Microfiber laundering - A nightmare find...

[Oneheadlite]

Got a chance to do some car cleaning this weekend, ended up with a couple loads of microfibers to run trough the wash. I did my "good" load first, which was a batch of Speed shine, PFM, PFM drying, polish and wax removal towels, gold plush jr`s, and some shine and buff towels.

When it came time time to throw them in the dryer, I checked the lint trap which was virtually empty. I figured this was perfect, meaning the last load through was probably sheets and I wouldn`t have to worry about lint leftover in the drum. Threw my towels in, ran it as usual.

When I went to swap in my next load of "dirty spot" towels, I had a horrifying discovery when I pulled out my good towels. A small amount of fine sand on the bottom of the drum, and some along the paddles. I can only guess it`s playground sand from my toddlers socks that must have static-clung to the barrel.

Am I screwed? I`m thinking the best approach would be to take them outside and shake them all out really good, then run them through a couple wash cycles hoping for the best?

Looking for any advice to help keep these in service. I just don`t have the budget to replace them, and it`s a good portion of my best towels!

[Buster906]

I would vacuum out the dryer first. Vacuum the towels with the sand. Then wash the towels with the sand and see what happens. The worst that can happen would be relegating the towels to jobs that do not touch your finish

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[Oneheadlite]

Good thinking on vacuuming.

I found this late last night (brain may not have been firing on all cylinders), and immediately wiped it out with wet paper towels and washcloths, collecting up as much as I could find. One last check with the vacuum, plus a once over on the affected towels sounds like a solid plan.

[Buster906]

Be careful with the wet paper towel. Could fall apart and have tiny pieces of paper towel and sand to contend with.

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[The Driver]

Vacuum and Rewash, then take a blower to it.

[512detail]

have you considered making a pvc drying rack or something? I use the sticky hooks and place them under the door frame so I can hang the towels on hangers but still shut the door (to the laundry room) when the hangers are not in use

might not work so well for someone who doesn`t live by themselves but I`ve never even had a woman notice those sticky hooks were there unless I had towels drying on them

I don`t even like using the same washing machine for my micros but I do because I don`t really have space for a second washing machine just for the micros. Plus I feel that would be further wading into the deep end and I`m already waist deep, ha.

[BudgetPlan1]

I got a bit lazy on `towel discipline` recently; think *someone* in the household mighta dried a load of paint friendly towels on high; couldn`t determine which towels specifically were affected so all went into the interior/wheel tub. Ordered all new towels; was surprisingly affordable.

[PA DETAILER]

Would also not hurt to run a washer machine cleaner thru it on occasion. I use the TIDE cleaner.

https://tide.com/en-us/shop/special-...achine-cleaner

But it at your local grocery store.

[512detail]

Good call on the washer cleaner. I got a free sample of some brand machine cleaner and used it in the past. I need to get more.

I think I might do one load of laundry for every four loads of micros! I wash micros so much that by muscle memory habit I generally end up pouring micro cleaner into the wash machine when I`m doing clothes. Seems to work pretty well.

[Accumulator]

I got a bit lazy on `towel discipline` recently; think *someone* in the household mighta dried a load of paint friendly towels on high; couldn`t determine which towels specifically were affected so all went into the interior/wheel tub. Ordered all new towels; was surprisingly affordable.

What did the High setting do to `em?

I`ve dried MFs on High before and it never did any damage, was well below the melting point etc. (as I`d think any properly functioning dryer oughta be; the melting point for MF is awfully high). I usually dry them on Low or Medium, but never sweat it if they get done on High.

[BudgetPlan1]

What did the High setting do to `em?

I`ve dried MFs on High before and it never did any damage, was well below the melting point etc. (as I`d think any properly functioning dryer oughta be; the melting point for MF is awfully high). I usually dry them on Low or Medium, but never sweat it if they get done on High.

Can`t say for sure, just know that they were dried on high which I never do and then I started having linting/micromarring issues...so I just tossed em all (actually moved to `no paint` bin).

They were mostly towels I have used for about 30 jobs (although `job` would indicate some kinda financial compensation but it was all freebies in the interest of `learning`) so they were ready to move on anyway.

I had a thread here somewhere about linting during coating that was the end result if something gone awry with something; towels were just one suspect in that case since they were dried on high immediately before coating application.

Who really knows in the end...i just know that the next car I did with new towels had no issues.

Bear in mind that I usually have no real idea what I`m doing it seems so anything is possible!

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[Accumulator]

BudgetPlan1- Well, I dunno about that "..I usually have no real idea what I`m doing..."

Whatever was going on with those MFs, yeah, if they`re causing marring then that`s that for use on paint.

Consider that boiling is a generally accepted means of revitalizing MFs (some of mine came with instructions to boil `em before the first use), and that`s a whole lot hotter than a dryer oughta get. Anyhoo....just belaboring it so you don`t get tempted to throw out perfectly good ones should that !oops! with the heat setting happen again.

[Ronkh]

"Ron" em

(garbage or engine work)

[Accumulator]

Ronkh- Heh heh...I was thinking "undercarriage" myself

[BudgetPlan1]

BudgetPlan1- Well, I dunno about that "..I usually have no real idea what I`m doing..."

Finished up today, one last wipedown of the finished trunk lid...with PB Tornado Pad Cleaner. Oops.



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