This Is Why You Need To Use Microfiber Towels For Cleaning

Inside: Microfiber towels for cleaning aren’t something new, but they’re here to stay. Microfiber towels are a revolutionary cleaning tool that not only helps speed up your time cleaning but will save you money in the long run. Find out why you need to own at least one microfiber towel and how to take care of and maintain your microfiber towels. 

It may be hard to believe, but there’s a lot of people who are always late to the party when it comes to trying new products. Perhaps, we’re the smart bunch of people who like to see how new products hold up before we spend our money on something that could be considered a failure. Maybe we get stuck in a rut and like to use our favorite, tried and true products without ever thinking there could be something even better out in the market today.

Regardless if you’re one of the cool kids who are always fashionably late, or if you’re up on every new cleaning trend, hopefully, you’ll learn something new when it comes to using microfiber towels for cleaning. 

What makes microfiber towels perfect for cleaning?

Microfiber cleaning towels are some of the best cleaning tools around. Not only can they replace oodles of paper towels,  they absorb a ton of water, catch and hold bacteria (hard to believe, but still not convinced 100% it’s true), hair, dust, grime, pet hair, pet dander, and they make cleaning so much easier. Best of all, they’re reusable and dry so fast. 

Okay, so what makes a microfiber towel so amazing? Well, aside from everything mentioned above, you can use them over and over again. Although paper towels are wonderful to wipe up spills in the kitchen, a microfiber towel can draw all the liquid up with just one towel, as with a paper towel, you may need to use an entire roll. 

Okay, that’s a little overly dramatic, but what’s easier? Wiping up a spill once, throwing the towel in the sink, rinsing it, or going through a bunch of paper towels to clean up the spill. Once the spill’s wiped up, you’re going to need more paper towels to pick up the drips you made on the floor by taking the wet paper towel to the trash can?

Now for the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae. It’s touted that when using microfiber towels for cleaning, you can toss away your household cleaners. Apparently, a wet microfiber towel will clean up everything and you no longer need to use a household cleaner, disinfectant wipes, or whatever else you like to clean your house with. 

While that seems ideal, there are still a lot of people who will continue using household cleaners in conjunction with a microfiber towel. For many of us, that seems kinda gross, and unsanitary.

Who wants to clean with only water? Just because you use a microfiber towel to clean your house doesn’t necessarily mean you’re no longer allowed to use any household cleaners. You can still use them, but just replace the paper towels with a microfiber towel. 

Paper towels are great, but how bad does it suck when you clean your bathroom mirror with a paper towel and find after all that hard work, there’s paper towel dust left on the mirror? It’s annoying; right?

Yeah, the microfiber towel wins this competition.

The downfall of microfiber towels

When a microfiber towel is dry,  they feel horrible. Although they look all soft and fluffy when you buy them, when you touch one, you’ll typically feel like it’s getting caught on your skin. The reason for this is to capture the dust, hair, and other microorganisms. The fibers need to be shaped in a way to release the positive charge which holds the dirt in place. 

If you hate the feeling of dry microfiber towels, all you need to do is moisten them, and the dry feeling is gone. 

If you use any type of fabric softener on a microfiber towel, you may compromise its integrity. Fabric softener will adhere to the fibers and cause a “waxy” film, which will not allow the microfiber to do its job of absorption and will reduce its positive charge which attracts dirt, grime, dander, and dust. 

Whether this is true or not, it’s claimed when you wash a microfiber towel in the washing machine, small microfibers are released into the water supply (local and/or ocean). Since microfiber is made of a percentage of plastic, some people look at it as the equivalent of tossing plastic rings from soda cans in the ocean.

Regardless if you launder them or hand wash your microfiber towels, the potential that small plastic fibers may still get released into the water supply.

On a side note, every time we launder a garment made of polyester, the same thing happens; particles get released into the water system. Sometimes, you just need to figure out what battles you want to fight.

This is how you clean using microfiber towels

While everyone cleans differently, here are some examples to assist you when using microfiber towels for cleaning your home. 

