There is a lot of confusion (and misinformation) about the quality of microfiber towels. What makes a microfiber “quality”?
Many detailers and detailing suppliers confuse the GSM (weight), blend (composition) and/or pile (feel), with the quality of the towel. While all of these factors play a role in the overall quality of the product, none of them equate exactly with the “quality” of the towel.
It is easy to think that higher specification numbers mean quality, but that isn’t the case.
There is something more fundamental than all of these specifications, which is the quality and fineness of the yarn. There are different qualities of microfiber yarn. When we design a product we can choose a specific yarn specification that will produce a certain result. For example, the Mr. Everything, Quadrant Wipe and Korean Plush have been developed with a special ultra-fine, low denier (extra thin) yarn that doesn’t scratch the most delicate of surfaces. The yarn used on glass towels is different from drying towels.
Other factors in the “quality” of a towel, separate from the yarn quality, is the design and construction. The first step in creating a new towel is the design and the last step is the construction (the actual cutting and sewing of the final product). The design of most towels, beyond choosing the yarn and type of machine that the material is woven on, is simple. We choose the size, weight, color and edge type.
Most microfiber detailing towels now-a-days are “edgeless”. The main two ways that these towels are made is: “ultra-sonic cut”, and “hidden edge”. Ultra-sonic cut towels are finished using a machine with a blade that vibrates at a high frequency. The vibration creates a minimal but sufficient amount of heat which sears the edge and prevents it from fraying over time. It is very easy to get this wrong: if you create too much heat then the edges become hard and can scratch, not enough heat and the edges will fray. The ultrasonic cutting edge becomes dull as it cuts and needs to be replaced. If it is not replaced, then the towels can end up with serrated and non-uniform edges. Our Hidden-Edge towels (Dreadnought, Royal Plush, Amphibian) are double layered towels with edges that are tucked, sewn together and hemmed. It creates a longer lasting and more robust edge, which is resistant to fraying and doesn’t rely on an ultrasonic blade. They take more time and effort to create, but for higher quality towels, it is worth it.
But Wait!!! GSM, Blend and Pile Do matter.
GSM Does Matter - Higher GSM towels absorb more and, all else being equal, are thicker. They use more microfiber and are often more expensive. But they can be made with low quality yarn and constructed in a low-quality manner.
Blend Does Matter - All else being equal, a higher ratio of polyamide is “higher quality”. Polyamide is more expensive than polyester, and more absorbent. But be careful, 70/30 towels are not always paint safe. They can be made with low quality yarn, poor construction and are often mis-marked by the factory or distributor.
Pile Does Matter - Higher pile towels feel more impressive in hand, but that doesn’t mean that they are always the right towel for the job. High pile towels can create more friction when wiping wet surfaces, and are more likely to lint (especially on glass). We make some low pile towels (Mr. Everything, and F-Lint) which are made with ultra-fine, premium yarn.
The bottom line is that there is more to a towel than just the common specifications that they are marked with. You cannot feel the quality of a towel. The quality of a towel should be judged in it’s utility in the task being preformed.
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You would think something so simple wouldn’t need an in depth explanation, but there really is a best way to wipe!
For most detailing tasks you will want to fold your towel two times. Most towels detailing are square: 16”x16”.
This size is not an accident - it is a deliberate design choice so that when there towel is folded twice (into quarter sections) the functional size of the towels wiping area becomes 8”x8”. Just larger that the size of the average hand.
When the towel is folded in this way you get 8 distinct wiping surfaces.
With your towel folded correctly you are ready to wipe. There are a couple of different wiping techniques to use depending on the purpose of your wipe.
Are you cleaning, polishing or protecting?
Is the surface clean or dirty?
You want to pay attention to the cleanliness of the surface you are wiping. If you are not careful then you can damage the paint and clear coat - adding scratches, swirls and marring.
If you are cleaning a dirty surface - performing a Waterless Wash or Rinseless Wash - you will need to be extra careful because the dirt collected in the towel can cause scratching.
Microfiber is a double edged sword - it is amazing because it picks up dirt easily - but it is dangerous because the embedded debris can cause damage.
