Drying with Microfiber leaves streaks

[Johnster]

Hi there,


I recently bought 2 waffle-weave drying towels for my black Honda Pilot, and I`m having a hard time using them.` I have two of them and I use one to actually dry the car, and the other to get the fine droplets left after the first one is used.` My problem is that no matter how I try, I cant get them to not leave water streaks behind unless the second towel remains almost completely dry.` The first one gets soaked, so I dunk it in clean water and wring it out as I go along, but it leaves what I would describe as water streaks behind that I`m left using the second cloth to clean off, and eventually that cloth gets wet and so it starts leaving streaks.` The best analogy I can come up with for these streaks is what you would see on class if you wiped it with a wet cloth.` Am I doing something wrong?` Is there some sort of procedure I need to follow?` Until I bought these I was using a synthtic chamois and never had these problems, but I like the shine I get with the MF cloths.` Any help is appreciated.


`


Cheers


John

[Accumulator]

Johnster- Welcome to Autopia!


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The quick answer is to replace those WWMFs with better drying towels.` Sorry, I know...easy for me to spend your money, huh?` But I do honestly think that`s the best solution as drying towels that work, *WORK WELL* and those that don`t, simply don`t work well.


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A`few thoughts on the ones you currently have:


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-That "wet them first"/use when already wet or damp approach that others advocate never worked well for me.` Some of my best WWMFs work OK when damp but most of my drying towels work best when mostly dry (so have a few on hand).


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-All WWMFs eventually quit working well and need to be replaced.` You can try to rejuvenate them by boiling (I know, sounds weird but it often *is* beneficial) and see if that helps any.


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-If you aren`t already, wash them in hot water with "Microfiber" detergents, rinse several times, use vinegar in one of the rinses.


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-Clean out your dryer so it doesn`t have any dryer sheet residue in it.


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But really, I`d just replace them with something better.` And it sounds like your water quality isn`t all that great (e.g., DeIonized water wouldn`t leave those streaks) so you might want to address that.


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Eh, I really hate responding to your first post with "spend money! buy something else!", maybe the boiling/etc. will suffice.

[Johnster]

Thanks for the welcome Accumulator, and thanks for responding.


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I got these from eshine.ca, they were very highly rated, so I`m wondering if it is perhaps that I have never washed them?` I figured that by now I have wet and ried them several times so they should be in good drying condition by now, but I can always throw them in the wash with the 32-pack of nice thick bright yellow MF cloths I got at Costco and see if it improves anything.


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I guess what I`m getting from this is that they should be working better than they are, correct?


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Cheers!


John

[Accumulator]

Johnster- Well, heh heh...sure we can say that they oughta be working better, but that`s assuming they`re really all that great to begin with (never tried the ones from ehsine).


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I wouldn`t wash them with your Costco ones (which I assume are plush MFs...gee, lots of assuming, huh?!?) as I wouldn`t want lint from the plush MFs getting all over the WWs lest it get deposited on the car.


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Yeah, not washing them might be contributing to the problem.` Especially since I figure your water might be on the hard side; minerals from the previous use(s) can build up and compromise performance.` Think of`how your household bath towels and washcloths gradually get stiff if you don`t wash them frequently enough.


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`I myself wash my drying towels after *every* use (which also minimizes the chance of marring from any dirt they might`ve picked up).


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I have three WWMFs that *really* outperform my other ones...one is simply new and I expect it to gradually quit working, but the other two are pretty old and they simply keep on working just like new.` No idea why they`re so good.


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FWIW, the newer-tech plush drying towels like the CarPro Microfiber Madness Dry Me Crazy ones are probably the best you can get at present.` IF all else fails, I bet you wouldn`t regret the purchase if you try them out.

[Scottwax]

I`ve been using the ultra plush 16 x 16 MF towels from The Rag Company to dry, very dense, very soft. But you do have to wash them before using the towels for the first time. And with soft Honda black, I`d go with towels as soft as possible.`

[Bill D]

The ultra plush towels are the only towels I`ll use to dry these days. Makes drying go by so quickly, its a non issue. I only use a blower to blow out cracks and crevices.