The general rule for using a microfiber towel for cleaning

If your microfiber towel is large enough, you’ll want to fold it in fourths. That’s folding it in half, then folding it again in half. If you’re using a small microfiber towel, you’ll just want to fold it in half once. 

You’ll always want to use an “s” motion (left to right, then right to left) instead of a circular motion. Your movements should be fluid and slow enough for the microfibers in the towel to attract and grab onto the dust, dander, and debris. 

You’ll want to have several colors of microfiber towels, so you can segregate the towels for specific duties. A great example would be, yellow for the kitchen, blue for the bathroom, green for dusting, pink for the floor, purple for drying the dog, etc…

When cleaning with a microfiber towel, feel free to use plain water, your favorite store-bought household cleaner, or your favorite homemade household cleaner. 

If you need some amazing homemade cleaning recipes, you’ll want to check out Bloomingful Peach’s DIY cleaning recipes book. You can get it at the Bloomingful Peach Printable Shop. You’ll be really happy you did. (Use the code BPBP20 for 20% off your purchase).

The best way to use a microfiber towel to clean all surfaces

Wet and wring out your microfiber towel before folding it into fourths. If you’re using any type of household cleaner (store-bought or homemade), you won’t need to rinse your microfiber towel underwater. 

Using an “s” motion, wipe down all areas that require attention. When the side you’re using to wipe starts to get grungy, flip the microfiber towel around and use the other side. Rinse, wring, refold and continue cleaning as needed. 

Dusting

You’ll want to use a dry microfiber towel to dust. After folding your microfiber towel in fourths, you’ll want to slide your microfiber towel in one direction, from either left to right or right to left. 

From someone who still believes a Swiffer® is da-bomb, a microfiber towel picks up dust better than a Swiffer®; however, there’s a catch.

You see, with a Swiffer®, you can toss the sheet out once it’s full of dust, but when you dust with a microfiber towel, you have a lot more work ahead of you.

How to remove dust from a microfiber towel

1. Shake the excess dust off your microfiber towel outside or into a trash can.
2. In a large basin or kitchen sink filled with cool water, hand agitates the towel. The water should release larger particles of dust. Let soak for 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the basin or sink. If you have a double sink, use the other side to run cold water over the microfiber towel. Using the force of the water coming from the faucet, it should dislodge some of the wet dust. You can also remove it using your fingers.
4. When most or all of the dust is off the microfiber towel, launder as usual.

Here is where the microfiber towel falls short. With a Swiffer® all you have to do is toss out the sheet, whereas, with the microfiber towel, you don’t get off that easy.

How to care for your microfiber towels

Microfiber towels will last for a very long time; however, you should always take care in how you launder them. We briefly mentioned above to never use fabric softener, but you’ll also want to avoid using very hot water when laundering them.

You can dry your microfiber towels in the dryer, either on the lowest heat setting, or you can place them on a drying rack to dry. Microfiber towels dry pretty fast if they’ve been rinsed and wrung by hand or went through the spin cycle in your washing machine. 

How to store your microfiber towels

Everyone’s storage situation is different; however, if space allows, you may want to consider placing each color microfiber towel in a separate plastic box or bag, and placing a label on the outside of the container denoting which room the clothes should be used for. 

How to clean your microfiber towels

Due to the positive charge, that each microfiber towel holds, never wash them with anything other than other microfiber towels. If you wash a microfiber towel with anything else, it will attract dirt, grime, and dust from the other items. Not to mention, it may cause those fabric pills on your clothes. 

How to maintain the life of your microfiber towels

With proper care, your microfiber towels will last you a very long time. 

Do:

• Shake out your microfiber towels after each use to dislodge the dirt and grime, followed by a good rinse. 
• Store your microfiber towels together. Keep them separate from your other cleaning cloths, towels, or rags. 

