MF towels only last 20-25 uses?

[jupiter]

My MF towels have gone through the wash only 20~25 times and now they completely lost their ability to absorb water. Is it because they`ve reached the end of their life cycle or is it because I used some of them to buff off wax? I washed them repeatedly in warm water and mild detergent so I would have thought that would remove wax embedded in the fibers. But to no avail.. man, what a waste of money :/

[Dan]

Run them through with about 3 tablespoons of dawn and a cup of vinegar, that should help. Also make sure you never use fabric softener. That said, I downgrade my towels after about 10 uses to interior work. Towels are cheap, paint is not.

[imported_sfds]

Don`t set your dryer to high heat. MF towels are cheap especially Costco 36 pack, after few washes start using them for other cleaning purposes than wax removal.

[Accumulator]

Some MF simply have a limited working life, but FWIW I seldom find plush MFs all that great for drying anyhow.



My WWs usually get less and less effective over time, no matter what I do when washing.



My plush drying towels from Walmart (the ones Tom P. recommended) are very good at getting all the water, but then I`ve only used `em a few times so far so I don`t know what to expect from them.

[tom p.]

My MF towels have gone through the wash only 20~25 times and now they completely lost their ability to absorb water.





I`ve had the same experience, but certainly got more than 25 uses. Definitely a couple years. But then they just cease to absorb water. It has not been a wide-spread situation. Some towels that I have from the same vintage are absolutely fine.



FWIW, no amount of special washing/handling, even with MF wash solution, helped...even a little.



I have started drying all my MF on low heat. Perhaps that will extend their life :)

[CRUSHAH]

Wow.. 25 uses,.. I`ve usually dropped mines before I get 10 uses out of them lol, so I`m always buying more.

[SpoolinNoMore]

20-25 is respectable, however I`ve heard of people getting over a year`s use out of their Cobras (don`t remember anything about frequency of use though).



I too have noticed that when you use a plush MF for LSP removal, it generally loses it`s absorption ability because of the residual waxes. I like to keep my MFs color coded to what their purpose is so I don`t "cross-contaminate".

[CRUSHAH]

Same here... I try to use the same towels for the same purpose. Recently, I just started buying the borderless towels from Zaino which are awesome! A bit pricey...but worth it.



Zaino Blonde Borderfree Towel: 3 pack: Zaino Store (http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-BBFT-3&Category_Code=Zaino&Product_Count=0)

[autoaesthetica]

Maybe its the care of them? Or water quality perhaps?(film buildup?)



I still use bins of towels from like 3 years ago, on paint as well. They perform the same exact way they did after their first wash.



We had a customer contact us because his zaino towels marred the snot out of his brand new Challenger. I was floored by this as they had always gotten rave reviews.

[lostdaytomorrow]

I always had a problem with the edges of my Towels unraveling so Now I buy silk edged towels exclusively.

[Brad B]

Some MF simply have a limited working life, but FWIW I seldom find plush MFs all that great for drying anyhow. My WWs usually get less and less effective over time, no matter what I do when washing.



Totally agree. I use the Mothers Laminated Waffle Weave for initial drying and then follow up with a quick wipe with a standard WW. Extremely fast and very little `touching`.



All my MF and WW get at least 20+ uses before they are downgraded to `dirty detail`. I use Liquid Tide detergent. Cool wash and low heat dry. I have a dedicated washer for my detailing stuff that never sees fabric softeners or other additives.

[SpoolinNoMore]

I always had a problem with the edges of my Towels unraveling so Now I buy silk edged towels exclusively.



I`ve been seeing this on a few of my cobra MFs :-/. I just ordered a dozen of the blue bogo MFs from AG that looked like they didn`t have a separate edge, so hopefully they will hold out better. At $10 for 6 of them you can`t go wrong.

[Accumulator]

I always had a problem with the edges of my Towels unraveling...



I never worry much about that, mine don`t come apart in a huge way like I`d expected them to. I`ve even cut out sections and just let the holes fray a bit.