[Accumulator]

Bill D- Are you using the same Rag Co. ones as Scottwax?

[Bill D]

I think the one I`m using came from Detailed Image or one of those similar sites. I`d love to try the one from Rag Co though

[pwaug]

I`ve been using the ultra plush 16 x 16 MF towels from The Rag Company to dry, very dense, very soft. But you do have to wash them before using the towels for the first time. And with soft Honda black, I`d go with towels as soft as possible.`



Scott--can you be a little more specific as I can`t find the exact towel on the Rag Comp website.` Thanks

[Driven Auto Detail]

If I had to guess, I`d say it`s these:


http://www.theragcompany.com/images/13813369729221930721427.jpeg


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http://www.theragcompany.com/16-x-16-DETAIL-MASTER-PRO-Eagle-Edgeless-Blue-41012-1616-B-EL.htm (`http://www.theragcompany.com/16-x-16-DETAIL-MASTER-PRO-Eagle-Edgeless-Blue-41012-1616-B-EL.htm`)

[Accumulator]

Oh man do I hate ad-copy hyperbole....but anyhow..that sounds a little on the lightweight side compared to some of the competition (IIRC) but the price is certainly appealing.


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Wonder how all these !as good as it gets! MFs from CarPro, Metropolitan, etc. etc. really compare.` I might be in the market for a bunch of `em for use with IUDJ and spray waxes and I want to get it right the first time.

[Johnster]

I`ve been using the ultra plush 16 x 16 MF towels from The Rag Company to dry, very dense, very soft. But you do have to wash them before using the towels for the first time. And with soft Honda black, I`d go with towels as soft as possible.`



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So, if I`ve used them about a dozen times, does that qualify as washing them or are we talking actual machine wash with detergent?


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I used them again last weekend, and I thought that maybe the car was too wet to start with and that was causing the problems, but it`s a fine line as if it`s too dry to start with, I get water spots, so I used the compressor to blow some of the water off first, and they were *better*, but still took two passes, one with the damp cloth and one with an almost completely dry cloth to get it streak free.

[Driven Auto Detail]

You need to wash them in the washing machine with detergent after each use.` If you picked up any kind of dirt particles the first time you used the towels, you`ve been rubbing that over your paint each & every time you`ve used them since.` You`re going to swirl/scratch your paint real fast doing that.

[Accumulator]

Johnster- As noted, you need to actually wash/launder them after each use, or, if you don`t care about the risk of marring, after every second or third use (if your water isn`t very hard; if it is hard you should wash them every time).


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I must`ve somehow been unclear in my previous response; this is *exactly* like the need to regularly launder household/bath towels and washcloths.` Mineral (and other stuff) build up quickly becomse an issue in the absence of regular laundering.


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And note that two passes isn`t unusual under any circumstances, if only out of a desire to be thorough.` If you want to get *all* the water up with one pass then you`d better buy the Dry Me Crazy drying towel from Corey at CarPro`s Microfiber Madness estore.


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Eh, I`m just wasting bandwidth repeating myself, but I apparently failed to get the message across earlier.

[Johnster]

Johnster- As noted, you need to actually wash/launder them after each use, or, if you don`t care about the risk of marring, after every second or third use (if your water isn`t very hard; if it is hard you should wash them every time).


`


I must`ve somehow been unclear in my previous response; this is *exactly* like the need to regularly launder household/bath towels and washcloths.` Mineral (and other stuff) build up quickly becomse an issue in the absence of regular laundering.


`


And note that two passes isn`t unusual under any circumstances, if only out of a desire to be thorough.` If you want to get *all* the water up with one pass then you`d better buy the Dry Me Crazy drying towel from Corey at CarPro`s Microfiber Madness estore.


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Eh, I`m just wasting bandwidth repeating myself, but I apparently failed to get the message across earlier.



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Yup, you were clear and I understood, I`m just trying to justify washing two small towels seperately.` I do agitate/rinse the drying towels in fresh water while I`m drying and again after I`m done, but it sounds like that isn`t adequate. I`ll try a hand-wash of them this week and see if it makes any difference.`


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It is good to hear though that two passes are generally required.


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Thanks again for the responses.