Lambs wool mitt: to buy or not?

I'm thinking about getting a lambs wool wash mitt to try out. I usually use chenille sponges. Anyway, my big question is how do you maintain the thing? I ususally toss my chenilles in the washing machine, but suspect that wouldn't be too good for the lambs wool. I did a search and some of you mentioned just rinsing it out, but since the lambs wool should last much longer than chenille, that doesn't sound so appealing... Should I just stick to chenille?
 
I use the wool mitts from CMA. I have the tan and the black. They're great. I rinse real well by dunking and swishing in a bucket of plain cold water and "fling" out the water and allow to air dry out of the sun. My car is generally clean so I don't have to worry about needing any soap to clean the mitt.



Turtle Wax sells a genuine mitt for $5.99 at Pep Boys. It has the leather inside. I use it on my car that's parked outside 24x7.
 
I found that as long as you don't try to wash the really grungy and dirty areas with the mitt, it doesn't really get that dirty and "fluffing" the fur in the rinse pail usually gets it clean. I have a (cheap) chenille mitt too and think it retains more debris because of how it's made out of numerous little tightly twisted ropes.



Also, it's white so chenille looks dirtier! :D
 
4DSC said:
I found that as long as you don't try to wash the really grungy and dirty areas with the mitt, it doesn't really get that dirty and "fluffing" the fur in the rinse pail usually gets it clean. I have a (cheap) chenille mitt too and think it retains more debris because of how it's made out of numerous little tightly twisted ropes.



Also, it's white so chenille looks dirtier! :D



Hmm... Well, I don't think I want something I can't wash the whole car with... I'll have to think about it. I am comforted by the fact that I can machine wash my chenilles. Plus, they are cheaper so I don't mind downgrading them as frequently. Any more info would be appreciated, though.
 
i'm really happy with the lambswool wash mits



i've used it a few times and it actually speeds things up for me and i'm pretty sure it helps reduce the creation of new swirls



after i am done, i just rinse it and hang it up to dry, and its fine
 
I use a lambswool mit. I recently got the black one from CMA, and it is the thickest mit I have ever felt.



To clean it just rinse it out really well with lukewarm water in the sink, and keep wringing it out.



The inside takes longer to dry than the outside, so once the outside is dry, I turn the mitt inside out and place it over a beer bottle so all sides are exposed to the air, and it keeps it's shape.
 
Aurora40 said:
Hmm... Well, I don't think I want something I can't wash the whole car with... I'll have to think about it. I am comforted by the fact that I can machine wash my chenilles. Plus, they are cheaper so I don't mind downgrading them as frequently. Any more info would be appreciated, though.
Well, all I remember is when I helped wash my friend's car his new sheepskin mitt turned black because he must have had tar or oil splattered all over his rocker panels. :o



I wash my whole car with mine though and love it. :up I even washed the front face of my wheels with it once. I won't do it again because it was a lot harder to get the brake dust off of the mitt, but then I was happy because I actually was able to fluff the dust out of it (I thought it was ruined).
 
It seems like quite a few people do the entire car with the same mitt and I presume the same wash bucket. It must work OK for you, but I have always used one bucket and mitt for wheels, wheelwells, rocker panels, lower body in general. Another wash mitt and bucket is used for the upper part of the car. This seems to keep both the wash water and the mitt reasonably clean for the entire body wash. The wheel mitt and bucket get quite dirty, though. :nixweiss



Charles
 
CharlesW said:
It seems like quite a few people do the entire car with the same mitt and I presume the same wash bucket. It must work OK for you, but I have always used one bucket and mitt for wheels, wheelwells, rocker panels, lower body in general. Another wash mitt and bucket is used for the upper part of the car. This seems to keep both the wash water and the mitt reasonably clean for the entire body wash. The wheel mitt and bucket get quite dirty, though. :nixweiss



Charles



I use a separate sponge for wheels (a downgraded chenille) and some #36 and the hose. That way it doesn't junk up any buckets. I use APC+, a brush, and the hose on wheel wells. I use two buckets and one sponge on the whole rest of the car. The lower half of the car is a bit dirtier, but I want it just as clean and swirl-free as the top of the car, so I see no reason to use separate products on them. If a sponge won't come clean, I don't want to use it on the top or bottom of the car. But that's just how I do it. :nixweiss



I guess I'll just have to get a lambs wool mitt and try it out for myself. I'll most likely order it from Meguiar's along with a few more chenille sponges (and some more #00 and #36).
 
I usually machine wash my lambswool mitts about every 2-3 weeks or so...depending on how much they have been used. I wash them with liquid (non-bleach) detergent and put them on a low heat in the dryer until damp dry. Then hang them up to air dry the rest of the way.



I've been doing this for several years without any problems. I have replaced maybe 2 mitts in 2 years, but at $5-6 dollars each I don't consider that a lot of $.



I also use the 2 mitt/2 bucket method. 1 mitt for upper part of car, 2nd mitt for lower half of car. 1 bucket of shampoo (P21s) and another of clean water for rinsing the mitt when it needs it! I don't use the mitt on my wheels or wheel wells - that's where my OXO brushes (along with a few other special wheel brushes) come in handy!
 
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