ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CLEANING WITH MICROFIBER CLOTHS 2021


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Today’s blog post is my guide to cleaning with microfiber cloths. My name is Sarah Goldsmith and I have owned Purple Cleaning, a successful cleaning company in the UK for the last 6 years. 

I first discovered microfiber cloths when my cleaning company was in its infancy, about a few months after I started. I used all kinds of cloths to clean with and they always left a residue behind , this made my efforts look like they had been in vain. 

cleaning-with-microfiber-cloths

Watch My YouTube Video On Microfiber Cleaning Here

One day I was cleaning a very big house in rural Northumberland, my client must have noticed my frustrations and handed me a microfiber cloth to clean with, it was an E-cloth. E-cloth were incorporated in 1995. I have no idea how I never come across them before but any-hoo, I set about cleaning a shower door with it. My client told me all I needed was water, so that’s what I did.

THE RESULTS WERE AMAZING!

I cleaned this glass with only water and an E-cloth, although I have to admit, for the build up of residue close to the bottom of the shower door. I needed an extra hand from my friend soapy water. But was amazed at how smear free and sparkly this shower door looked.

After this, I looked up E-cloths. You could buy them on Amazon or from their website, they were pricey though, and not suitable (financially) for a cleaning company.

I set about buying up microfiber cloths, microfiber towels and anything microfiber I could find. I went through brand after brand within my budget of a few pounds per pack of 3 or 4 and never found a decent quality microfiber cloth that I could:

  1. Buy in bulk
  2. That was financially viable to use in bulk
  3. Durable

Costco

Around 7 months into my business, I got a Costco membership. While strolling the humongous aisles of Costco, I stumbled across a pack of 36 microfiber cloths for cleaning cars and they cost around £18 including VAT. This works out around 50p per cloth, BINGO! I bought 1 pack to try.

Once home and after unpacking my bulk load of bacon, minced beef and toilet rolls. I opened the pack of microfiber cloths and “OMG”! They were such good quality, they were thick, absorbent, fluffy and just scrumptious. A cleaners dream. 

I thought it would be best to try them at home first. So starting with my electric induction hob, just because it needed cleaning. I sprayed it with some warm soapy water and let it dwell to break down the particles. Then I wiped with the finer side of the cloth, as expected (and hoped) everything wiped off easily (no scrubbing). I turned the cloth over to the other side (the fluffy and clean side) and buffed up the hob………. This hob was gleaming! I kid you not! I was over the moon, finally a cleaning cloth that would help me, instead of hinder me.

Just Me and My Microfiber Cleaning Cloths From Now On…..

HOW DO MICROFIBER CLOTHS WORK AND HOW DO I USE THEM?

Now, not many people know and you wouldn’t know, unless you’re a cleaning nerd like me. BUT microfiber cleaning cloths have magical, disinfecting properties (I’ll get into the disinfecting further down the post).

THE MECHANICS AND THE SCIENCE OF MICROFIBER CLEANING.

Microfiber towels and cloths are designed to work with water. And water is pretty good at cleaning things all by itself, because molecules have 2 different ends. They’re electrically unbalanced (a lot like me). So these ends act like little magnets, pulling and attracting tiny particles to themselves, sticking to all kinds of things, bacteria, viruses, food particles and whatever other particles you have lurking around. Water is referred to in the “scientific community” as “The Universal Solvent”. It is a super power in its own right. 

Dish Soap Hack Coming Up…

Now, I do prefer to use a bit of dish soap when cleaning with microfiber cloths. Fairy Liquid and Dawn are ideal. They are both available in the antibacterial variety and you can use essential oils too.

The way microfiber cloths work is that each fiber of the cloth is tiny. If you could see it under a microscope you would see that they are like tiny little microscopic fingers like hairs. Each one of these finger like hairs, grabs and holds onto any particle it comes into contact with. A square centimetre of good quality microfiber has approximately 28000 fibers within it, if many hands make light work….. Then so do a lot of fingers!

Buy Quality Microfiber…

A good quality microfiber cleaning cloth has a fiber diameter of 0.33 microns or less. These are the types of microfiber cleaning cloths you want to buy because the size of a virus is usually smaller than 0.5 microns. The size of a bacteria is normally between 1-5 microns. This means that the good quality microfiber cloth of 0.33 microns can catch most bacteria and some viruses. For the viruses the cloth cant catch, we turn to our friend soapy water again.

Using warm soapy water breaks down the fatty layer of the virus and kills it. This can be wiped away with your microfiber cloth and washed on a hot wash immediately.

