Review: Dry Me Crazy Towel, by Microfiber Madness

[Swanicyouth]

I was the lucky winner of the Dry Me Crazy (DMC) towel by Microfiber Madness (MM) via a contest by CarPro USA.







As you can see, the towel is white, measures 25x17", and weighs 1200 gsm. It costs a paltry $21.95 and is a 75/25 blended towel (polyester/polyamide). It comes in its own re-sealable bag, complete with care directions. The construction of the towel appears to me to be the "two towel sewn together" style. The boarders are microfiber - no "silk" or satin here.











Its been weeks since I won this towel. I was dragging my feet about doing this review. Why? Because this towel is so nice, I didn`t want to use it. I kept waiting for the perfect occasion, when I was sure it would remain pristine. Well, it didn`t happen, so I just decided I need to keep up with my side of the deal and get this review up. After all, its a tool not a collectable.



This says a lot for the overall quality and feel of the towel. I own multiple towels from MM. One thing is, I don`t think anyone could question the quality if these towels. They are the nicest towels out there, period. They may cost a few more bucks (this towel is pretty much priced the same as other large drying towels, however), but if you want the best - or, have a car you care dearly about, MM towels are the way to go.







The towel is tremendously thick and tremendously soft. Like I said, its so nice, you may just not want to use it.







At first there was one thing I didn`t like about this towel, and that was the color. The white color made me nervous for fear of getting stains on it. However, once I used it, I realized the white color is actually a benefit. Since this is a drying towel, you can immediately tell if you "missed a spot" during washing by any dirt being easily noticeable on the white towel. While using it, I kept referring to the towel`s white surface, inspecting it for cleanliness. Light dirt is pretty hard to see on any other color towel, besides white.



Since I bought a CR Spotless and an Air Force Blaster, Im pretty much 100% touch free drying for 2BM washes. If I do need to dry anything, I certainly wouldn`t use a beast like the Dry Me Crazy towel, all I need is a single regular microfiber towel. However, I do use drying towels for rinseless washes.



Yesterday I did a rinseless wash on my Pathfinder and used the DMC towel. My process began by packing up all my junk and going to the local pay-n-spray. I live in a town house complex, and while I do have a hose and garage, I don`t like to use it more than once a week or so. This is because I don`t think car washing is technically allowed here. Luckily, they have left me alone so far, but I don`t like to push it by being out there with the hose too frequently.



So, first I clean the wheels conventionally at the pay-n-spray, and then I pressure rinse the vehicle there. After that I use their air dryer (which puts a Master Blaster to shame), to blow as much water off the vehicle as possible until my time runs out ($5 / 13.5 mins), then I do a rinseless wash using Pinnacle Rinseless Wash in their bay. I also use Pinnacle Waterless Wash in a pump sprayer on the panels for some extra lube. The process works great and has served me well for a long time. The vehicle comes out perfect. Also, the owner of the place doesn`t seem to mind, he is there all the time and just asks I clean up after myself.



As I went along with the rinseless wash, I used the DMC towel to dry with. The vehicle is pretty wet. There is liquid on it from 3 sources: leftovers from the original rinse, rinseless solution, and waterless wash. When you use this towel, you will fold it in fours. That means you have 8 large drying sides, each side 12.5 x 8.5".



In all honesty, the towel didn`t even break a sweat. I only use this towel to dry the whole SUV as I went along, and it didn`t even come close to becoming saturated. I really only needed to use 2 of the 8 sides. While the towel doesn`t have a massive pile, its very dense, thick, and heavy. It can hold a ton of water. Usually I use a Supreme Guzzler or a Sonus Der Wunder waffle weave drying towel. They are pretty well soaked by the end. You can wring liquid out of them. When I was done, the DMC wash just getting started, I couldn`t wring any liquid out of it.



So, coming from using a waffle weave, what`s this towel like? Well, first off, your dealing with much more mass than a waffle weave towel. So, it takes a bit more effort to use it on the vertical panels, just because its a heavier towel. Your also dealing with a slightly smaller surface area, as most large waffle weaves are about 25 x 36" (12.5 x 18" in fours), where the DMC is 17 x 25" (8.5 x 12.5" in fours) - however this didn`t affect the performance of the towel, it holds much more water than a thin waffle weave.



I did find one huge benefit with this towel that I never expected. Going along, drying the car with a waffle weave, I always snag the towel on something. It seems my Pathfinder has more things to snag a waffle weave towel on than any other vehicle: trim piece edges, wiper arms, emblems, etc... This causes a pull in the towel, which I in turn cut the thread that is hanging off. No matter how hard I try, I always snag a waffle weave at least once when drying this vehicle. The DMC towel does not snag due to its weave. You can dry emblems, edges, trim, wipers, anything - it just doesn`t snag.



