Are all Microfiber cloths created equal? In a roundabout sorta way, yes.

Most people don't realize that there are only a handful of companies that manufacture microfiber. These companies manufacture, to spec, for a lot of distributors and retailers.

IMO, don't fall for one retailers claims of superior cleaning ability and so on. Buy the price-point you're comfortable with, buy the type (ribbed, standard nap, etc.) for the task at hand (scrubbing, general cleaning, polishing), and buy locally.

Check out Costco, Target, Pep Boys, et al.

I've tried cheap ribbed ones, expensive smooth nap ones and the in betweens -- so far I'm not impressed. I know they are all the rage but as far as I can tell microfiber cloths for cleaning, drying or polishing are way overrated.

They all contain a good portion of polyester and that in fabric has never dried well and makes your cloth skip and flip all over the place unless you muscle it down while working a surface. Give me well worn 100% cotton, be it terry or smooth for the particular job. Hope your mileage differs.

My mileage definitely varies! And I also don't think all microfiber cloths are created equal (and have said so many times). Seems like the ones with 30% polyamide vs 20% are "grabbier" and clean better. I haven't tried them all but of the ones I have tried, I like the brand found in Walmart's auto department the best. A lot of people swear by the Solutions brand. I've not tried those. There is nothing scientific about my findings...just hands on experience.
Monica

I've only bought online. Nothing to compare to. Happy with what I get from microfiber.org.

Here is a link that might be useful: definitely better than cotton for cleaning

Natal, Thanks for the link! It explains so much!

I like microfibers for dusting out old boxes and other messy stuff, but like old flannel nightie rags for dusting or polishing where there isn't a lot of cleaning necessary. Now I know why!

If you're looking for cleaning rags (and therefore appearance is irrelevant), Sam's Club automotive department has them in bags of 25 for some low price, but their colors tend to be, um, unattractive. (Although I bought 25 in a bright canary yellow. I split them between my ragbag and my kitchen drawer. I do have to launder them separately, or at least I did at first, because the yellow color bled in the wash.)

I like them because they do soak up water like crazy without leaving lint behind.

Some that claim to be microfiber actually have cotton in them, read the labels. Also, DON'T use fabric softener when you wash them...which is a pain for me because I'd like to be able to just throw them in with everything. But now I have to wait for a decent sized load of just microfiber towels to wash them. I have a variety of brands and textures and I find some work better for things like the stainless steel fridge whereas others work better for streak free granite.

The other thing I hate about microfiber is how it snags on my hands when my skin is really dry (almost all the time now). Anybody else have that problem?

These towels may be microfiber, I don't know. Trader Joe's has kitchen cloths, two in a package. They are soft, very absorbent and do not scratch. I use them for dish washing and drying.

Rmlanza, I can't stand the microfibers snagging my skin, either. But I put up with it 'cause they're great in my kitchen and baths and wonderful in cleaning my floors.

I have little experience with a variety of MF cloths, but did research what I wanted before I bought.

I really wanted dark blue edgeless ones, which Brilex had. I cut a few up for washcloths and use some for cleaning granite, stainless steel, dishes, etc. They work great for every application, so far. They are a waffle weave, are soft but not as soft as some flat weave ones that I got (haven't used those ones yet.)

I feel the Brilex ones are well made, which is good, since I bought 30 of them to start with!

Here is a link that might be useful: Brilex Microfiber

Mine are the hideous yellow ones from Costco and I LOVE them.

I do have to admit that I used to have the problem that Natal's link mentioned: when I washed my microfiber cloths, they would attract every piece of lint from the entire universe, which was kind of a pain. :)

So I bought another packages of cloths (which brings me some near owning 24 of them) and a cheap laundry basket from the dollar store. Now I just throw the dirty ones in their special laundry basket and wait until I have enough to do a load. No more lint. It's fabulous! And I like that they aren't being washed with all my other laundry, because I use them for everything... cleaning floors (ick!), and greasy stoves, and our lawnmower, and etc.

I definitely recommend the Costco cloths.

I'm in the minority but I still prefer the Mystic Maid ones. Their weave/knit is different than any others I have found and they seem to work better. I do have a bunch of others and they work fine but not quite as well as the MM. YMMV of course!