The Best of The Best…

The Costco brand, Norwex and E-Cloth can claim to be 99% antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiviral. They MUST be used with a soapy detergent also. Using a soapy detergent could also suggest that this power team could be disinfecting close to 100% of bacteria and viruses.

Any competent cleaner in the industry that is well read on the mechanics of cleaning will know that, cleaning is just one step of the process. The disinfecting part of the process usually happens after the initial cleaning.

Disinfecting..

To disinfect, you must treat the area again with the soapy detergent and wipe again with your cleaning cloth. However, with microfiber technology and soapy warm water, it is feasible to say that this two step process can be cut down to one step with the use of good microfiber cloths, where one wipe not only cleans but disinfects too.

WHAT IS MICROFIBER MADE OF?

Microfiber cleaning cloths are made up of two plastics, polyester and polyamide. The Costco Kirkland Microfibre Cleaning Towels are 80% polyester and 20% polyamide. E-Cloth general purpose tends to be the same, however, the glass cleaning cloths differ as they are of a different texture to the general purpose cloths.

If you are worried about the environment because these cloths are made of plastic. Remember, microfiber cloths are made to last. With the proper care will last you years, I still have some that are 6 years old.

BUT WHAT ABOUT MICRO PLASTICS POLLUTION?

Concern over the use of plastic in our day-to-day living has been a hot topic for the last few years. I’ve seen the news reports on plastic pollution and I’ve seen the videos, pictures and the damage these plastics are causing to marine life. Plastic microfibers are a new problem. In every wash we do in our washing machines, we’re releasing dangerous plastic microfibers into our rivers and oceans.

The Solution…

However there is a solution for this, plastic trapping bags that you can buy here.
The bags are called Sea Savers from an Ethical Company called And Keep. They are trail blazing the way in eco friendly and ethical products that we use everyday. Helping towards our battle with pollution. I recommend using The Sea Savers Laundry Bags because they are so easy to use. Simply place your man-made textiles (in this case, microfiber cleaning cloths)  into the Sea Saver and wash on a hot cycle to kill any bacteria and viruses that are still alive. At the end of the wash cycle clear any plastic fibres from the Sea Saver and place into the recycling. The Sea Saver can also be used to protect fragile garments like silks during the wash.

WHAT ARE THE KEY BENEFITS TO CLEANING WITH MICROFIBER?

Cotton Cleaning Cloths Vs Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

Cotton cleaning cloths are environmentally friendly as they are made from natural fibers and they are gentle enough to clean surfaces without scratching. However, they aren’t the best choice when looking for cleaning cloths. Because the fibers are not as fine as microfiber they tend to just push water and dirt around, rather than picking up and holding them (which is what happens with microfiber).

Microfiber Wholesale Experiment

I watched a fascinating YouTube video the other day from Microfiber Wholesale, they conducted an experiment with cotton, synthetic and microfiber mops. 

The experiment was mopping with 16 ounces of water for each mop and timing the dry time with each one.

The Conclusion..

The conclusion was that the cotton mopped area took 30 minutes to dry. And the microfiber area that was mopped took 5 minutes to dry. Staggering. Microfiber really is the best option for cleaning effectively. And from the viewpoint of a Cleaning Company, I can reduce the risk of slips due to wet floors very significantly. Which looks great on our Risk Assessments and Method Statements.

Environmental benefits

On the contrary to what I was talking about earlier in the post about the plastic pollution caused by microfibers. Microfiber cleaning cloths are technically environmentally friendly. This is because, when you’re cleaning with water alone, there are no harsh chemicals entering the environment.

Cleaning with microfiber significantly cuts down the amount of water needed to clean by the use of many little fingers (the fine fibers mentioned earlier). Even though they are made of plastic, we are actually reducing our plastic waste because we aren’t having the need to buy more traditional cloths as the microfiber cloths last years as opposed to the few uses we get out of traditional cleaning cloths.

Financial Benefits

The cost of Microfiber cleaning cloths can vary wildly, as I’ve said, I’ve tried every brand I could find within a budget of a few pounds for a pack of four. However, good quality, antibacterial, antimicrobial towels and cloths are going to cost you on the initial outlay. 

The Price of Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

E-Cloth

E-Cloths will cost anywhere from £8.99 for a pack of 2 to £14 for a pack of four. The E-cloth microfiber cleaning cloths for glasses are a few pounds each. That works out at about £3.50 to £4.00 per cloth.

Norwex

Norwex microfiber cleaning cloths will set you back about £14 per cloth! These are by far the most expensive microfiber cleaning cloths I’ve found to date. They are more established in the US market than the UK.