Don’t:

• Never iron your microfiber towels.
• Never use bleach or bleach type of household products with your microfiber towels.
• Never use waxy products to polish furniture.
• Never wash or dry your microfiber towels with anything other than other microfiber towels. 
• Never soak up greasy products with your microfiber towels, as the grease will adhere to the fibers; and using Dawn or another type of liquid dish soap that’s designed to break up grease, won’t repair the damage to the microfiber.
• Never use your microfiber towels to clean wax, paint, liquid silicone, paint, bleach, or nail polish.

Washing microfiber towels

When you’re laundering your microfiber towels, you’ll want to avoid all harsh detergents, fabric softeners, laundry additives, and any fragrances you typically add to your wash.  These agents will coat the fibers of your microfiber towel, rendering them not as effective for cleaning as they’re intended to be. You will also want to use liquid laundry detergent instead of powder.

Peachy tip: There’s a difference between laundry detergent that’s “unscented” versus “fragrance-fee”. Unscented detergents may contain additives that are used to cover up the scents of detergent ingredients, while “fragrance-free” detergents are generally made without any additives, such as color, scent, or fabric softener. 

How to launder your microfiber towel in the washing machine

1. Shake out the debris, dirt, dander, and grime either outside, over a trash can, or in the kitchen sink. You’ll want to make sure there’s no excess dirt on the microfiber towels. 
2. If you plan on using laundry detergent, use one that has no fragrance, and one that’s gentle. Laundry soap designed for babies or your homemade laundry detergent would be ideal (just as long as it’s in liquid form). If you need some awesome DIY Cleaner Recipes, you can find them over at the Bloomingful Peach Printable Shop. (Use the code BPBP20 for 20% off your purchase).
3. Use cool or warm water. 
4. Add a tablespoon of household white distilled vinegar to the wash if your microfiber towels have a slight odor. 
5. Allow your washing machine to agitate on “gentle”. Halfway through the cycle, stop the machine and allow your microfiber towels to soak for 15-to-20 minutes, before turning the machine back on to complete the cycle. 
6. Remove the microfiber towels from the washing machine and dry them either in the dryer on low heat, or hang them up to dry. 

How to hand wash your microfiber towel

1. Shake out the debris, dirt, dander, and grime either outside, over a trash can, or in the kitchen sink. You’ll want to make sure there’s no excess dirt on the microfiber towels. 
2. Fill a clean kitchen sink, bathtub, or basin with cool or warm water. 
3. Add your microfiber towels to the water and agitate by hand for five-to-10 minutes. If there are any heavy visible stains, you can scrub the area. 
4. Let the microfiber towels soak for 15-to-20 minutes. 
5. Rinse the microfiber towels under cool or warm water. 
6. Wring out the excess water. 

How to dry your microfiber towel

Air-drying your microfiber towels

1. Shake out then rinse and wring the microfiber towel. 
2. Hang the towel over a drying rack, or secure it with a clip and place it wherever you typically air dry items. The key is to make sure you chose a spot that has ideal airflow. Do not layer the towels on top of each other to dry. Each towel should have enough space between them to promote good air circulation. 

Machine drying your microfiber towels

1. Thoroughly clean out the dryer lint trap before and after drying microfiber towels. A dirty lint trap can affix the lint to your microfiber towels. 
2. Do not place any dryer balls or dryer sheets in the dryer with your microfiber towels. 
3. Set the dryer to low heat or fluff cycle for 10 minutes. If they’re not dry in 10 minutes, up the time in five-minute increments. 

Recommended reading: This is the right way how to clean a washer and dryer. 

Microfiber towels are the perfect choice for cleaning. Whether it’s cleaning your home or cleaning your car, you really can’t beat how effective microfiber towels are. 

Once you get past the, “I hate the way they feel dry”, moment, you’ll be so thrilled you’ve invited these miracle cleaners into your home. Streaks and paper towel dust will now be a thing of the past. Most of all, cleaning will take less time, effort, and energy. Now, who in life doesn’t want that? 

Aren’t microfiber towels great?

Are you new to using microfiber towels for cleaning? Have you noticed a great difference in the time you spend cleaning? Share in a comment.

Stay Peachy!

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