Alright, how badly did I mess up my Great Whites?

[PHOKUS]

I own three Great White towels. I Love them. A lot.

 

I care for them gently. I use Adam's Microfiber soap in a front-load wash and a double-rinse cycle, then dry in machine dryer on No Heat.

 

These towels have been fantastic for over 50 washes  so far.

 

Last week I did a quickie 2B wash at the coin-op and wanted to play with my newly-purchased Quick Sealant and Can Gun and give the front-end a coat before the bugs begin swarming the air ... but all I had left were two Great Whites. I forgot all my other MFs.

 

So I happily shrugged and gave the front-end a quick coat, evening it out with a Red Hex Grip. Then let it set for a bit. Then buffed the residue with my Great Whites. The results were STUNNING.

 

I went through my usual steps of washing my towels, folded them, and put them away.

 

Today it was time for another wash, and I was able to take a bit more time. The coin-op wash was not very busy so I stayed in the stall to dry the car out of the sun.

 

Sprayed the car down with Detail Spray and went to work with the Great White. Something was wrong...the water was not soaking into the towel like it has every other time. The water was being pushed...what IS that?? A water streak????? With a Great White???? Then it dawned on me - I had used two of these to buff a not-quite dry coat of Quick Sealant last week. Then, I washed all three Great Whites together in the same load.

 

I cringe as I type this -- how badly did I damage my Great Whites? Are they recoverable?

Edited March 21, 2015 by PHOKUS

[LFairbanks]

Boil them and see if that helps.

 

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/27969-faq-how-do-i-take-care-of-my-microfiber-towels/

Edited March 21, 2015 by LFairbanks

[Gen9Rolla]

^agreed with the boiling. I'm sure they'll end up just fine

[CMDChase]

Yup. Boil them

[PHOKUS]

I'll give it a shot. Thank you.

[Kingsford]

4th-ing the boil. I'd maybe go a step further and wash them with a little white vinegar.

 

I'd Google it and see how much you should use, different people have different opinions on it.

 

I use 2 cap full (of the vinegar bottle) every once and a while.

[Ricky Bobby]

I've removed Quick Sealant as well as Sonax PNS and other sealants with a few different towels. After my wash they are still absorbent.

 

Again I always recommend washing with hot water to really break up any residues in the towel, combined with the MFR as the detergent. And you can add an oz or 2 of vinegar too in the fabric softener tray to boost the cleaning power as well

[Blazer15]

I've removed Quick Sealant as well as Sonax PNS and other sealants with a few different towels. After my wash they are still absorbent.

 

Again I always recommend washing with hot water to really break up any residues in the towel, combined with the MFR as the detergent. And you can add an oz or 2 of vinegar too in the fabric softener tray to boost the cleaning power as well

I have always heard to stay away from hot water with microfiber?   Is that not true?

[ForceofWill]

I wash in hot, my washer doesnt allow really hot water tho.

 

You wanna stay away from high heat drying.

[Ricky Bobby]

I have always heard to stay away from hot water with microfiber?   Is that not true?

 

No.

 

Since many members recommend boiling towels you are not harming a thing washing in hot.

 

You need LOW OR TUMBLE DRY heat in the dryer though, the drying cycle is when you don't want high heat.

[Blazer15]

Gotcha. I always dry on air fluff/low heat. I thought heat in general was bad.  Awesome, thanks guys

[PHOKUS]

UPDATE: I boiled my Great Whites, one at a time, in approx. 1.5 gallons of water with two capfuls of white vinegar for about 90 seconds. Then rinsed under cold water. Then washed per my regular cycle outlined above.

 

Didn't bring them back, unfortunately. They are a little more absorbent than the last time I tried them, but I fear they are toast. I will lay them to rest in my dead MF bag where they will continue their existence as cleaning rags.

 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[Guest washemup]

You could also try soaking them in a bucket with Adams Microfiber Revitalizer. The pores of your towels are probably clogged with the sealant, the revitalizer should break down the sealant if left to soak overnight.

 

It's also possible if a prior load of clothes was dried in your dryer using a fabric softener sheet, that some of the residue from the sheet remained in the dryer and clogged the pores as well. If you use fabric softener on your clothes, I would avoid using the dryer to dry your microfiber towels, just let them air dry.

 

Tests have been done on high quality Korean microfibers like Adams has in these towels, and are reported that towels retain absorbency for up to 500 washes.

Edited April 5, 2015 by washemup

[SYMAWD]

I would try soaking them in a bucket with APC.  QS is very heat resistant so boiling them might not have been the best method.  APC will kill QS though.

[PHOKUS]

I would try soaking them in a bucket with APC.  QS is very heat resistant so boiling them might not have been the best method.  APC will kill QS though.

 

I'll try this tomorrow. Thank you.

[HFX Detailing]

boiling towels is fine...just dont let them sit at the bottom (I stir mine pretty constantly).

 

I hope the APC fixes the towels for you. Let them soak for a longtime time - hours. Then rinse them and let them soak in APC again. It could take a couple passes to clean them.

[Redbeard]

Good luck, but you might want to jump on that 15% off sale going on right now just in case.

[MattieDSC]

I have some brand new great whites I'm looking to trade if you have any unused products shoot me a PM if you want

[tscan]

I'm going to review the microfiber article and run through these procedures with my towels. They've definitely become less absorbent over time and I had never thought about boiling them. Thanks