How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

[Graeme]

Hi, I was wondering whats the best way to clean your towels, foam pads, microfibers etc.

Do you wash them all together and will this get the waxes, polish etc out of them?

I just bought myself some of those foam paintbrushes, to do the exterior and interior trim and got to wondering whats the best way to wash them.

Do you have dedicated towels, pads etc for each particular job?

Thanks

Graeme

[gb387]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I wash my 'good' microfiber(Supreme Shine and Water Magnets) towels in Woolite on their own. High Tech applicators and 'not so good' towels go in another load with Woolite. All get a quick dry in the dryer then air dry to finish up.

I have all my good towels that only get used on the paint. Then I have not so good towels that get used on the interior/windows and so on. As for the foam brushes, maybe a hand wash with dish soap?!?!

[Murr1525]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I actualy handwash with dishsoap my Hi-Tec applicators, as well as foam brushes.

[chessplayer]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

for my good MF and supreme shine woolite and the rest of my MF with reg. tide soap.for high tech foam applicators i use warm water and a tiny bit of dish soap plus throughly rinse

[Graeme]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

Thanks for the replies this gives me a better understanding of how to wash them.

Graeme

[eric96ser]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I wash mine by hand in the bathroom sink with a little bit of liquid detergent with hot water.

[Tom Weed]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I wash all microfibers together in the washing machine with Tide and a scoop of Oxy Clean and on HOT. Then on the rinse cycle I pour in a cup of white vinegar, it seems to dilute any soap left over. I hang them up to dry.

For pads, I know Meguiars does not recommend washing you pads, but, I wash my pads and applicators in the sink with with Dawn, another small scoop of Oxy Clean and hot water and I let them soak until the water is cool enough to not burn my hand when I reach in it. I usually agitate the pads for a little bit, then squeeze them out. I refill the sink with cold water, add a cup of white vinegar and agitate the pad in the cool water and squeeze out the excess. I then take the pads and put the on the rotary and spin the excess water and then let them dry.

That process seems to work the best for me.

ADS is now selling the System 2000 pad washer, and they have a video of someone using it. It looks like it would work pretty well, but it's kind of pricey. Anyone ever use one of these?

Tom

[Jeff Smith]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I get pretty carried away but I like the way it works.

I separate rags into 3 groups. All 3 groups get washed the same.

Groups are
1. Paint and Window MFs
2. All other MFs
3 Terry towels

I have 3 collection buckets labels as above. Each has a good concentration of Dawn/Water, exceot for the Terrys so they won't rot. That bucket is empty until about 1 day before wash then I fill with Dawn/Water. As I dirty rags they go into the collection buckets and soak until I get enough for a load. Once I am ready for the wash I dump the whole bucket right into the washer. Hot Water and add more Dawn. I run through once like that. Then I Wash on hot with woolite. Then I wash on hot with Distilled White Vinegar and then dry on HOT.

Works very well for me and I even have some MFs dedicated to tire dressings that are still as white as the day I bought them. You would think to look at them that I used bleach.

For my pads, I soak them in a bucket with a grit guard in the bottom in a Dawn/Hot water solution. After they have soaked I change the dawn/water again then use a bathrom plunger to gently work the water/soap thoroughly through the pad. Once done, dump the water then rinse using the same plunger technique. To dry I run it up on the RB then I put me a piece of velcro tape in the middle of a small oscillating fan and just hang the pad on it for an hour or 2.

All that works for me.

[Vincent]

Re: How do you guys clean your towels, pads etc?

I soak my pad, microfibre towel in cold water for half and hour then squeeze it few time and rinse it with running water. After that use some dish washer and warm water repeat the same process. Drip dry.