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  1. #1

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    Wash mitt care / cleaning

    How often do most wash their wash mitts? After every wash, or is rinsing the dirt out and letting them air dry ok for a few washes?


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  2. #2

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Astouffer512- With the caveat that my Wash Technique is, uhm...kinda unique...I hardly *ever* wash mine unless they fall on the floor or otherwise give me the impression that they might be contaminated.

    BUT hey, by the time I switch to mitts most people would say I`ve already cleaned everything with the preceding steps. So it`s not like there`s any "big stuff" there to get stuck in the mitts.

    (Veering off-topic: if there`s dirt on/in the mitt, then it was almost certainly there while you were moving that mitt across the paint, which was probably done under pressure, which is the cause of wash-induced marring. No, I don`t believe it`s safe to assume that "the dirt gets caught up in, and cushioned by, the nap of the mitt". Sure that works *to some minor extent* but if you can actually *see dirt* on the mitt I wouldn`t want to move that across the paint under pressure.)

  3. #3

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    If you want to know, the only time I machine wash my microfiber wash mitt is after I use it with Optimums No-Rinse (ONR) . The ONR encapsulation properties seem to "hold" in dirt or road film that is seemingly impossible to remove without machine washing. They look "dirty" if I do not do this, so I wash `em.
    My suggestion? Machine wash the mitt when you feel it looks really dirty. If you`ve cleaned/washed a vehicle with a lot of road film or dirt (like red clay), you will see it in the mitt, even after rinsing it with a garden hose nozzle with home or municipal water pressure and wringing it out by hand. Here is the cut-n-paste cleaning method I learned from from the thread I started on cleaning microfiber mitts after using ONR. This was AFTER rinsing them out with water pressure as noted above:

    1) Pre-soak with Optimum Power Clean ( I used this APC when rinsing the mitt off with garden hose nozzle water pressure)
    2) Wash them in the washer
    3) Use hot water, but not the sanitize cycle
    4) Use Oxy-Clean with your detergent (I am currently using Persil per Accumulator`s suggestion/admonition) WITHOUT fabric softeners or bleach (common sense)
    4a) Add the vinegar (one cup or 8 fluid ounces for a medium load) in the washer rinse cycle to act as a softener, which is why someone above suggested doing the optional second rinse cycle.
    5) Dry them in the dryer on lower heat WITHOUT dryer sheets (more Common sense)
    6) Discard when they look dingy or do not feel soft anymore
    GB detailer

  4. #4
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    I wash them after every wash.
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  5. #5

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    I also wash my mf wash mitts and mf wash pads after every car wash. Better to be save than sorry. Even if I do a thorough prewash and then use multible wash mitts and mf wash pads so they don`t get into the wash bucket again. There can always be some smaller specks of dirt in them after it`s used and rinsed. Yeah I use a rinse bucket also and it`s just to see how effective the prewash where. Usually the rinse bucket after a wash is very clean. There are from time to time some dirt it has picked up and released in the rinse bucket. And also when the car was very dirty there gets some road film that makes the water in the rinse bucket a little dirty. I just feel more comfortable when I reach for a fresh wash media.

    Apex Detailing Channel on Youtube has a great video where he review different kind of wash media. There he shows what the different ones picks up and releasing with a microscope camera. So even when a wash media looks clean with your eyes it can be dirt imbedded in the wash media that you don`t see.

    https://youtu.be/Q0pfRZ9mjq8

    / Tony
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  6. #6

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Hi to all, sorry i have been absent on this forum. In my mind it depends how OCD you are with your detailing. I used to wash the whole car with just one bucket and one mitt when i was a teen.. Now its tfr, pre wash foam, post pre wash foam, 3 buckets, 10 wash mitts, bigboy blower, rinse aids and 2 dedicated drying towels. The 2nd bucket is for rinse and 3rd one is for temporary storage before they go into wash (after i have finished the car). The mitts that i have used for top of the car go into a different wash cycle to the mitts that i have used on the bottom part of the car. I have also a dedicated mitts for each part of the car. Lol

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  7. #7

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Quote Originally Posted by SWETM View Post
    I also wash my mf wash mitts and mf wash pads after every car wash. Better to be save than sorry. Even if I do a thorough prewash and then use multible wash mitts and mf wash pads so they don`t get into the wash bucket again. There can always be some smaller specks of dirt in them after it`s used and rinsed. Yeah I use a rinse bucket also and it`s just to see how effective the prewash where. Usually the rinse bucket after a wash is very clean. There are from time to time some dirt it has picked up and released in the rinse bucket. And also when the car was very dirty there gets some road film that makes the water in the rinse bucket a little dirty. I just feel more comfortable when I reach for a fresh wash media.