Yep, Mystic Maid cleans better. Oh, and they have one that's supposedly for "Outdoors", but the weave looks exactly like the others. It's square and has a buttonhole in one end so you can do I know not what with it while you're working with it outdoors. But it is BROWN--the only brown I've seen. Perfectly matches coffee stains, so I've invested heavily in them for my kitchen counter wipes.

DH doesn't know how to handle coffee spills any other way. I'll work brown into the new kitchen's color scheme.

Love my blue Target clothes. Use them with glass cleaner on the gas-on-glass stove, as well as on the s.s. fridge, glass cabinet, etc. Hate the way they feel on my hands, but I can live with that. Am planning on buying some for Christmas gifts. Can't get enough.

Just last night and for the first time I used DS's blue MF clothes (from auto parts store) to wipe down my new textured ceramic floor tiles. The drywaller had been there slapping mud around and the floor had quite a few hardened chunks. It came off easy with very little scrubbing.

I quickly put the clothes back down when I picked them up before because I hated the way they felt on my hands. But I suffered through it last night to get my new floor clean and now I'm a believer!

I don't know if one MF cloth is better than another but for certain they are worlds apart from a plain ole dish rag!

I may have to look at Microfiber cloths more closely after reading all the accolades above. But...at $10, $15, and $20 a throw for a Mystic Maid cloth (depending on size and type), that equates to about $500 for a small wash load. Me thinks y'all got too much money. LOL

Teed, don't know where you get those numbers. I've invested about $30 in a HUGE selection of microfiber cloths for different uses.

The best 2 I have I bought at Wal Mart. They were expensive, but are heavy duty. I also have some that aren't so thick that I use for everything, but I can't remember where I bought them. The mircrofibre makes cleaning so much easier. I absolutely love them for mirrors!!

Natal: Do check the prices on the Mystic Maid brand cloths - I am talking specifically about those "awesome" ones. (I've tried many MF cloths of other brands.) $30 worth of Mystic Maid may carry you through a Monday of a new week.

Never heard of MM. Definitely expensive! You don't need to spend that kind of money.

I'm another fan of the multi packs from Walmart's auto department. I don't wash them. They just progressively move on to dirtier jobs. Mine start out in the kitchen for things like cleaning our the fridge and microwave, then move on as sink and counter cloths for a while. From there they become "wipe the mud off the wall from the dogs" cloths. Then they move on to the bathroom and finally end up as floor cloths after which they are discarded.

I usually have 3 or 4 different cloths going at once.

How the heck do you get them clean??? Mine might be a lost cause...I have the yellow ones and thought keeping them with the cleaners in the garage was a good idea. That was until my DIY DH decided to cut some wood. They have sawdust on them and I've washed them but the little slivers are everywhere. Now I have a stack of never used, and hairy slivery ones. Any ideas?

They're pretty much wasted when they get wood splinters in them I think - other than for DH to do more of same with them. Once DH wrecks my good ones I try to get him to keep using the same ones for his garage work.

I have the yellow automotive ones from Costco for general cleaning. I also got some waffleweave dishtowels from Costco. They are definitely different from the yellow ones. They don't catch on your skin as much and also don't get as linty. The first ones I bought were small blue ones from Walmart automotive - those are the worst in terms of lint and catching on your hands.

bump...has useful information about microfiber cloths...

I have the ugly yellow costco ones too. The price can't be beat that I've seen and they work well. I also have a set of two from PAmpered Chef (that I won at a PC show). Those two cost the same amount as the 12 from Costco! They are thicker and feel more luxurious but I don't find a difference in cleaning or drying ability.

I also hate the dry skin syndrome but at least it reminds me to moisturize more often ;)

I have the dry skin syndrome also ....... but love how they shine my stainless & granite. I guess I'm cheap and don't mind a little muscle, cause I buy mine at BBB, 2 for a $1.00 or at Dollar Store (Mr Clean is the brand) for a $1.00 each.... but these are mitten and I bought them to dust the blinds, but have since started keeping them on top of the frig to use in the kithcen.

So, you can wash these and hang to dry?

Christy

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