When wiping a dirty surface you will notice that it is the leading edge of the towel that picks up all of the dirt. You can take advantage of this, by holing the folded towel edge between your thumb and palm, and rolling the leading edge of the towel away from the surface in the direction you are wiping. Wipe in one direction to control where the dirt ends up on the towel.
Once you have finished your wipe and the towel section is dirty, flip or refold the towel to get to a clean section.
If you are wiping a clean surface - free of dirt and debris - then you can you a less deliberate wiping technique. For example, when applying a spray sealant or ceramic coating, you can hold the towel more flat on the surface and wipe lightly.
Another advantage of the folded towel is that the stacked layers provide extra cushion between your hand and the surface, helping to have a lighter touch.
Again, make sure to flip and fold the towel to a new section often, so that you are always using a clean towel surface.
The proper folding, and switching to a clean towel section is essential for efficient and effective glass cleaning.
Inspired by our desire to increase efficiency and force proper technique we have created a series of towels that are folded and pre-sewn into the 8”x8” sections.
Designed specifically for Rinseless Wash, with a plush high pile fabric. Each towel has four distinct wiping surfaces. They come in a 3 pack. Throw 3 in your Wash bucket and have 12 clean wiping surfaces to wipe with.
When cleaning glass it is essential to always wipe with a clean (and unsaturated towel section. Otherwise you will get streaking. The Original Glass Flip towels are 8”x8” and have 8 distinct wiping surfaces, similar to a 16”x16” towel folded twice.
Many detailers have found that using two different microfiber weave types will lead to better results. Clean with one type and finish with another. These towels are a dual fabric design - one side twist fabric and the other side waffle or smooth.
The flip towels make handling a the towel easier, they work like a hybrid towel and mitt. Stick your hand in the towel to clean in crevices. Flip to new towel sections when it gets dirty.
These compact wheel cleaning towels are easy to handle and control. Stop dragging your wheel cleaning towel on the ground as you clean or dry tight sections. Stick your hand inside and use it as a mitt.
Our Quadrant Wipe towels are designed for ceramic coating leveling and residue removal and are numbered on each side 1-4 and 5-8.
A problem that Detailers have faced since the explosion of ceramic coatings in the industry is keeping track of the towel section they have used. Some innovative Detailers have come up with solutions - like marking sides with a marker, as they are used. And professional Detailers have asked us for years for a simple solution.
Often one-man (or woman) operations, detailers will get a customer call or walk in, in the middle of a job, set the towel down and forget which sides were used. Sometimes reverting to smelling!!! sides.
When applying a ceramic coating proper towel folding and side switching is essential because the ceramic will start to cure in the towel fibers. An improperly rotated towel can lead to firm fibers that scratch or coatings that don’t level properly.
In conclusion, to the novice there is only one way to wipe, over the years professional detailers have come up with techniques and processes that make their job more efficient.
]]>Why are there $0.50 towels and $5.00 towels that weigh the same and feel the same?
Costco/Kirkland towels are just as good, right?
Microfiber is microfiber. It's all the same!
Well… as with most types of products there is more than meets the eye (or, in this case, feel... or scratch!).
When it comes to the manufacture and distribution of microfiber towels there isn't one “factory” or company who controls the process from start to finish. There is a whole stack of vendors in a chain, which complete separate parts of the process.
It goes something like this:
Most of the links in the production chain are completed by separate companies who are business partners. Some companies take on multiple roles.
For example, at Autofiber we Design/Create, QC, Packing & Distribute, and function as our own, in house, Trading Company. We work with various knitting/weaving factories, dye houses, and cut/sew operations, and we source yarn from various manufacturers.
We have a multi-dimensional production chain so that we can optimize our various products to our customer needs.
In each link of the chain we make decisions regarding the manufacturing specifications as they relate to COST.
As the product designer we get to decide the material specifications and production tolerances as they relate to cost.
If we choose low cost options across the board then we will get a lower cost product which will not perform as well, if we choose high cost options across the board then we will get a high cost product that might be too expensive for the customer’s needs.
So… when a Big Box Store (BBS), like Costco or Walmart, goes to their Trading Company (not a factory) and asks them to supply a product with the lowest possible price, the Trading Company makes decisions across the production chain with that goal in mind.
