Knowing how to clean microfiber cloths will extend their usefulness and prevent cross-contamination. As one of the ten necessary cleaning tools everyone should own, microfiber cloths are indispensable at keeping your home clean. They do require proper care to work well, though.
If you’ve ever held a microfiber cleaning cloth in your bare hand, you’ve probably noticed that it’s more bristly and rough than a standard towel. That’s because the ultra-fine fibers in this synthetic fabric are woven and then split to increase surface area.
You’ve probably also noticed that your microfiber upholstery or clothing don’t have the same roughness. When used as a replacement for leather or suede, the fibers aren’t split.
The split fibers of a microfiber cleaning cloth are what makes them so great at picking up dust or powering away grime. Unfortunately, that same texture makes them harder to clean since the fibers grab onto dirt and other messes.
While it’s tempting to think you can treat them like regular fabric, improper washing will wear away the split bristles and ruin their scrubbing power.
How To Clean Microfiber Cloths
To keep your microfiber cloths in good shape, follow these steps.
Use Separate Cloths for Separate Tasks
It’s a good idea to have separate microfiber cloths for dusting, for cleaning kitchens, and for cleaning bathrooms. That’s why I like multi-colored sets like these. I use the yellow set to dust, the blue ones in the bathroom, and the white ones everywhere else.
When Should You Wash Them?
Kitchen and bathroom cloths: Microfiber cloths used in the bathroom or kitchen, along with those used to clean greasy messes, should be washed after each use. Using hot water (over 120°F) will kill lingering germs.
Cloths used for polishing or dusting: Microfiber cloths used to dust, polish mirrors or glass, or to clean other dry messes need to be rinsed well under running water then allowed to air dry. Launder them more thoroughly every four or five uses.
How To Clean Microfiber Cloths
Regardless of how you use them, eventually all microfiber cloths need to be laundered. To keep them in good condition, you need to understand a few things.
1. Never use bleach or fabric softener. Both bleach and fabric softener will ruin your microfiber cloths. Bleach erodes those split fibers that give them such excellent cleaning power. The surfactants in fabric-softener cause the fibers to clump. Both destroy microfiber cloths’ cleaning powers.
2. Don’t use vinegar, either. Although vinegar is a wonderful laundry aid, its acidity will erode the bristles.
3. Pretreat stains before washing. Use a drop or two of liquid dish or laundry detergent to treat stains. Gently rub this in on both sides with your fingers and allow it to work for 5 minutes before washing.
4. Wash them in a separate load. The bristles on microfiber will pick up lint from other types of fabric. Agitation with other fabrics will wear down the bristled fibers, too. So never wash microfiber cloths with other loads of laundry. You can launder all of your microfiber cloths together in one cycle using hot water — the heat will disinfect them.
5. Air dry them if you can. It’s best to air dry microfiber cloths and, fortunately, they dry very quickly. Hang them from the laundry line in a sunny spot for added disinfection. Or, drape them over the shower rod, and they’ll dry within an hour. If you’re in a hurry and need to toss them in the dryer, use a low-heat setting and skip the fabric softener sheets.
How long do they last?
If properly cared for, your microfiber cloths should last over 100 washings. Replace them when they lose their rough texture and start to feel more like washcloths.
NOTE: This article first appeared on Feb. 23, 2012. It has been revised and updated for republication.
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Pin How to Clean Microfiber Cloths
Abby Gorman says
December 3, 2017 at 1:13 PMHow can I remove pet hair from a microfiber mop please?
Katie Berry says
December 3, 2017 at 1:27 PMSince I don’t know what kind of microfiber mop you have, it’s hard to answer that easily. I’d start by slipping on a rubber dishwashing glove and firmly running my hand over the mop head repeatedly. Those gloves are brilliant at picking up pet hair from sofas, so I’m guessing they’d work on a dry microfiber mop head, too. You could also try vacuuming it. Or both!
Abby Gorman says
December 3, 2017 at 2:16 PMThank you! Is a vileda mop so would be difficult to hoover, but I shall try the rubber gloves. Thank you:-)
Elise says
September 16, 2017 at 12:50 AMI use Polly microfiber cloths and wash with bleach, vinegar, etc. just fine. Website says it’s ok to do so! 🙂
Katie Berry says
September 16, 2017 at 11:13 PMI’ll check those out! Thank you. 🙂
joelle says
July 19, 2017 at 7:41 PMhello I was wandering if I can use Dettol cleaning product with my cloth without damaging it as I like to disinfect my floors
Katie Berry says
July 20, 2017 at 1:21 PMDettol isn’t widely available in the States where it’s mostly used as a medical antiseptic, so I can’t rightly claim to have tried it with microfiber cloths. That said, I can’t think of any reason it would harm them since it’s not acidic or corrosive like bleach or vinegar.
