Murphy's Oil Soap & microfiber

[Don]

For a while now my microfibers just haven't been 'getting it.' They were practically water-resistant, they didn't absorb glass cleaners, or even water on the car after the rinse. If I held them underwater, they would stay dry for a long time!! Not until I got them wet & rung out, did they work for drying off the car.

I was cleaning some pads the other day - they were full of polish and wax from the detail on the Suzuki, so I soaked them in a bucket of hot water & Murphy’s...no agitation at all. I let them soak overnight, then rinsed them with a jet of water from the hose...the wax and polish literally melted away, the pads came out absolutely clean.

I started to think that maybe my microfibers were suffering from wax residue accumulation and needed a different type of cleaning. So I repeated the experiment. A half dozen microfibers in a bucket full of hot water & Murphy's. After again letting it soak overnight, I put them in the washing machine like usual. Switch to the dryer and a while later, the microfibers came out stain-free, and soft as anything. I could also feel the fibers grabbing at my fingers.

I tried them out by removing the layer of Collinite #845 that my OCD forced me to apply this morning. Not a smear, smudge or streak anywhere :10:
Next up was the glass. I wiped down the windows with a wet cloth and buffed off the water with a newly cleaned mf. Again, flawless :10:

Looks like I have a new method for washing my towels and microfibers.

 

[Joe's detailing]

I know what your saying,Murphy's, Pine-Sol they all do the same thing...
But I'll stick to Tide
All micro fiber towels get fluffy in HOT water ..
what ever tatic works use it....Joe

 

[DCT]

I find that the Microfiber restore products work a little better than Liquid Tide at cleaning and softening the towels. I will have to give the Murphy's soap a try.

 

[rayoto]

I would never have thought to use the Murphys approach. I've been using the OXY/Clean method from another post on this forum and have had great results. Some of my MFs are 1yr old and still holding up great; granted I'm only doing an avg. of 3 cars per week. (OXY Method- hot water, scoop of Oxy, agitate a little,let it sit overnight, put in washer (rinse cycle only), hang dry). Hey...if Murphys is doing the trick then I may give it a try too....

 

[distrbd]

I find that the Microfiber restore products work a little better than Liquid Tide at cleaning and softening the towels. I will have to give the Murphy's soap a try.

I will also give it a try,the only thing I'm concerned with is n the bottle it says "pure vegetable oil soap" which is what I don't understand ,does it mean it has vegetable oil ?how could it cut the wax then?I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[Joe's detailing]

I will also give it a try,the only thing I'm concerned with is n the bottle it says "pure vegetable oil soap" which is what I don't understand ,does it mean it has vegetable oil ?how could it cut the wax then?I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Vegetable oil removes wax on trim. I'm sure it has the same effect in washer...Not endorsing the use of Murphy's oil soap

 

[black bart]

I soak my pads and MF towels in a water simple green mix. I also use purple power if I don't have SG it is all about the same.
The expensive stuff that you buy for your towels would use this type cleaner.
I can mix it as strong as what I need depending on what is in MF towels.
Been doing this for a couple years towels are still like new so I will keep doing it until something better comes along. :bigups

I guess I should add that after soaking in SG I Rinse good and then wash them in the washer with liquid tide.
Rinse twice and use white vinegar in last rinse.

 

[CharlesW]

Rinse twice and use white vinegar in last rinse.

Hot water for washing and the vinegar rinse seems to be the only things that make any difference in my MF towels.
The vinegar is for the rinse only! It should not be used in the wash cycle.

Charles
ps. A case of brain fade. I do use detergent in the wash cycle. :redface:
C.

 

[rayoto]

Hot water for washing and the vinegar rinse seems to be the only things that make any difference in my MF towels.
The vinegar is for the rinse only! It should not be used in the wash cycle.

Charles

Charles,

Did I miss something or are you not using any type of detergent? Is the hot water/vinegar all you use?:huh:

 

[CharlesW]

Charles,

Did I miss something or are you not using any type of detergent? Is the hot water/vinegar all you use?:huh:

:redface:
Nope. You didn't miss anything, I just wasn't very clear in what I said.
I do use laundry detergent in the wash cycle. The detergent will be whatever my wife happens to be using at the time I'm doing the MF towels.
What I was intending to convey was that using special soaps or MF specific products didn't seem to make a noticeable difference in the end results.
Changing from warm wash water to hot wash water and using a second rinse with the vinegar added did seem to make the towels more soft/fluffy. I can't say for sure about improved absorbency since that wasn't a problem with my towels.

Charles

 

[Don]

I will also give it a try,the only thing I'm concerned with is n the bottle it says "pure vegetable oil soap" which is what I don't understand ,does it mean it has vegetable oil ?how could it cut the wax then?I guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Vegetable oil removes wax on trim. I'm sure it has the same effect in washer...Not endorsing the use of Murphy's oil soap

I believe most if not all waxes/polishes use some type of oils in their formula. Maybe then that's why the Murphy's works so well, the oils in the soap cut through the oils in the wax...much like WD-40 cuts through heavier grease/grime...not endorsing the use of WD-40 (it makes the mf's and pads smell bad )

In WD-40 the oil's purpose is as a penetrant, lubricant and for water displacement. Perhaps in the soap, the oils were designed as a cleaner (a detergent?) that's effective and safe for wood. I know, it's designed to be a wood soap, not a pad/towel wash, but who here doesn't have a tool in their arsenal that's NOT being used for its intended purpose, but for one that it also performs well at?

Originally, I had tried the Murphy's on my pads when no matter what I used, they still had wax residue on them (you could tell by the way water reacted when you rinsed), and no matter how well I thought I had cleaned them, dry white 'dust'? would come out of the pad when they were fully dried...pad dandruff?

I had some Murphy's laying about, so I figured why not? It's what I've been using since on the pads...easy clean and no "pad dandruff."