    Apex Detailing Channel on Youtube has a great video where he review different kind of wash media. There he shows what the different ones picks up and releasing with a microscope camera. So even when a wash media looks clean with your eyes it can be dirt imbedded in the wash media that you don`t see.

    https://youtu.be/Q0pfRZ9mjq8

    / Tony
    Tony

    Thanks for sharing that video...I`ve never seen that one from Apex Detail (I enjoy his channel a lot)

    I`ve always wondered what the glove mitts could be used for...I guess wheels makes sense.

    I was surprised he even presented the cellulose type of sponge actually. I know the majority of people probably still use them, and he did recommend not using them. I would just think most people watching his channel already know not to use them.

    So evolving this thread a little further.

    There are chenille, microfiber, lambswool, grout sponges, brushes. All these different types of wash media. With your experience have you found a specific type of wash media cleans a part of the vehicle better? Do the different types suit a specific LSP better?

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  8. #8
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    That video got me to now switch from sheepskin to MF mitts. I will no longer buy sheepskins and when I need more mitts I’ll buy MF. The video shows how MFs clean better. It’s going to be quite a while before I get rid of my sheepskins though; I have a stockade of them.
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.

  9. #9

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Mf Mixed long/short + different thickness strands are in my mind the best wash medium at present. However it really depends on what part of the car you are washing, how dirty it is and the amount of pressure you put on it. I have about 20 different wash media (not counting multiples of exact product). For front bumper and front assembly i tend to use Chenille or noodle type mitt or a pad. For lower parts of the car i use the cheap chinese fake wool mitts at under $2 usd they are surprisingly soft and let out dirt very well when rinsed. I reserve the most aggressive pads for glass and the rest is done with MF mix pile pads. For me the key is pre contact prep, this way contact wash can be done with any mf medium and by adjusting the hand pressure to suit.

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  10. #10

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    I just bought 6 Short MF mitts to use on top half of vehichle and use MF “noodle” for lower. I think the shrocMF actually wash better but use the noodle ones in hopes the “tuck in” larger particles that may be around after foam cannon and PW rinse.


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  11. #11

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Quote Originally Posted by Astouffer512 View Post
    Tony

    Thanks for sharing that video...I`ve never seen that one from Apex Detail (I enjoy his channel a lot)

    I`ve always wondered what the glove mitts could be used for...I guess wheels makes sense.

    I was surprised he even presented the cellulose type of sponge actually. I know the majority of people probably still use them, and he did recommend not using them. I would just think most people watching his channel already know not to use them.

    So evolving this thread a little further.

    There are chenille, microfiber, lambswool, grout sponges, brushes. All these different types of wash media. With your experience have you found a specific type of wash media cleans a part of the vehicle better? Do the different types suit a specific LSP better?

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    I started with the generic chenille wash mitts and they works good. The downside is that they get heavy and you have less control IME. I have used quality foam sponges also as they for some reason is popular here in Sweden LOL. The benefit with these is when you wash a very neglected paint first with something else. But then do a chemical decon steps with first a tar remover and then an iron remover. If the tar and tree sap is hard bonded to the paint and the same with iron particals. I use the foam sponges when the chemicals has almost dwelled enough to work it in and get a higher effectiveness from them.

    Here is the kind of shape and foam sponge that I can use in the decon steps when it needs aggitations.

    https://www.autopia-carcare.com/opti...-pad-blue.html

    When it comes to the washing I do that with multible mf wash mitts and mf wash pads. I like to use the ones with different length and colors on the mf. Like the Gyeon Smoothie Wash Mitt. Autogeek has a generic one which is called X-tra Fluff Wash Mitt and comes in blue and orange. For some reason I and another member has noticed that the blue one is a notch thicker than the orange one. This is often those that gets rebranded or is the mf material it is manufactured with. Microfiber Madness has these in another kind of material which for me works great. But there is one member here on Autopia that has had problems with that they marr the paint. I have not experienced this and have looked very closely with an inspection light if they have done so. Have 2 of this in mf wash pads that circle through these mf wash mitts and mf wash pads I have. And I did not notice any wash or drying indused swirls and scratches after 2 1/2 years before I polished my car a couple of weeks ago. That also with not useing any drying aid when I dry with my drying towels. Where the most is behind this for me is in the prewash foam and PW clean rinsing it off. The paint is very clean before I touch wash it. I always use a prewash foam or pretreatment to aid when I use the water pressure from the PW to clean with more effective. And is thorough to clean with the PW in the nooks and crannies and the seals and jambs to flush any dirt out of their. Which I think is where you often picks up something in the wash media that you can get wash indused swirls and scratches from.