They pick thicker filaments and lower grade yarn, which is less consistent. They have wide specification tolerances on the knitting machines, they use a dye-house that is less precise in their fiber splitting and environmental controls, and their finishing processes are less consistent.
All of these decisions add up to a lower quality product which is less consistent. This is why you will get some towels that die after one use, or have excess lint, or scratch everything, or do not absorb.
To further complicate the process, the Big Box Store buyer, in their constant pursuit of lower cost, puts pressure on the Trading Company to provide lower prices. The Trading Company then puts pressure on the factories to do the same, this leads to a bleed of quality standards over time. The factories oblige and start skimping on materials to meet the request. Quality deteriorates, the BBS gets customer complaints and returns, and puts pressure on the Trading Company, and they switch to different factories to bring their quality back up.
The BBS are, in effect, constantly switching factories and suppliers, in their constant pursuit of lower cost. Which leads to wild product inconsistencies over months and years.
They create a product supply that is constantly changing (inconsistent) over short time frames (in the same package, or batch), because the filaments/yarns are inconsistent, and over long time periods (from month to month, year to year) because they are constantly switching factories.
Now… don't get me wrong. I am not bashing their product or saying you shouldn't use it (I shop at Costco weekly, just not towels), they provide a specific (cost based) value to the marketplace and to detailers, specifically.
At Autofiber, we don't try to compete at the low end of the market (even though we do sell low cost towels, like the Cost What?! Shop Rag). Our goal is to provide high quality products, with innovative designs, at reasonable prices, and to solve problems for Detailers, and help them become more efficient.
We have been working and growing with our factory partners for 10-15 years and have helped to drive their innovation and improvement.
For every product we are making targeted decisions in the production chain (not focusing on cost at every stage) so that we can meet a reasonable balance between price and quality (and problem solving).
Our products and production decisions are made based on detailer and customer feedback. For example, the reason many of our towels use ultra-fine 70/30 yarn, is that detailers, who were tired of chasing micro-scratches, told us. We worked with yarn manufacturers to make products that wouldn't scratch.
The bottom line is that there is a huge difference between cheap and expensive microfiber towels, especially when you are doing precision work and trying to increase efficiency. Our customers demand high quality because it makes them more efficient in their business, so that is what we supply. Big Box Stores supply low prices (and the consequences of that) because that is what their customers demand.
It doesn't make them bad or deceitful, and it doesn't make you less for buying/using them. But it is good to know some insider information which can help explain some of the problems you may see and experience when using cheap and low quality towels.
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We are here to tell you, that is FALSE!
The myth comes from a history where it used to be true. So there is Some Truth to the Myth.
If we go back 20 years, to the late 90’s, almost all microfiber cleaning material was made in South Korean factories.
This was before the Chinese Manufacturing tidal-wave overtook the world, so there were few, if any, Chinese manufacturers of microfiber.
In in the early 2000’s Korean factories began to outsource the cut & sew portion of the manufacturing process, to take advantage of the cheap labor from the developing Chinese manufacturing sector.
At first Korean Microfiber factory would weave, dye and split the fabric, and would send it to China to be “cut & sewn” and packaged by the cheaper labor.
Over the next few years the Chinese textile manufacturing sector continued to grow and develop. First, they began purchasing the equipment to weave and knit the fabric from the raw microfiber yarn. Dye houses (this is where the filaments are “split”) were brought online and into the Chinese textile manufacturing sector. Eventually many yarn manufacturers moved their production the the Chinese mainland.
As the Chinese factories learned all the aspects of manufacturing microfiber textiles there were setbacks and mistakes.
There were unscrupulous “trading companies” acting like factories (these still exist today) and deceiving customers in the US and Europe.
Because of the uncertainty created by the lack of consistency and quality coming from China, relative to their more experienced South Korean counterparts, some American marketing companies capitalized on the poor Chinese manufacturing reputation and used it as a proxy for quality.
Fortunate for us, we had already been in the Microfiber business for many years.
We were familiar with the manufacturing process, we knew how to evaluate the quality of the products, and we knew how to communicate our customers needs (through the language and culture divide) to make the requisite changes to the products.