Kirkland by Costco

Kirkland by Costco microfiber cleaning towels are around the £25 mark on Amazon for a pack of 36, giving best value for money and no compromise on quality.

How Long Do They Last?

The lifespan of a microfiber cloth should be more than 150 washes, however, E-cloth, Norwex and the Costco cleaning cloths will last a lot longer than that.

Our cloths are washed after every single use. They are never re-used at another site or property until they’ve been thoroughly washed. Some of them have been with us for six years. This goes to show how durable and cost effective microfiber cleaning really is.

Lint Free Cleaning

The standard of microfiber cleaning is well known, but did you know that true microfiber cleaning cloths are lint free?

This means there are no little fibers left behind after cleaning. Is there anything worse than sweating it out on a dirty window only to look back at a certain angle and discover that you have to do it again because there’s been a trail lint left behind?

Not anymore…… Buy Microfiber, save yourself the heartache.

Size Variety

One of the things I love about microfiber is that you can buy them in a range of different sizes, the Kirkland clothes are 16×16” which is around 3 times bigger than the normal low quality shop bought ones. This means I can clean a larger surface area, more thoroughly with only one cloth. 

There are many other sizes available, from extra large towels for hair and teeny tiny glass cleaning cloths for your glasses.

Better Cleaning

Above all else, no one can argue that the quality of cleaning you get from a microfiber cloth is far more superior than that of a traditional cleaning cloth. Microfiber cloths make cleaning a doddle, no streaks, no residue, no lint, no germs, use them with or without soapy water.

They also work extremely effectively with steam cleaning, the NHS use this method of cleaning combined with microfiber technology to clean and disinfect.

The truth is, the big household cleaning chemical companies don’t want you to clean with microfiber, this would damage their market.

The Global Household Chemical market was valued at an astounding $36 billion in 2020 and set to achieve growth rates through 2020-2024 of 6%.

This means that by the year 2025 the market value will exceed $56 billion. The global pandemic has of course accelerated this growth.

Make The Switch

Imagine everyone switched to microfiber and water alone, that market would be destroyed overnight!

This is why we’re constantly bombarded with TV adverts telling us to buy the latest antibacterial, antiviral cleaning product.

These companies scaremongering consumers into buying the all singing all dancing cleaning product. That claims to literally save your life, your children’s lives and every life in your household.

It’s codswallop! You only need a few microfiber cloths and if you’re like me, some dish soap.

I’M FASCINATED WITH MICROFIBER CLEANING CLOTHS

Since discovering microfiber cleaning cloths for myself all those years ago, my business took a turn for the better, the game had changed. The playing field was levelled and my cleaning took on a whole new dynamic. I was not only cleaning more effectively, I was cleaning aesthetically too. 

What is Aesthetic Cleaning?

Photo by Jon’Nathon Stebbe on Unsplash

Aesthetic cleaning is when a surface is cleaned and then also buffed with a microfiber cloth to a super high shine. it’s not only clean and hygienic but pleasing to the eye too.

There is no better feeling than walking into a bathroom and seeing crystal clear glass, super shiny chrome and sparkling porcelain.

Now I don’t know if I coined the term “Aesthetic Cleaning” but it has certainly become my company’s ethos. My staff are always in shock when they go through our training program at how much more there is to cleaning. And when you have the right tools at your disposal, you can definitely make cleaning fun.

Costco Kirkland Microfiber Towels

COSTCO-KIRKLAND-MICROFIBER-CLEANING-CLOTHS

E-Cloth Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

E-CLOTH-MICROFIBER-CLEANING-CLOTHS

Norwex Microfiber Cleaning Cloths

NORWEX-MICROFIBER-CLEANING-CLOTHS

You can thank me later 

Sarah x

This post contains affiliate links.

Sarah Goldsmith

Sarah Jane Goldsmith is the owner of multiple award-winning cleaning company. Purple Cleaning. With 7 years of industry experience and working with some of the most exclusive clients the Northeast of England has, she's gained a wealth of knowledge in cleaning and home organization. Her company, Purple Cleaning Services have won multiple awards for service in the commercial and domestic sectors. They are corporate members of the British Institute of Cleaning Science, leading the way in safe, effective, and aesthetic cleaning. Sarah runs many social media channels including her successful YouTube channel where she teaches people how to clean and how to get the most from their homes. Her private community of raving fans love being part of her exclusive membership programme, Keep It Clean Club, which can be found at sarahjanegoldsmith.com In her spare time, Sarah enjoys nothing more than spending time with her family, she has 2 young daughters and a teenage son. By day she is engrossed in helping many people stamp out the mess in their homes and live happier cleaner lives.

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