibers due to the increased surface area.

Microfiber towels have unlimited applications while detailing your vehicle or around the house. Today’s automotive clear coats can have fine scratches added to them rather easily from automated car washes, nylon stitching on towels, improper washing and drying tools, abrasions, daily driving, etc. After applying a polish, sealant or wax you want to remove the excess product safely and effectively. Often times cotton towels and rags can have coarse material/edges that can add fine scratches which dull the clear coat. Microfiber towels easily wipe up the excess product and are completely safe on your clear coat, so you don’t add fine scratches during the removal process. You’ll immediately notice these towels leave no residue behind and you’re doing less wiping. The microfiber industry has also created a special weave for drying towels called waffle weave. This design incorporates the same clear coat safe microfiber materials with an especially absorbent, tufted, high pile loop that allows for maximum water absorption. While drying these microfiber waffle weave towels can hold 5 – 10 times their natural weight and continue soaking up large amounts of water. When you’re cleaning the interior it’s very common for other towels to collect some dust but also put a lot of dust back in to the air, which then resettles on the surfaces you just cleaned. For the interior microfiber towels use electro static energy to collect and trap the particles so you only clean once. These towels are also great on delicate surfaces such as gauges, DVD/Navigation screens, coated hardwood and more. These delicate surfaces can scratch extremely easily so it’s important to have the right tools for cleaning them. If you need more cutting power to remove stains just spray your favorite cleaning product on your microfiber towel and watch as the towel helps break up and pick up contaminates. Microfiber towels also work great on glass so you can clean it thoroughly and leave no streaks behind.

Caring for your microfiber is very important too. Derek (derek80) shares some of his useful tips with us on the forum:

• Always take off tags.
• Always wash MF towels before 1st usage.
• Store 3-5 towels using Ziploc double zipper "gallon" bags ("quart" bags for applicator pads)
• Always rinse towels immediately after usage before a product, like a polish or wax, can dry on them.
• Wash towels prior to next usage.
• Wash between 25~30 towels per load.
• Do not wash MF towels with other fabric.
• Use liquid detergent with no fabric softener, bleach, smell...something like Tide Free.
• Use less detergent than the suggested amount by manufacturer (about half or more than half).
• During rinse cycle, add some white distilled vinegar to help dissolve detergent. (1 tablespoon per 16x16 towel)
• You can wash with hot water. There is no household water hot enough to ruin your towel/performance.
• When drying, you can air dry / hot / medium / tumble, anything you like, but never ever use fabric softener.

Reason why you shouldn't use fabric softener :

• Deposits a chemical coating on the fabric that you really don't want to transfer to your car's finish or windows.
• Clogs the microfiber strands, reducing absorbency and cleaning ability, leading to possible streaking.
• Fabric softener in any form (in detergent, rinse additive, dryer sheets) deposits silicone on the fabric to make it appear softer to the touch but reduce absorbency.

Detailed Image carries a wide variety of microfiber towels for glass, polishing, general purpose and drying. We also carry ultra plush towels for extremely delicate surfaces, gloves, applicators and wash mitts for safe and effective cleanings. There is more information about all of these microfiber products at Detailed Image - high end auto detailing products, supplies and how-to articles. If you have any questions about microfiber or any other detailing needs please contact us at support@detailedimage.com.

George and Greg
Detailed Image – Owners

Related Article: Why it is important to remove tags from Microfiber Towels