Honestly, for the first few years of producing microfiber in China we went through dozens of manufacturing partners to find the right ones, to help us create the best microfiber products on the Planet.
We have switched dye houses as environmental and quality requirements have changed. We use multiple yarn suppliers, who we choose based on product design, who have changed over the years. We have added new machines and technology to upgrade our ability to implement our designs.
Our manufacturing supply chain is an ever changing and evolving system which we are constantly upgrading.
We have been working with our most important Chinese Microfiber Factories for over 15 years. We have helped train, and educate them on how to make the best microfiber for detailing possible.
We are constantly trying to push them forward to make products that fit the needs of American (and International) detailers.
The bottom line is that there are good factories in China and South Korea. There are bad ones in both countries, too. Just like anywhere else in the world. Microfiber made in South Korea is more expensive because the labor is more costly.
Our top of the line China Microfiber products, such as our microfiber cleaning rags, are on par with our premium Korean Products.
Autofiber is committed to using the best manufacturers and suppliers from all over Asia (and the World) to design and build world class detailing towels and tools.
These characteristics are separate from weight (gsm) and blend.
Different types of microfiber towel material can have different pile lengths:
The pile weave structure can also other characteristics, like:
Examples of different types of Pile/Weave:
The fibers are open ended and are bundled in small groups. The millions of open ended fibers have great all-purpose cleaning ability.
Terry microfiber is the most common and versatile type available. It is the weave most associated with the word “microfiber”. It is characterized by a medium to low pile, with the same size nap on each side. It is cost effective, absorbent, collects dirt and dust, is low lint and not likely to lint.
It is available in a GSM range from 200gsm to 400gsm.
Examples:
Plush fabric has a high pile on both sides of the material. It is usually soft and gentile, and is ideal for cleaning delicate surfaces, like soft paint.
The long fibers add cushion between the towel and surface and minimize surface area contact.
The long pile reduces the pressure that is applied to the surface.
For some cleaning tasks, the long, soft fibers are not aggressive enough to clean effectively.
DOWNSIDES: The fibers can create friction and extra drag when wet. The long fibers can be broken on rough surfaces and can shed lint, when used with some chemicals.
Some plush towels are actually two separate sheets of one-sided microfiber laminated together, back to back.
Plush fabric types range from 350 to 1200 gsm.
Examples:
Two pile towels have one side with a high pile and the opposite side with a low pile.
These towels are popular because of their versatility. The high pile side is good for Quick Detail Spray, Spray Wax, Compound & Polish removal. The low pile side is good for glass and cutting through tough compound or polish residue.
Many detailers prefer this type of towel for coating wiping and leveling. The low pile side can be used for the initial wipe and the high pile side for the secondary wipe.
Examples:
Pearly weave towels have a tight weave with a low (closed loop) pile.
While still soft, like higher pile towels, and are more aggressive than their plush counterparts.
They are great for compound and polish wiping, paste wax residue removal, and coating leveling.
The low pile, and tight weave make them especially functional glass towels.
Examples:
Waffle-weave towels have no pile, but instead have a cross hatched pattern of high and low spots (like a waffle, hence the name).
The waffle pattern reduces the overall surface contact of the material, making it glide over the surface with less friction. The waffle ridges create sections of fibers with a more vertical angle of attack and swipe up water like thousands of windshield wipers.
These towels are the original microfiber car drying towels. The reduced friction and fast absorbency make them particularly well suited for glass cleaning.
Examples:
Twist Pile Microfiber is characterized by long loops of fiber bundles twisted in a double helix pattern.
The twist piles drastically increase the surface area of the yarn that can be exposed to the surface being wiped. The tight bundles of fibers reduce friction making wiping easier.
This material is a modified version (made softer and less aggressive) of microfiber designed for wet floor mopping. The physical structure of the twisted fiber bundles allows the material to glide over the surface with ease, whereas the plush microfiber creates more drag when wet.
The high absorbency and reduced friction make these towels particularly well suited for drying and glass cleaning.
Examples:
Chenille microfiber is characterized by thick bundles of microfiber “fingers” which stick through a thin base layer of fabric. The long cylindrical shaped bundles have a high surface area, and are spaced to allow them to easily move from side to side, as they clean.