    https://www.autopia-carcare.com/gyeo...wash-mitt.html

    The benefit with these kind of mf wash mitts and mf wash pads is that I do less passes when I wash with them. Often useing Carpro Reset car soap or Tac System Mystic Bubble or Angelwax Enigma Ceramic Infused Car Soap. A great lubrication and cleaning ability from the car soap is important for me. Usually I do 2 passes per sections of the paint I wash. If I would see any dirt left from this which is very uncommon I let it be until I`m finished with the panel/ panels. Then come back and 1 pass is often fixing it. No pressure on the wash media and just so you don`t drop it on the vertical panels. I start on the hood and then the windshield. Take a fresh wash media and the hood and front in that order. Then another fresh wash media and the side panel and finish with the side windows and fresh wash media on both sides. The back of the car and the back window. And finishes with going around on the rocker panels and the lower back and lower front of the car. Basicly the lower edges and switch to a fresh wash media when needed depending on the dirt it picks up. Also half through I flip the mitt or pad. Kind of like the pads more but on the lowest parts it`s nice to have a mitt for more control. Carpro Mf Wash Mitt is great for the lower parts.

    https://www.autopia-carcare.com/cobr...wash-mitt.html

    https://www.autogeek.net/xtrafluff-blue-wash-mitt.html

    https://www.autopia-carcare.com/carp...wash-mitt.html

    If I where to be haveing a really soft paint and finicky I would get Carpro Wool Wash Mitt. Think that the wool is a notch safer on the extreme soft paints.

    https://www.autopia-carcare.com/cp-45.html

    The Rag Company Cyclone XL Mf Wash Pad looks like one of the best if going by the softness and thickness and how much wash solution it holds. If I where able to buy those in Sweden I would do so. Especially on the horizontall panels it looks amazing to use it on. Maybe gets a little to heavy on the vertical panels.

    The quality chenille ones that Autopia and Autogeek or the one Brian on Apex Detailing Channel tested. I would not be affraid to use if you where to like those kinds better. Have been dead set on the Mf Wash Mitt and Mf Wash Pad the more I have used them and they are very durable and washes out very clean with no stains or anything which I could get on the chenille ones when used on the lower parts I did for some time. The synthetic Wool Pads PoweredByJenga mentions I have also used on the lower parts and they work great for that. Have had them stained though and since testing out more of the mf wash mitt and mf wash pads I have well let just say enough of them to use them on the lower parts too LOL
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  12. #12

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    [INSERT usual rant about how much I *HATE* "noodle/Mupper/dreadlock" MFs!!! Full-on, unadulterated HATRED here, folks. IMO more/finer/thinner strands are better than fewer/larger/thicker ones for everything Detailing related and for most other applications too. Analogy: would you prefer a toothbrush with 24 thick bristles or one with 240 thin ones? Anyhow...]

    FWIW, and noting that they probably aren`t all the same, *EVERY* "synthetic wool" mitt I`ve ever had failed the CD-test and would mar paint. None of those touch any of my paint with the possible exception of the underneath-car areas (I`d sure never use them in the wheelwells).

    I only use MF mitts on surfaces that are basically already clean. IME they tend to retain certain kinds of contamination, specifically the kind that will readily mar paint. I agree that those should be washed *every* time.

    It still gives me pause that people here are actually *getting their mitts dirty*...like "dirt in the Rinse Bucket"-dirty. I couldn`t wash marring-free that way and goodness knows I tried...for decades. These days I`d be simply mortified if I found significant dirt in my Rinse Buckets, it`d indicate I did something very wrong.
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  13. #13
    Hooked For Life Bill D's Avatar
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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Something tells me I’m going to have to build another closet in my house just for all the mitts I’m going to have to buy!
    Treat it like it`s the only one in the world.
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  14. #14

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill D View Post
    Something tells me I’m going to have to build another closet in my house just for all the mitts I’m going to have to buy!
    Heh heh..[INSERT usual "Git yoreself a BHB, son!" lecture] Sorry, couldn`t resist!

  15. #15

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    Re: Wash mitt care / cleaning

    SWETM that is an epic post.. Lots of good info for both newbies and enthusiasts. Thanks for spending time to post... Cheers

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