How long do microfiber cloths last? How long do microfiber mops last? Those are loaded questions if there ever were any. It’s like asking how long your car will last. There are so many factors that determine the life span of microfiber cleaning products such as how is the microfiber used, how is it washed, is it only washed with other microfiber, etc? Manufacturers themselves even vary on how many times you can launder a microfiber towel for instance; some say 300 times others say as much as 500 times. Certainly manufacturers test their products for washability, but how accurate is a test if you’re just washing them over and over again?
Because there are so many variables, there are no firm answers to these questions. The best I can give you is anecdotal evidence to the durability of microfiber cleaning products.
The first item we’ll look at is our All Purpose Microfiber Towels. At my home I use 12×12 Microfiber Towels and 16×16 Microfiber Towels. I use them for just about everything around the house. I have about 18-20 towels in the house and we probably use 10-12 of them a week. We wash a load of microfiber (the towels I’m describing above, waffle towels from the kitchen, mops, car wash microfiber etc) every week. So since I only use half of my inventory of towels each week, each towel gets washed about 25 times a year. They also get dried in the dryer under high heat which will shorten the life of any just about any fabric, microfiber included. I’ve been using this same bunch of microfiber towels in my home for at least 5 years. That means the towel pictured has been washed about 125 times.
The only real signs of wear on the towels I have at home is some staining and the label is curled and almost unreadable. There is some slight fraying on the edges, but the over lock stitching has held up pretty well. The most important thing is that these towels still perform really well. They’re still very absorbent and dust and dirt still clings to it like a magnet.
Next week we’ll look at microfiber mops.