Maran says
June 30, 2017 at 8:27 PMHi can I dry two different color microfiber cloth together after washing. exp: blue and red .
Katie Berry says
July 5, 2017 at 4:22 PMYes. They don’t really bleed onto each other and, even if they did, they’re cleaning cloths so it doesn’t matter.
Tabitha Spears says
June 25, 2017 at 7:45 PMI detail cars. To clean the wax and grease I place in warm water and scrub spots with Dawn, baking soda and vinegar. This works great! Then I throw in washing machine on 15 minute Speed Wash. Throw in dryer for 10-15 minutes and fold. Good luck!
Katie Berry says
June 28, 2017 at 1:16 PMGood to know!
Melissa says
June 12, 2017 at 3:20 AMI washed my daughter’s microfiber towels and now there are big pieces of lint all over them. Too much to pick off by hand, lint rollers don’t work. Please help?!
Katie Berry says
June 15, 2017 at 12:59 PMIt’s very difficult to get lint out of microfiber towels once they’ve been washed with other fabrics. My best suggestion is to wash them just a few at a time in a load but use the highest water level setting so they get a chance to swish around a lot. This should loosen up some of the lint. Run them in small batches through the dryer, too, to remove more. Best of luck!
Katie says
February 7, 2017 at 6:03 AMDo you also put borax in with them, or at least the ones used in the bathroom, to disinfect?
Katie Berry says
February 8, 2017 at 11:01 AMYou certainly can.
Lisa says
November 4, 2016 at 12:16 PMI use mine to sweep the floors – it does a really good job! Unfortunately, I cannot get the cloths cleaned in the machine! I remove any large dust balls and hair but it always comes out a mess – a big mess. Any advice on how to get the hair and dust off these towels so I can start fresh? Thanks!
Katie Berry says
November 4, 2016 at 1:42 PMYou can always try vacuuming them with the upholstery attachment on your vacuum cleaner. 🙂
Kat says
April 15, 2018 at 12:47 PMThis is the single biggest reason I hate microfuber cloths. Everyone touts then and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon but they are impossible to remove all the hair and lint from. Making then less and less effective everytime I use them. And I wash per all recommend methods too: not too hot, by themselves, no softeners etc. But after maybe just a couple of weeks and washes they are depositing more random lint fibers than pieces of dust they pickup. Makes me want to tear my hair out!
Kat says
April 15, 2018 at 12:52 PMI have heard washing then in pretty hot water, with some dish soap (like in a big pot on the stove) could get the fibers to relax enough to let go of all the lint, and crud, but in worried about the heat breaking down the synthetic/plastic fibers.
Katie Berry says
April 16, 2018 at 12:02 PMI just fill a sink halfway with hot water straight from the tap, add a few drops of dish detergent, and rinse my cloths repeatedly while cleaning them. Then give them another good swish after use and let them dry. When I have enough dirty ones, I toss them together into the wash in their own load.
Katie Berry says
April 16, 2018 at 12:00 PMThey definitely can be finicky. Some brands don’t hold onto hair as much as others. I’m a fan of Zwipes for that reason. And, of course, swishing them in a lot of water after use helps dislodge the hair and dust. Put don’t pull your hair out — that’ll just make more of a mess. 😉
Patricia says
May 20, 2016 at 3:58 PMWhen you suggest using a tumble dryer sheet on paintwork to prevent dust, is the sheet damp or dry?
Katie Berry says
May 23, 2016 at 9:07 AMDry works to remove dust, damp works to remove and prevent it. 🙂
Mummy Pig says
January 7, 2014 at 10:31 PMSo wish I’d read this half an hour ago… currently my microfibre cloths are swirling around the washing machine at 65c with a couple of tea towels & an old terry nappy that I use as a cleaning cloth. Yep, there’s also vinegar in there.
I used a couple of them when cleaning the oven and they were very greasy, so I figured hot temps, vinegar and also some borax would be needed to get them very clean.
🙁
Katie Berry says
January 8, 2014 at 7:41 AMHopefully they’ll be all right, Mummy Pig. Mine have accidentally made it into wash loads with vinegar. Once or twice doesn’t seem to do them much harm, but beyond that it seems the vinegar “eats” the microfibers. After that, they don’t get into the nooks and crannies as well, but they’re still fine for things like wiping appliances.