While this towel is sold as a drying towel, honestly, you could use it for anything. I would have no problem using this towel (maybe the 16x16" Jr version may be better due to size) for removing polish off the softest of paints, QDing, wax buffing, etc... Its pretty much just a big super dense, super soft, microfiber towel with safe edges. You could even use this towel as a "fender cover" on a clean car, like if you have to lean over the roof or something to get to the middle to buff it - or, if your buffing a large roof and you want to set up an area to lay your polisher down. There is enough plush to protect the paint below. This would be the perfect towel to place on your hood if you need to sit anything there for ease of use.



Microfiber Madness recommends washing this towel before using it to remove any lint that the towel picked up during manufacturing. I didn`t do this, and never wash a new towel before use and have never had a problem. I figure if a towel is good for 500 washes, why waste one of them on a clean towel?



I didn`t see a spec of lint, and could tell right away this wasn`t going to be a "linty" towel. You can just tell by how solidly it`s built. When a towel lints, its actually a sign of an inferior quality towel. The "lint" is actually small pieces of fiber breaking off the towel. Makes sense? So, a "linty" towel is actually loosing fibers (and degrading) all the time.



Most of the microfiber towels we use are "split fibers". El-Cheapo Brand blue light special towels you get at the Dollar Store likely aren`t split fibers. The reason why "fiber splitting" is important in a MF towel is that it contributes significantly to the towels ability to absorb many times its weight in water (along with towel composition), usually in the range of 7-10 times its weight. I`m 100% sure the DMC towel has split fibers due to its just general high quality.



The interesting thing is, this is where the weight of the towel benefits you. While a good quality split fiber waffle weave towel can absorb 7-10x its weight in water, so can the DMC towel. The point is, the DMC towels is much heavier than any waffle weave towel you`ve ever tried.



Just look at the weight. The weight if the DMC is 1200 gsm. That "gsm" stand for grams per square meter. The weight of you average high quality waffle weave towel is usually somewhere in the range of 400 gsm if your lucky. Most are actually under that. That means inch by inch, the DMC towel is 3 times heavier than your average waffle weave.



Since the capacity of water held is determined by weight of a split fiber towel (remember, a quality MF towel can hold 7-10x its weight of water), then, doesn`t it make sense a towel that weighs 1200gsm can hold 2-3 times more water than a towel weighing 400 gsm, if the sizes are relatively equal? That`s why this towel can dry a whole large vehicle and hardly even seem wet and doesn`t need to be wrung out. Because it`s capacity to hold water is multiple times that of a waffle weave.



For those that don`t know, pretty much all the microfiber towels we use are a blend. That`s what the "75/25" comes in. "75/25" means the towel is constructed of 75% polyester and 25% polyamide. Polyester is the "strong" part, its what makes a towel like this durable and washable hundreds of times. Polyamide can be thought of as the "soft" part. It contributes to the silky soft feeling a quality towel will have. Polyamide is also what makes a towel absorb water, along with fiber splitting. If you get a cheap Pep Boys towel that is 100% polyester, it will just push the water around, not suck it up. Both polyester and polyamide are man made fibers. There is no polyamide tree to pick microfiber cloth off of.



Most waffle weaves (except Microfiber Madness` Wave Rider) are an 80/20 blend. That`s why most waffle weaves just don`t feel "quite as soft" and your softest buffing towels. The 75/25 blend of the DMC towel makes it both excellent at water absorption and also "soft" and safe for drying super soft clear coats.



Also, the white color does help determine if you "missed a spot" during washing before any paint damage is inflicted. I also would recommend this towel to anyone just looking for a super nice drying towel, especially if you dealing with a large vehicle. You`ll only need to by one towel, as unless its an 18 wheeler, this towel can handle it. I wouldn`t be surprised if the Jr version could dry a whole regular size car without wringing it out.



This towel is also great for anyone who does paint correction on large vehicles or SUVs. If your like me, your always looking for a "safe" area on the roof you can sit your polish (or polisher), and whatever else you may need while you are up there. Getting up and down is a drag, and this towel is large and plush enough that you could sit ALL your stuff on it and your paint will be safe. Its also more than plush enough to serve as a cushion between you and the paint is you must lean over something for a period of time for whatever reason and move around.



Well, that`s pretty much all I have to say.



Its just an all around awesome towel.

[shortspark]

I bought one but have not used it yet. Now I can`t wait to try it. Thanks for the great review.

[pwaug]

I`ve never had success drying with a quality plush weave MF towel--always seems to drag on the paint and just spread the water around, but have had great sucess with WW MF. Am I doing something wrong???

[CEE DOG]

Stephen, thank you for an extremely enjoyable read and such a thorough review! I enjoyed every word!! It is indeed another incredible product from MM!

[Swanicyouth]

I`ve never had success drying with a quality plush weave MF towel--always seems to drag on the paint and just spread the water around, but have had great sucess with WW MF. Am I doing something wrong???

