Washing your wash mitt

[Zet]

How do you wash your wash mitt/sponge after use?

Do you wash it after each use? Do you just rinse it out? And if washing, do you throw it in the washing mashine, and then in the dryer? I'm a little hesitant to do that, since I'm using the Chenille Wash Pad, which is great, but does produce quite a bit of lint, especially when new..

[F-150]

After every wash I thoroughly rinse it out then let it dry on top of a grit guard. I do not wash them in the washer. And if one gets dirt stuck in it or stained I toss it or keep it for other things.

[imacarnut]

after each wash, i hose of the mitt. then i put it inside a bucket with clean water as i'm drying/qd'ing the whole car. when i'm finally done, i agitate the mitt and wring it out one last time before hanging it on a pant hanger with the clip(s).

[SL1CK]

What I do is take the water hose and stick it inside the mitt with the water turned on. As it fills up with water, I squeeze out the water everytime it fills up, which is around 5 times. This helps get the dirt out from the inside out, and also gets the soap out really well. After squeezing (no wringing or twisting) as much water as possible out, I hang it to dry.

[Jbirk]

I don't bother. IT doesn't matter what I do with my mitt.

Story goes like this:
I buy mitt and wash car with it. I wash car again and again....

Eventually in about 2 months, my Girlfriend, mother, or sister brings their car to my place and washes it. When this happens, the mitt usually gets thrown on the ground or the car is so dirty that th e mit is ruined. There is enough dirt in the mitt at this point to use it for pait removal before repainting a car.

[Zet]

Seems most are for just rinsing out the mitt after use. That is also what I have been doing, but I've been concerned that even though the mitt looks clean, that there might be some microscopic particles trapped in the fibers, which could result in som micromarring when washing... Oh well, maybe I'm just being paranoid

Jbirk: Maybe you could leave a mitt out for the girls to use, and then hide away your own "secret" mitt

I guess you would have tried educating the girls, do they just not care what is used on their cars?

[MikeGT]

I just hose mine down really well when i am done. Sometimes when it is really bad, I will pour a bit of nxt wash in the bucket, fill it up a bit, and let the mitt sit in there till i am done drying the entire car. Then i simply hose it off one last time.

[Jbirk]

Well, the girl's don't worry too much about their car's appearance.

Their cars look hideous after being washed.

My Girlfriend has a 2005 Honda Civic that looks okay, but swirled lightly. She got it in November 2005. I think some clay and the Deep Crystal System would probalby be plenty to restore this car. It has never seen wax or sealant.

My Sister's car is a 2004 car that has been washed by her 3 times since February of 2004. The dealer has washed it more times than that. It has never seen wax or sealant. It obviously needs about 3 good washings, tar removal, lots of claying, and #80 if very luckey. Probably #83 to make it look right. Good news is the paint is in good shape as it is as thick as the day she bought it. Not a single mil has ever been removed.

My mother drives a 1998 Camry and it looks a lot better than my sisters 2004 Hyundai that has been serriously neglected. The Camry has seen wax a few times, and has been repaited about 3 times due to minor acidents such as dent removal... Each time it was painted, the trim was removed and everything was tapped off. The body shop spent abut 3 days doing prep work and put on about 7 layers of base coat and 5 of clear coat. The paint has no orange peal and looks better than it did when new.

[Zet]

Yeah, I guess you're in a dilemma, if you show them how good their cars can look, they'll want you to be detailing it from then on

Heh, guess your sister is promoting a new way of caring for the car, just letting a thick layer of dirt and grime build on the paint... for protection The dirt layer would also protect the paint from any sun rays! 100% UV protection Maybe there is a whole new market, I'm thinking: "NXT Liquid Grime"... Only problem is you couldn't see how good the paint looks underneath.. Then again, you could just frame a picture to look at..

BTW, to get back on track for a moment... I'll now be more relaxed with just rinsing the mitt after use, seing as this is what many others do. Nice idea with using a bit of car wash solution, if the mitt is very dirty. Don't know why I was thinking I had to use a detergent.

[Mowerpan]

I don't know why some of you guys don't wash your mit in the washer? I put it in the washer before I use it for the first time. This cuts back DRAMATICALLY on the amount of lint.

[Setec Astronomy]

I have a lot of wash sponges like the one pictured, everything from the now-unavailable Meg's cotton chenille, to a bunch of Meg's QD Pads, to various other MF and cotton chenille and looped pads. I generally only use them on the car once before throwing them in a pile to launder in the washing machine. I wash the cotton ones with my cotton towels, and I wash the MF ones by themselves, because with the sponge inside soaked with car wash, you can never get all the suds out in the rinse (which I like to do when I wash my WW MF's which I used to wash them with).

Sometimes a seam will pop during washing, but fortunately my friend sews them for me.

[Monk]

Originally posted by SL1CK
What I do is take the water hose and stick it inside the mitt with the water turned on. As it fills up with water, I squeeze out the water everytime it fills up, which is around 5 times. This helps get the dirt out from the inside out, and also gets the soap out really well. After squeezing (no wringing or twisting) as much water as possible out, I hang it to dry.

I don't know if this works or not, but it is freaking brilliant in theory!!

[SL1CK]

Originally posted by Monk
I don't know if this works or not, but it is freaking brilliant in theory!!

Haha thanks

[TKDDAD]

Originally posted by Monk
I don't know if this works or not, but it is freaking brilliant in theory!!

Oh, it works.....I've been using that technique for ever....putting the nozzle of the hose inside the mitt and turning it on full blast does a great job of pushing the debris out of the mitt...it takes a little practice to get it right but it works like a charm...I've never washed the mitt...going on two years and it's still in decent shape...give it a try !!