This material is well suited to work wet, and is often used to make car wash mitts, sponges and pads.
Examples:
Suede microfiber has an extremely low pile with a smooth and soft feel. It is very similar to the non-cleaning microfiber you will find in clothing or furniture.
The minimum pile and soft feel, is lint free, make it a great material for lens, screen and monitor cleaning. It is highly efficient for wiping away smudges and finger prints.
Many detailers prefer to use suede for the application of ceramic coatings.
Examples:
The Diamond Weave is a modified version of our original no-pile smooth glass towels. The diamond pattern reduces overall surface contact of the material and reduces drag making wiping faster and easier.
These towels are best for hard non-delicate surfaces like glass, metal and chrome.
Examples:
Mesh microfiber material is great for scrubbing tasks like upholstery and leather cleaning and removing dead bug residue.
The web-like pattern has small holes and openings that allow the fabric to work at a high angle against the surface being cleaned. The thin openings work like hundreds of mini razor blades mechanically cutting caked-on, sticky, and stubborn debris.
Examples:
As you can see there are a lot of different types of microfiber pile and weave! Even though they can be made with the same base fibers and yarn, the physical construction of the fabric has different mechanical cleaning properties, making the different types better for different detailing tasks.
]]>Different auto detailing tasks use different tools and chemicals and also require different types of towels.
Some towels are designed for specific tasks and other towels are designed to be as versatile as possible.
Detailers should pick towels and create a towel “Arsenal” based on the detailing processes and chemicals that they use.
Like pieces of a puzzle, the microfiber car detailing towels being used should complement the task, process and other products being used.
At the very least, a detailer should have a system of color coding for towels used in different tasks to reduce cross contamination, of chemicals, oils, dirt and grime (both during the detail phase, and laundering phase). We offer a wide range of colors in different types, weights, and weaves of microfiber towels for car detailing.
Here is a (partial) list of the best microfiber towels for different car detailing tasks.
Every detailer and auto enthusiast should have a system for storing, organizing and washing their microfiber towels. A color code system is essential for an organized and efficient detail business or shop.
Even if you are using one type of versatile towel (like the [Elite]) for every process (we have some mobile detailers who do this), you should have different colors for different detailing tasks. This will make laundering the towels easier and will reduce cross-contamination. Your towels will last longer and do their job more effectively, if you keep them separate.
Common color-coding guidelines:
Check out our [Dirty Towel Separator] 32 gallon Trash Can Insert, and our [Sort & Store] Bucket Bag Organizers.
Towel costs can get out of control if you don’t have a good system in place, and you must continually replace towels that were ruined.
But… using old (or “dead”) towels, which need to be replaced, for the wrong process, can end up costing you more, in the long run.
So, not only is it important to have a color coding system, but it is important to have a system for caring for your towels after they have been used (laundering and storage), and a system to cycle through and repurpose towels as they wear out.
Many detailers move their towels through a “life cycle” as they progress through their operation.
Since towels deteriorate and become contaminated over time, new towels are dedicated to processes where pristine towels are necessary. These tasks include paint corrections and coatings.
There are a quite a selection of microfiber products and tools for detailing which are not towels. They include:
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Microfiber for cleaning and car care comes in a range of blends of Polyester/Polyamide:
70/30 yarn is the most expensive, the most absorbent and the softest. 100% polyester is the least expensive, the least absorbent, and the most abrasive.
For professional detailers, who are often working on delicate paint surfaces, the blend and quality of the yarn can make a huge difference in how the product functions.
When working on soft paint, or when compounding, polishing, and doing paint correction, detailers want to use a towel with a fine, and soft yarn, which will not add defects to the clear coat (they are trying to remove them, after all).
In most instances, professional detailers will choose a towel with a 70/30 blend, and ultra-fine fibers.
For less delicate detailing processes, many detailers will choose a less expensive towel. When cleaning these surfaces it is okay to go with a towel with a lower ratio blend (and less expensive towel):
Well, you can with us… our towels are labeled with the correct blends.
but,
Towel blend is not marked because it is the most important specification, it is marked because the fabric composition is required labeling, by US Customs.
