Microfiber Linting Problem

M

MBZ 500E

New member
Over the past year I've been having an ongoing problem with my microfiber towels linting and leaving a heavy lint residue on my paint. The odd thing is that this only occurring with my plush microfibers. My glass cleaning MF's and the cheaper MF's used on the wheels/interior don't really have the problem.



Here is how I clean them:



- Washing Machine Hot Wash/Cold Rinse

- Mild Liquid Detergent (All or Tide Usually)

- MF's Only, nothing else in the machine

- Dry using cool air dry, no dryer sheet or fabric softeners



Can anyone point out what I'm doing wrong or possibly offer suggestions on how to get this straightened out?
 
I find certain MF's lint a lot, and with them, it's just the nature of the beast, they keep linting no matter how many times you wash them, because they are continually shedding fibers. How aggressive you are with the towel seems to have some bearing on it as well (tearing off fibers, I guess).



If you think about it, cotton towels are always shedding fibers, whether it's lint on the car or in the dryer trap. My guess is that most MF's do the same...just that the fibers are "micro" and go unnoticed for the most part, and arguably shed less volume than a cotton towel.
 
I agree that most MF's lint and if you look closely at highly reflective paint you can easily see the small fibers left behind. The problem is that I am getting some serious lint to the point where you can see large areas of built up lint which are difficult to remove unless I switch to a different MF. It seems to get worse with the use of a quick detailer which is odd.



Cotton towels don't lint nearly as bad as what I'm getting from a few of my MF's at the moment.
 
I was wiping down my car and QD'ing over the weekend and used several different brand towels. Only one of them left lint behind and it's the first time I've ever noticed any linting at all with any of my MF towels. Unfortunately, I don't know which brand it was, but I likely won't be using it on my paint any more. The lint really wanted to stick to the paint and I had to go back over it with QD and a different towel to get it off.



I do the same routine as you as far as washing/drying. Not sure why this one towel is problematic.
 
....my experience has been the same as loco. I find lint issues have more to do with the brand or specific model/line of towels rather than a type (i.e. plush, waffle-weave, etc.). In my search for cheaper multi-purpose MF's I picked up some Vroom (orange) towels from Target. ....washed them and put them away. When I was cleaning the wife's car I decided to pull one out for a final wipe down of the windows. What followed was the heaviest deposit of lint I have yet to experience with any other MF towel I have used. Even though these are part of my "general" towel collection, I'm hoping that the lint will at least dissipate after the next wash. .....they are of limited use to me if they don't. On the flip side, I've never really had an issue with my Cobra's (my "good" towels).
 
Loco your description matches what I'm seeing.



The MF's I'm referencing are not cheap brands, they're pricey plush MF's.
 
I am having the same problem too. Dang its annoying! Especially on the dual sided MF, one side is plush, other is not. WHY?!
 
I used the Zaino blonde towel yesterday for the first time and the lint it

left was crazy, real nice towel other than that.
 
I had the same issue and I am a little embarassed to admit this, but I hadn't cleaned out the lint trap in the dryer after a few runs. Corrected my mistake, rewashed, tossed them back in the dryer and all is good. Hopefully it's something that simple for you.
 
Take this as just one theory – I used to have trouble with all brands linting until I did two things when washing in Pinnacle MF Rejuvenator and cold wash.



First was using a teaspoon of white vinegar with the wash and secondly I completely rinsed the MF wash mitt of wash shampoo before washing with the MF cloths.



Following this I haven’t had a hint of a problem for months now.



Might be a co-incidence but who knows.
 
GoCubsGo said:
I had the same issue and I am a little embarassed to admit this, but I hadn't cleaned out the lint trap in the dryer after a few runs. Corrected my mistake, rewashed, tossed them back in the dryer and all is good. Hopefully it's something that simple for you.
Click to expand...
....excellent point.



.....I just wish it were that easy in my case. Personally, I'm very fanatical about cleaning the lint trap before each use (regardless of what I put in the dryer) and periodically checking the vent for obstructions.
 
GoCubsGo said:
I had the same issue and I am a little embarassed to admit this, but I hadn't cleaned out the lint trap in the dryer after a few runs. Corrected my mistake, rewashed, tossed them back in the dryer and all is good. Hopefully it's something that simple for you.
Click to expand...



I also clean the traps before putting the MF's in.



bdh2009 said:
Take this as just one theory – I used to have trouble with all brands linting until I did two things when washing in Pinnacle MF Rejuvenator and cold wash.



First was using a teaspoon of white vinegar with the wash and secondly I completely rinsed the MF wash mitt of wash shampoo before washing with the MF cloths.



Following this I haven’t had a hint of a problem for months now.



Might be a co-incidence but who knows.
Click to expand...



Where did the vinegar idea come from, did you read this somewhere?



Seems this is a common problem, I thought I was the only one.
 
Vinegar in the rinse is widely talked about here. The purpose is to get the textile to release detergent residue. Perhaps that is your problem, you are using too much detergent or not rinsing enough, and the lint is "sticking" in the towel until you get to the car. Could be a water quality issue as well.
 
Not sure if I'm using too much detergent or not. I did fail to mention that I use the extra rinse feature on the washer to insure detergent and dirt is gone. I'll give the vinegar a try on my next wash and report back.



Thanks!
 
So maybe there are lint trapped in my dryer. Or I probably poured to much Micro Restore. I get a 5 gallon bucket and just squirt the MR with eyes closed. LOL
 
I don't use my dryer I made a make-shift clothes line in my garage out of some thin rope/line I got from work.



I have HF MFs, Sams MFs, some "Plush" CG MFs, Megs MFs, and my favorites are the Eurow MFs. All of them behave as far as linting.



The rope I used is some kind of poly pull rope we use for pulling network and phone cabling. It's really strong and holdes up all my MFs no problem.
 
IME every MF with a nap (including WWs, which *do* have a very short nap) eventually lints. Every one of 'em. Just as every cotton towel eventually gets threadbare. Just the nature of such textiles, they have a limited useful life.
 
....good point regarding age. I have found some wear better than others. The bottom line is that there can be several factors including the quality of the towel, washing techniques, etc. In my case (mentioned earlier), the towels were shedding after the first wash. They were washed alone with MR and tossed in the dryer on low. .....same routine I have used many times in the past. I've had this issue with other cheap, MF towels I have purchased for multi-purpose roles but never to this extent. Hopefully they will clean up after the next wash or two.
 
Accumulator said:
IME every MF with a nap (including WWs, which *do* have a very short nap) eventually lints. Every one of 'em. Just as every cotton towel eventually gets threadbare. Just the nature of such textiles, they have a limited useful life.
Click to expand...



Very true and definitely taken into consideration.



The MF's I'm having trouble with have only been washed between 1 - 4 times depending on when they were purchased. Basically I've been trying plush MF's from various sources to find one that doesn't lint but to date I haven't found one. This is why I've posted my question because I know I'm doing something wrong in my wash process which is resulting in the awful linting.
 
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