these Springmaid Cotton Towels ok?

[TXClark]

Tag:

Springmaid Platinum Hotel Bath Towel

100%Cotton/Algodon

Made in the USA of Fabric Made in Brazil



saw these at WalMart today, been keeping an eye out since I need to replace all of my old ones. The made In Brazil is throwing me for a loop...

[howareb]

No, I would not trust them IMO.



One thing to look for is "Suprima cotton towels" and the towels usually cost approx $15-20 a towel (Bed Bath and Beyond). If you want to save yourself the hassel and still want cotton towels order from LAzaino or DFTowel (Alpine Fiber).

[wannafbody]

Look for Eqyptian cotton towels or go to Pep Boys and get some high end cotton detailing towels.

[ALAN81]

No its a cheap cotton and look at the band that runs across the towel on both sides thats not 100% cotton buy a better cotton towel at Bed Bath Beyond and sleep easy if you cant afford microfiber

[imported_JoshVette]

Are you talking about drying your car with these??:think:



What ever happen to micro fibers people??



come on this is autopia, not mom and pops detail shop!!

[howareb]

Are you talking about drying your car with these??:think:



What ever happen to micro fibers people??



come on this is autopia, not mom and pops detail shop!!



Got to give the people what they want. :D



In reality, well cared for 100% USA Suprima cotton towels, will rival many different microfibers that are out there today. I would never recommend something that I would not do myself. I have a bunch of high quality MF Towels, but my Suprima towels and the couple of DFTowels given to me are equivalent if not better and softer than the WW towels. DFTowels and Cotton Suprima towels are highly underrated IMO.

[Accumulator]

IME some cotton towels are fine, some aren`t. And it`s not just a matter of US/foreign, supima/other, etc. There don`t appear to be any real industry standards so it`s pretty much a crap-shoot. I have cheapie imports that`re as good as my Charismas.



I`d buy one, launder it a few times to remove anything left over from the manufacturing, and then test it for absorbency and softness (i.e., the CD-test).

[howareb]

I agree with Accumulator. You have to consider your source when getting you towels and there are no standards, even with microfiber towels. So "buyer beware" Caveat emptor.



In my hunt for cotton towels I looked for those that had the Supima name. Using this name provided a point of reference that was better than any other towel that I have run into on the market. So is it a guarantee that the towel is safe for your car? Of course not, but it does give you a particular high quality cotton towel to focus on other than for the thousands of others that are out there.



Oh and another thing is to make sure that your towels are white. This is the brand of towel (http://www.alwaysopenmall.com/layouts/02/unsecure/item.asp?SiteID=215&DepartmentID=23&CategoryID=533&GroupID=6863&ItemID=29968&StartNum=1&Sort=&ShowPics=0&ListByCode=1&Brand=&GenderAgeGroupID=0&MaxPrice=&SearchString=&ItemCode=&IsOnlyOnSale=0&FromHomePage=0&FromFamily=0&ProductFamilyID=0&RelatedItemID=0)that I have used, with great results.



The DFtowel is IMO the best and closet towel to the world of cotton and microfiber.



The CD-test is the best way of providing proof that a towel is safe or not.

[Accumulator]

I agree with Accumulator. You have to consider your source... This is the brand of towel (http://www.alwaysopenmall.com/layouts/02/unsecure/item.asp?SiteID=215&DepartmentID=23&CategoryID=533&GroupID=6863&ItemID=29968&StartNum=1&Sort=&ShowPics=0&ListByCode=1&Brand=&GenderAgeGroupID=0&MaxPrice=&SearchString=&ItemCode=&IsOnlyOnSale=0&FromHomePage=0&FromFamily=0&ProductFamilyID=0&RelatedItemID=0)that I have used, with great results..



Going by the ad-copy there (heh heh, insert another "caveat emptor" here ;) ) it at least sounds like they might have some consistency going for them.



It`s easy to end up with towels that have the exact same labels/etc. that still behave completely different, but maybe those won`t be subject to that.





On the "buy white" idea...I`ve read about the supposed downside of dyed cotton and it makes sense. But I can`t say that I`ve ever really noticed it in actual use (my household washcloths/towels/etc. are about 50:50 white/colored). Mallett Cars Ltd. uses black cotton towels (I suspect for the cool-shop-appearance factor :D ) and if there were an actual, functional, problem with them Chuck and Lance would have them switched to white ones.

[howareb]

Mallett Cars Ltd. uses black cotton towels (I suspect for the cool-shop-appearance factor :D ) and if there were an actual, functional, problem with them Chuck and Lance would have them switched to white ones.



I agree. I just speaking on what I have heard on this subject. I have heard that the dye process does "bad things" to the cotton. That subject though I cannot intelligently speak on, because I know nothing about textile coloring. :)



On the same subject of dying towels, I wish my orange VROOM towels would stop putting that crappy orange dye in the wash. My white microfibers are all orange tinted now. :sadpace:

[wannafbody]

[/B]



I agree. I just speaking on what I have heard on this subject. I have heard that the dye process does "bad things" to the cotton. That subject though I cannot intelligently speak on, because I now nothing about textile coloring. :)



On the same subject of dying towels, I wish my orange VROOM towels would stop putting that crappy orange dye in the wash. My white microfibers are all orange tinted now. :sadpace:



buy the grey Target towels.

[howareb]

buy the grey Target towels.



Still not interested in Vroom any longer. Viking for me. All the Vrooms are doing other duties. I looked at the Greys and really was not that impressed with them. Not like I was with the Vikings.

[Accumulator]

... I just speaking on what I have heard on this subject...I cannot intelligently speak... because I now nothing about textile [topics]...



I find myself thinking/posting the same sentiments a lot when these textile discussions come up! At some point I kinda think that I oughta just go by my first-hand experience, which always seems obviously clear-cut :think: Does it scratch? Does it soak up water? I often want to just devolve this stuff down to the empirically obvious.

[howareb]

I find myself thinking/posting the same sentiments a lot when these textile discussions come up! At some point I kinda think that I oughta just go by my first-hand experience, which always seems obviously clear-cut :think: Does it scratch? Does it soak up water? I often want to just devolve this stuff down to the empirically obvious.



Who would have ever thought that such a subject carries with it, such an extreme importance? It does seem to have that feel of different strokes for different folks. That is why I never hesitate when someone asks a question about cotton towels. Microfiber, at least not yet, is not the end all and be all of car towels. Cotton towels do have a place, as long as you know what to get, and in the end test to make sure that you do not induce scratches. By far though I still believe that Auto carwashes (not touchless) are the main culprit for 95% of the scratches to autos.

[Accumulator]

Who would have ever thought that such a subject carries with it, such an extreme importance?



Heh heh, yeah... :chuckle:




... Microfiber, at least not yet, is not the end all and be all of car towels. Cotton towels do have a place...



Yeah, while I`m always trumpeting the wonders of MF I`ll admit that in some ways I kinda prefer the absorbtion of cotton to the adsorbtion of MF. Now if my washer/dryer/water would just cooperate :rolleyes:




..By far though I still believe that Auto carwashes (not touchless) are the main culprit for 95% of the scratches to autos.



Yeah, you`re right about that!