Many Towels are mis-labeled with higher quality blends, because no one is checking, and factories can get away with selling under-spec fabric.
If you are a professional detailer you should always use your experience and good judgement to evaluate how each towel is working with your process.
Polyamide will absorb dye in the fiber than polyester, so towels with a higer ratio of polyamide will tend to bleed more when they are darker colors (black, red, dark blue).
The only way to make microfiber colorfast is to make it 100% polyester.
70/30:
75/25:
80/20:
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Washing microfiber towels prior to their first use is a good idea. This will remove any residual lint, and extra dye from the manufacturing process.
Microfiber cleaning products are machine washable. High quality products, that are cared for correctly will last for hundreds of washings. Wash microfiber towels separate from other types of fabric (like cotton bath towels or clothes) because they can pick up the foreign lint.
As with all polyester fabrics, bleach should be avoided, as it can break down the fibers making them fragile and less absorbent. Some brands advertise beach safe microfiber, but their advertising is stretching the truth a bit. They achieve this “bleach safe” by adding a protective coating to the fibers, which deteriorates over time and makes the products less effective at cleaning and absorbing.
Microfiber cleaning products can be machine dried, but high heat should be avoided since it can melt the fibers lessening their extreme cleaning ability. Most household water heaters and washing machines don’t get hot enough to melt the fibers, so, unless your water heater is set to above 140 F, don’t worry about washing on hot. Hot cleans better.
Where you must worry about heat is the dryer. Even low heat settings can cause the metal drum inside the dryer to become hot. The centrifugal force of the spinning drum can pin a few of the towels to the hot drum for an extended period of time and cause the fibers to melt and become stiff. This can turn your towels into sandpaper and cause scratching.
Microfiber fabric softeners should also be avoided because they leave a film on the surface and can clog the tiny pours of the split micro-fibers.
Microfiber is not color fast (unless they are 100% polyester). Polyamide, the second component in high quality microfiber products, is the absorbent component of the fiber, and it absorbs the dye, just as it absorbs water and other liquids. When you wash microfiber towels, it is inevitable that some of the absorbed dye is released. This means that darker colors should we washed separate from lighter colors.
If you are cleaning extremely dirty surfaces with heavy oils, grease or dust most household laundry detergents will not be effective at cleaning those elements from the microfiber fabric. A stronger laundry detergent is required that can emulsify the heavy oils and grease. Furthermore, many household detergents contain fabric softeners and unnecessary scents. Using more detergent will not make your towels cleaner, in fact they can leave a residue on the fibers that can lessen their cleaning ability. For this reason, we developed Micro Restore – The Original Microfiber Detergent. This microfiber wash detergent is a highly concentrated (only 2 oz. are needed per 5-gallon load) laundry detergent suited for emulsifying heavy grease and oil.
If you accidentally use too much Micro-Restore or must use extra household detergent to clean your microfiber towels (because all you have is weak household detergent), you can add distilled white vinegar to the rinse cycle. The reason this works is because the detergent is alkaline, and the vinegar is acidic. The vinegar in the rinse cycle will neutralize the excess detergent and prevent it from coating the towels and clogging the fibers. DO NOT add the vinegar at the beginning of the wash with the detergent. This will neutralize the cleaning ability of the surfactants in the detergent.
It is normal and unavoidable that lighter colored microfiber towels will slightly stain.
If you are cleaning or polishing a delicate surface that could be easily scratched it is important that you use a clean towel free of debris. In general, high quality microfiber towels do not scratch, but if they contain debris that can scratch it can be a problem. For this reason, it is important to continuously switch to a clean towel surface when wiping. If you drop the towel on the ground it is better to switch to a clean towel that you know is free from debris.
]]>One denier is 10 micrometers in diameter. A strand of silk is one denier. A human hair is 5 denier.
Microfiber is usually made of polyester, polyamide (nylon), or a blend of the two.
Typical Blends of Microfiber (Polyester/Polyamide):
Filaments of polyester and polyamide are drawn from the raw polymers. The filaments are spun together in a blended yarn, at a specific ratio (see above).
