While we here at Squeaky Green prefer to clean with terry cloth, we do have microfiber cloths in our cleaning toolbox. We also know that many of you may choose to use microfiber as opposed to, say paper towels (although we do recommend paper towels for those places prone to a lot of germs, like your toilet). They aren’t hard to take care of, but we have some tips to share for cleaning them - and also a bonus tip on how you can lessen their environmental impact!
Tip 1: Wash With Same
This tip is pretty simple, but wash your microfiber cloths with other microfiber cloths and that’s it. The reason for this is STATIC! Have you ever washed your microfiber with other items? Then you know what I’m talking about! Washing microfiber alone helps combat this.
Tip 2: Use Less Detergent
Since you’re washing microfiber alone, you’ll want to use less detergent - about half of what you would normally use. This is because microfiber is SUPER absorbent. If you use too much detergent, it can hold onto it.
Tip 3: NO Fabric Softener
While a lot of you may skip fabric softeners all together, we wanted to throw this tip in here because it is very important! Fabric softener will leave a coating on your clothes that will make them repel water, which is exactly the opposite of what you want with towels and cloths! This is also true for your clothes, which is why we’ve seen a lot of people ditching fabric softeners altogether.
Tip 4: Feelin’ Hot!
When you wash your microfiber, make sure your washing machine is on the hottest setting. Most germs die off at about 140-degree Fahrenheit, so you’ll want the water to be as hot as you can get it. Of course, washing on warm and drying on low/medium will also do this, BUT if you’d like to sanitize your microfiber, you’ll need to use the hottest water possible. If your machine has a “sanitize” option, that will also work!
Tip 5: Dry Towels
Your microfiber towels can easily be tossed into the dryer on low/medium heat for drying. This works double duty because not only does it dry your towels, but it will most likely kill off any germs that managed to hang on during your wash routine.
Bonus Tip: Help to Eliminate the Environmental Impact
Microfiber cloths are a bit of a heated subject in the green world. Some people love them because they use them in place of paper towels, which creates less waste. Others say they can leech microplastics into the waterways, which causes a lot of issues for water and wildlife. If you want to not use so many paper towels AND save the waterways, you can have a filter installed on your washing machine that will essentially trap all of the microfibers before they can get into your pipes! How cool is that!
Microfiber cloths are a great tool to have in your cleaning kit. Do you have any tips or tricks you use when cleaning with microfiber? Let us know!
XOXO,
Squeaky Green House Clean
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