Expiration date on MF towels?

[Texchappy]

Just wondering about how long you should generally keep microfiber towels of all types. I generally relegate them to non-paint duty if they are visibly stained or otherwise damaged. But what if they look ok?

I ask because a lot of my towels are from when I started detailing my cars back in 2007. Most of them are from Prima when they still marketed them.

TIA,
Tony
formerly cptzippy on this forum.

[Stokdgs]

I keep them as long as they work at whatever task they are assigned..

Have never understood why some are used to remove greasy, oily, nasty ga-ga, when cheaper cotton towels are available..

Perhaps if you have not tried to use a dedicated microfiber soap followed with a distilled white vinegar added to rinse water rinse, you might get those dirty ones looking better..

Good luck !
Dan F

[Accumulator]

I keep them as long as they work at whatever task they are assigned..

Yeah, I still have some original Miracle Towels from the `90s that work fine.

[Texchappy]

That`s good to know - will save me some cash

[Lonnie]

Keeping microfiber towels dedicated to one task or product is the key to extending their life expectancy and usefulness. The other is washing them separately as well.
if you cannot do this, at least try to wash them by hand with a good APC before throwing them together in a washing machine. Washing three of four separate "loads" of two or three microfibers used for one specific purpose does not seem economical or efficient to the non-ODC-type person, but it`s that the reason why you are trying to prevent cross-contamination in the first place. Why use the same towel to apply plastic protectant and then use it after it`s been washed to remove a wax or sealant? Hard to explain that to the uninformed "detailer" who wonders why their wax-job looks streaked or smeary after they wipe it off!!

Sometimes it looks crazy to have soooo many microfiber towels, and yes, it can be expensive to have and maintain such a "collection". But if you want your vehicle to look like the pro`s who post their car-art/workmanship in this forum, you will need follow suite and imitate this detailing step. It`s not a "trick" as much as just common sense.

Buying good quality microfibers is also key, and you can search this forum for such sources. The Pak-Shak is one source. The Rag Company another.
TowelPros.com is another. Any of the car-care chemical suppliers/wholesalers listed within this site sell quality microfibers.

Still not sure what to buy? Try buying one of the sample or starter microfiber kits from them that give a variety of microfibers for you to try out and evaluate for you own use. Yes, you may be spending $40 or $50 to do this, but as mentioned above, its what separates the pro`s from the wannabes or almost-as-good.

[LeadingEdgeDetail]

Most of my microfiber towels are from ~2005, as are my polishing pads.

Slowly replacing them now though, now that I am using them every day again

[MiVor]

First of all microfiber is basically plastic and will `last` nearly forever given reasonable use and care. Having `said` that, as others have written, it`s best to dedicate towels to specific duties and soak/wash as appropriate. I have a set of inexpensive Wally World MF waffle weaves I use for (Optimum) no rinse washes, then other high quality MF`s I use for paint. Finally I have some dedicated fine cloths for glass and I just added some dedicated MF`s for (back to) black (plastic) trim. I may soak in an APC (I like simple green since it`s bio-degradable and MADE IN THE USA), but I tend to wash in the washing machine with regular liquid (Era) soap. Now the WM waffle weaves are admittedly stained but all the others look and act like they`re new and I`ve had them for many years.
Of course, if you may find that some just don`t perform like they once did. For example, some of my blue MF`s used to remove `wax` still do that job well, but I recently realized that as I attempted to use one for interior windows, they are no longer absorbent (the invisible glass spray just rolled off the towel). If a towel no longer performs well, it`s time for a new towel.