This towel sucks up water quite well. I washed it yesterday. My washer is broken, so I decided to wash it by hand. Plus, I wanted to wash it alone so it stays white. So, I filled a 5 gallon bucked about 1/4 the way up and put in a little BF MF soap.



When the towel is fully submerged in water and you pull it out, (remember no spin dry here, by hand) it weighs a ton. I mean it was really heavy. I couldn`t believe how heavy it was, because of how much water or pulled out with it.

[Swanicyouth]

DMC towel vrs Royal Velvet bath towel



In fourths:











Here the bath towel is folded in eighths, but the DMC is in fourths, the DMC is a hair higher:







A comparison:







I thought I`d post this because the DMC reminds me of a bath towel. But, when you actually compare it, its much (seems more than 2x) more thicker than a bath towel.



Maybe they have bath towels as thick as a DMC at some really swanky hotel, probably one that would never let the likes of me in as a guest.

[Accumulator]

Swanicyouth- Thanks for the great review.



I`m *NOT* buying one until I run through my current stock of WWs, but it sure sounds like the way to go.

[Bill D]

I wonder how it compares in drying capabilities to Detailer`s Domain`s Uber Super Drying Towel. I have one of those and it makes me me want to throw away my WWs.- best drying capability I`ve encountered yet. How quickly can you completely dry a car with the Dry Me Crazy towel? It definitely makes sense for the towel to be white, unlike the Uber Super Drying Towel .

[Swanicyouth]

I wonder how it compares in drying capabilities to Detailer`s Domain`s Uber Super Drying Towel. I have one of those and it makes me me want to throw away my WWs.- best drying capability I`ve encountered yet. How quickly can you completely dry a car with the Dry Me Crazy towel? It definitely makes sense for the towel to be white, unlike the Uber Super Drying Towel .

You can dry it pretty fast. I use it for rinseless washes, so I dry as I go along. Its just a really nice, soft, heavyweight, 1200 gsm towel.



Its probably the way to go for those guys that have super soft paint that can mar with a towel. As its softer & plusher than any waffle weave. Also the blend is softer than most waffle weaves, since its 25% polyamide.



The interesting thing is, the Microfiber Madness waffle weaves are also a 25% polyamide blend. I have those and they are very soft as well. Towels that are 25/75 or 30/70 blend tend to be softer than 20/80 blend towels (most waffle weaves).



But if you think about it, towels absorption goes by weight for microfiber (all other factors being equal). A MF towel can hold 7-10x its weight in water. Since these towels are much much heavier than waffle weaves, it makes sense these towels can hold much more water.



If quality towel "A" weighs 6 oz, say it can hold 60oz of water effectively. But, if towel "B", of equal quality, weighs 12 oz, it stands to reason to me it can hold twice as much water effectively as the first towel. Right?

[Bill D]

Makes sense to me.



I think I`ll be transitioning from WWs to these heavy, plush type of towels because I was so impressed with how much water they drink up. Soft too, they are a winner all the way around :up

[mikemurphy234]

Accumulator, rid yourself of all other towels and get these!!! Bill, these towels absorb faster are much less bulky and after sheeting you can dry any car with no problem and it`ll keep asking for more. You can dry any way you like with this towel. If you like to pat dry, it does it better than any towel I`ve ever used. Want to drag the whole towel to dry, it`ll do so with no streaking from start to finish.



You might ask what`s my basis for these views. I`ve been searching and buying towels to dry for years from all over the globe. I`ve used every WW from every major US seller, every towel that Pak Shak sells, every drying towel from the UK sellers, etc....... My towel of choice within a reasonable price for my clients has been the grey DD towel. These have replaced those and they also replaced my $60.00 imported MF towels for my personal garage queen.

[Bill D]

.. My towel of choice within a reasonable price for my clients has been the grey DD towel. These have replaced those and they also replaced my $60.00 imported MF towels for my personal garage queen.

That grey towel so totally impressed me. Drying was done in no time. Any more drying towels i get in the future will be those and/or this one. This is a great detailing product innovation!

[Accumulator]

Accumulator, rid yourself of all other towels and get these!!!

Eh, I have some plush MF drying towels, and while I do prefer them over WWs for some things, the latter do work fine for me. It`s like the other wonderful MFs on the market these days- sure, they`re better than what I have now, and I`ll buy them in the future. But I have absolutely *zero* issues with my current towels so I`m not gonna replace them until they need replacing :grinno: I mean...functionally, the "benefits" are gonna be transparent to me.

[spotter]

Okay....I am easy....I ordered one to try. My question is even if you machine wash these separately they must hold a ton of water even after a spin cycle. Can they be line dried inside without making a puddle?

[mikemurphy234]

The spin cycle works just fine for me. You could always spin again if it still holds too much. I dry all my MF`s on very low heat / air cycles. I don`t have enough room anywhere to hang them all. lol