Do microfibers lose their fibers?

[dnoraker]

After getting my windows completely spotless I pulled the car into the sun to make sure I got everything and saw fibers from the microfiber towels all over the windows. After rotary buffing and wiping with a microfiber, I was finding the same thing and had to follow with a terry cloth and Last Touch.

I've had these towels for 2-3 years and don't remember seeing this happen. I didn't change my washing process. I use Sa8 powder detergent, no fabric softener, and only wash microfibers in a load. I used warm water this last time, and I think that's what I normally use.

[mike_svt]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

I've had quite a few microfibers fail like this (although mine were only weeks or months old, not years). The problem started back w/ the microfiber/terry cloth glass cleaning towel (which was quickly discontinued) and continued w/ my first batch of Supreme Shine MFs. Meguiar's replaced these for me and I haven't seen the issue since. I don't know if you may be seeing an actual material failure do to age/usage?

[dnoraker]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

that may be a possibility. I think most of them are closer to three years old. I may have one or two that are four years old. I am a hobby detailer and detail 5-10 other cars for pay each year, so they see more than normal use but not like a pro.

Was there a batch of bad towels a few years back? I have some cheapo non-Megs MF towels that I use for windows and such and they don't have this issue. Do microfibers have a limited lifespan?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

Everything wears out over time if it's used... even you and I

Meguiar's use to state on our Ultimate Wipes that they were good for up to 500 washes but not sure how many people document and track how many times they wash each microfiber in their collection.

The fibers of a quality microfiber should not pull off with your fingers and as such should not fall out of the cloth on their own, if that is the case then their is a quality issue and if this is happening with a Meguiar's product you should contact Meguiar's Customer Care Hotline.

If once in a while trace fibers have come off a microfiber polishing cloth while in use, that's just wear and tear.

Hope this helps...

[dnoraker]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

thanks, Mike, for the reply.

I will try to exhaust every possibility before I bother customer support. I will see if all the Meguiars towels do it, or just the ones that might be older. I might also try washing only the Meguiars towels and leave the off brand towels out, just in case some of those fibers were falling out and got into the Meguiars towels. I doubt it, because it seems like the off-brand towels didn't have the shedding problem.

I would guess these have been washed 20-40 times tops, depending on their age.

The amount of fibers coming off is definately more than a trace. They are well-scattered across the windows, probably hundreds of fibers per square foot. I can only see them with direct sun or halogen; it's not like I'm seeing big yellow fibers.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

The amount of fibers coming off is definitely more than a trace. They are well-scattered across the windows, probably hundreds of fibers per square foot. I can only see them with direct sun or halogen; it's not like I'm seeing big yellow fibers.

Our microfibers don't link like that at all, so this is either a case of other microfiber cloths linting and our microfiber picking up on the fibers in the washing and/or drying process or the microfibers are in deed bad.

Have not heard of a case like this with our microfibers so my instincts tell me the problem is elsewhere.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Do microfibers lose their fibers?

Not sure if this will help. Here goes. I would try doing a load of the microfibers using vinegar in the rinse.

I usually use about a 1/4 cup added to the rinse cycle. I then run the rinse cycle a couple more times to thoroughly rinse the microfibers. I am suggesting this because they made need to be rejuvenated to improve there performance.