How often do you wash your towels?

[jermonger69]

Just curious to hear how often people wash their towels. My Adam's stash is small, but slowly building, but I wash them after every use.

[Chadley]

Same here

[mc2hill]

After every use!

 

Here are a few older discussions on proper towel care:

washing towels for a beginner

 

Microfiber revitalizer?

 

Washing Towels Together?

[jermonger69]

After every use!

 

Here are a few older discussions on proper towel care:

washing towels for a beginner

 

Microfiber revitalizer?

 

Washing Towels Together?

 

I've seen those threads and watched videos lol....I use All Clear, delicate dry for 30 minutes, then let naturally let them dry thoroughly.

[b_pappy]

Yes, after every wash. No reason risking picking up contamination and doing damage. Just buy a few towels with every order and pretty soon you'll have a nice stock.

[chops1sc]

I used to wash after every use before I built up a nice inventory. Now I use 3 laundry mesh bags (one for each type that I use) and when it gets full(ish) I wash the whole bag. BTW, I use Dreft baby detergent with Adam's MR and a splash of vinegar.

[falcaineer]

Same here. After every use. Use MBR, and sometimes add a little All Free & Clear.

[TheWolf]

I would recommend only using Microfiber Revitalizer & Brightener without any other detergents.  MFR&B is a strong detergent designed specifically for removing waxes, polymers, polishes, and oils commonly associated with detailing.  Regular laundry detergent is not strong enough to remove many of the detailing products from towels, especially the sealants.  Delicate or baby detergents are even weaker than regular detergent, so they are not going to clean out all the detailing products.  While the towels may "look" clean after using regular or delicate detergent, this incomplete cleaning can lead to build-up deep in the fibers of the towel, making them less effective and eventually ruining them.

 

While some might use other detergents to save a little money, if you buy the MFR&B in the gallon, with a sale discount, the amount of product used for one load is less than a buck, not much compared to the cost of these premium towels.

 

While I do not use any vinegar, some people use it for the rinse cycle.  To do this, it would be placed in the fabric softener dispenser.  Putting vinegar directly into the wash load with the detergent would be counter-productive, as the vinegar would work against the detergent.

 

It is also a good idea to run a cleaning cycle on your machine before running your detailing towels, to remove any laundry soap build-up in the machine.  Before washing my Microfiber towels, I run a clean-cycle on the washer with some distilled white vinegar to break down the build-up of detergents and fabric softeners inside the machine, as this build-up is bad for the detailing towels and can also be full of contaminates (like glitter). Since MFR&B is a stronger detergent than regular laundry soap, it will break down the build-up in the washer and mix it into your load of Microfiber towels, unless you clean the washer first. The dryer can also have contaminants from other loads, such as rags, rugs or shoes. A thorough vacuuming of the dryer along with a wipe-down is good practice to prevent the clean Microfiber towels from being contaminated with stuff that can cause damage when used on your paint.  If this seems extreme, take a closer look at what gets collected in the lint screen of the dryer.

[falcaineer]

All great thoughts and inputs, Dan! Looks like I need to retire the All and just stick to MRB. Hadnt run a clean cylce prior, either. I guess my whole wash process needs an overhaul!

[chops1sc]

All great thoughts and inputs, Dan! Looks like I need to retire the All and just stick to MRB. Hadnt run a clean cylce prior, either. I guess my whole wash process needs an overhaul!

I'm in the same boat, lol! Good info here!

[jermonger69]

thanks for such great input and suggestions

[Draper]

Every use, but I have enough I only need to do this every few weeks.

 

All Clear & Free + Adam's MFR and they come out good as new.

[Lance99]

I wait until there is enough for, at minimum, a small load.  I have enough inventory, so it works out to be about every 2 washes/weeks.

[Nickfire20]

I wait til i have a good sized load, i have about 35 paint towels, 5 wheel towels, 5 glass towels, 5 interior towels, 3 drying towels, and 2 wash mitts. So normally every 2-3 weeks, and I do a dark and a light load.