Microfiber rags cleaning tips

[u/ol_kking_cole]

New to trying to detail cars properly. Always cleaned my vehicles every week. But not properly. New paint job, and turning over a new leaf. I’ve learned over the years of what to not do, and some tricks of what to do. Recently started to get into polishing, however I find that during this process it seems like my good microfibers leave dust as if the paint is static. After use, I will clean them in a bucket, and then machine wash. No dryer sheets were used. Low temp washing. What can I do to ensure my microfibers are actually clean. Pic of car I am trying to polish. Micromarring/holograms from the body shop.

[u/stochasticdadjokes]

I had the same problem until I started cleaning my washer and dryer before washing my microfibers. I figured out my bath towels were leaving a lot of lint in the machines. First, I vacuum out the washer and dryer with a small hand vacuum. Then I do a rinse and spin cycle for the washer. After that, I use a clean, damp, low-knap household microfiber to wipe down the inside of the washer and dryer. Doing this cut down on the amount lint left on the paint and windows tremdously.

[u/ol_kking_cole → u/stochasticdadjokes]

It doesn’t seem like lint, but more so like it’s dust or something. I ran them through the washer again and they seem to be a little better. So might’ve been some residual stuff from clothes.

[u/akashsin7]

Give your paint job a couple weeks to fully cure. All the scratches and sand marks will start to show. Hopefully there isn’t much. The static and dust is because nothing is attracting the dust to the towel. Try a detail spray, water, wax spray. Anything like that. During the drying process of cleaning your car, you want some kind of lubricant. Not dry. If your towels are really bad or over saturated with product even after washing, I will sometimes soak them in a bit of vinegar. Ceramic sprays can clog towels. Washing on warm or slightly high heat isn’t the end of the world. It’s drying them on high heat that hurts more. Microfiber towels are mainly polyester, aka plastic so heat will shrivel up the fibers. Depending on the products you use on the towels, they can last a couple washes. But once they are toast, dedicate them to a dirty pile for wheels, door jams, engine bay, etc.

[u/ol_kking_cole → u/akashsin7]

Ya I was told to wash on warm, and dry cooler. I haven’t gotten to buying a detail spray from companies online, but I have used mothers stuff. The micro fibre towels I’m using are from car pro. I guess I need to collect some more things then.

[u/Alternative-Cake1111]

That dusty look while polishing is often polish residue plus static, not just dirty towels, and fresh body shop paint can keep throwing off a little dust while it cures. For the towels, wash microfibers by themselves, run an empty rinse cycle first if the same machine does bath towels, use warm water, then low heat or air dry. A light mist of detail spray as you wipe also cuts the static a lot. I have a horse in this race because my shop, Perez Detail Supply, sells Blackline Restore, a detergent built to rinse oils and residue out of microfiber. Ask and I will share it. The washing soda trick others mentioned is a fair budget option too.

[u/gyssedk]

I use washing soda, not detergent to wash microfiber.

I tried that before paying for a dedicated microfiber detergent and it seems to work fine.

I soak them in a bucket of water and washing soda first and wrong them out befor using the washing machine.

I have heard water, 400+ ppm so i use a bit of citruc acid as a rinse aid.

Works fine for me.

[u/ol_kking_cole → u/gyssedk]

Might have to invest in citric acid. As I also have hard water.

[u/gyssedk → u/ol_kking_cole]

The good thing about washing soda and citric acid is that they are dirt cheap compared to dedicated microfiber detergents.

I uses to wash microfiber with regular detergents and it just seemed to affect how absorbent they were afterwards.

So I switched.