During my last two details, I noticed that my microfiber towels are leaving behind very fine lint. I have to use detail spray to get rid of it, and even then there is still some left. I imagine this issue has something to do with how they are washed...what's the best way to do it? I always wash them separate with liquid detergent, no bleach. Then into the dryer, also alone. Also, these are good, high quality towels.

 

If you're just spraywaxing the car, I always use cotton baby diapers. They are so soft on the paint.


John

 

The lint is usually a result of overheating the microfiber. It usually happens during the drying cycle. If you feel any static when pulling the towels out of the dryer, then you overheated the towels. It's a huge PITA.....makes the job go a lot slower than it should.

 

Thanks, will try drying them at a lower setting and report back with results.

 

Try using microrstore....it's not that expensive and works well.

 

Removing Wax / Sealants
Water, being hydrophilic adheres to micro fibre; in comparison to cotton, a Microfiber will soak up 98% moisture, while cotton can only soak up at most 70%.

The polyester and polyamide content of Microfiber is typically; a blend of 80% polyester (a scrubbing fibre) and 20% polyamide (an absorbing fibre).The nature of this yarn is that it is an absorbent; the reason polyester appears to absorb liquids is the many thousands of micro fibres that collectively encapsulate liquids
a) A Microfiber towel made from polyester/polyamide will remove product due to its inherent properties (that’s why they are so good at cleaning without the use of chemicals).

The polyester and polyamide are combined during weaving to create microscopic loops, which form a network of tiny hooks, scrubbing away dirt and grime while trapping it within the weave. These very fine fibres have little 'hook like claws' that reach into the tiniest of crevices, pulling out dirt, dust, grease, grime, and even bacteria. They hold these foreign materials in their web of weaves until they are washed in warm water where the fibres relax and release these materials.

Conversely the same attributes that make Microfiber so good at cleaning have an adverse affect when applying wax. A polymer sealant forms a molecular bond with the paint surface, so when you remove it, you are removing excess product. An organic wax however, doesn’t form a bond with the paint surface but merely adheres to it, forming a chain-link type coating. A micro fibre cotton towel will leave enough of the wax behind to enable it to form a surface coating.

b) A towel made from 100% cotton micro fibre with a terrycloth weave, spun with long staple cotton and then woven into 100% natural looped terrycloth or velour, the larger fibre loop size that makes up the towels nap are trimmed to produce a fine nap, ideal for buffing and leaving behind a coating on the paint surface.DF Concours

 

Great info as usual Jon...

 

Lint

Quality Microfiber towels are split to produce millions of tiny fibre “hooks" on the surface of the towel. If the weave is too broad or the pile is too high, some of these fibres break off when the towel is used. This can be excessive if the manufacturer is trying to produce an inexpensive, split towel and is using a wide weave to reduce the amount of Polyester / Polyamide in the towel. Washing the towels before being used will help alleviate problem lint (See “Washing / Drying”)

Lint or fibre shedding - dryer ***** (Life Miracle® Dryer System™) seem to help as they fluff up the fibres and lessen the static that is the main cause of Microfibers trapping lint.

 

I wash mine with warm water using the micro restore and do an extra rinse cycle, then tumble dry on low.

 

Thanks for the tips guys, I dried the last load on low and it solved the lint problem.

 

Glad it worked out....