The filaments can be drawn in a wide variety of denier (similar to diameter). Finer yarns are more difficult to make consistently, so they are more expensive.
Microfiber yarn is woven or knit, on machines, into large bolts of fabric.
There are many different types of machines that create different “weaves”, which excel at different types of cleaning.
Weave Types include:
Microfiber fabric is made to a target GSM (grams per square meter) specification. Which is the fabric weight.
GSMs range from 200 all the way up to 1200. The most common GSM is 300gsm.
The pre-dye and pre-split fabric is often called “gray material”.
Microfiber fabrics made for cleaning are “split” in the dyeing process, at a separate factory called a dye-house. These factories specialize in dyeing all different types of fabric.
The fabric is placed in a giant vat and it is exposed to a chemical agent that breaks down the fiber polymers in a controlled manner. The chemical breakdown of the fibers creates microscopic “pours” in the fibers making them absorbent, and creating their “static-like” attraction to dirt and dust.
After the dyeing and splitting process the fabric is taken to a separate factory where it is “cut and sewn”. The material is cut into different patterns; various fabrics are combined and seen into finished products.
The fabric is constructed into:
Synthetic fibers of less than one denier were first made in Japan around 1950. In the 1990’s microfiber cleaning products began becoming popular in Europe, and were being made primarily in stand alone factories in South Korea.
In the late 90’s American companies began to import and market microfiber cleaning products to auto enthusiasts and auto detailers. It took a long time for microfiber cleaning products to catch on in the United States, but auto detailers were early adopters.
In the early 2000s Korean microfiber manufacturers began moving production to China to reduce labor costs. This allowed the price to drop significantly and helped with widespread adoption. Now 90% of microfiber cleaning products are made in China.
Now the microfiber manufacturing process is fully distributed between multiple factories. Microfiber yarns are made at a company specializing in that process. The fabric is knit at knitting factories, the material is dyed and split at a dye-house. It is cut and sewn into finished products at a finishing factory.
Learn about the History of Autofiber in the Microfiber Industry.
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It is a bench mark specification to meet production manufacturing requirements. It is also a standard (one of many) upon which different materials are compared.
When we design a new product we have a GSM target depending on the products use, the weave, and the required cost.
When we do quality control (during and after production) we weigh the material to make sure that it meets the target GSM (within tolerances).
Normal tolerance for GSM is +/- 3%. So a 300 GSM material can vary in weight between 291 and 309 GSM.
No. Although many marketing companies will have you believe that higher GSM is better.
All else being equal, higher GSM towel have more more microfiber, and are therefore more expensive. It will also be thicker and will absorb more total liquid.
But, there are other factors that determine the quality of a towel.
The main factor is the quality of the yarn. Secondary factors are the construction of the towel. The machines that the material is woven on. The precision of the fiber “splitting” process.
Lower quality microfiber material can be made to have a higher GSM and use less microfiber material, by utilizing a thicker “base layer” of 100% polyester.
Most microfiber material is made by weaving the surface yarn through a base layer. The surface yarn is the part of the material with pile, on the outside, that you feel. The base layer is the structure that the surface layer yarn is woven through.
It is possible to make less expensive and lower quality towels that feel heavier and weigh (higher GSM) more by using a thicker base layer yarn. For example, there are some towels in which the base layer is up to 50% of the total fabric weight.
All else being equal, higher GSM material, will have more microfiber and will be thicker and absorb more water.
Many higher GSM Towels will have a higher pile which can reduce surface pressure when wiping. Lower GSM towel will often have a lower pile and will be more aggressive when scrubbing.
Other factors, like the weave type, construction, and yarn quality will have more effect on cleaning ability than GSM.
To determine the GSM of your towel you will need a scale and a tape measure.
Imperial to Metric Conversion: 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
Example 1:
Example 2:
260 gsm Towels:
300 gsm Towels:
340 gsm Towels:
350 gsm Towels:
360 gsm Towels:
400 gsm Towels:
470 gsm Towels:
550gsm Towels:
600/700gsm Towels:
1100gsm Towels:
1200gsm Towels:
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Topics Include:
Product Specifications:
How to Care for Microfiber:
Myths & Misconceptions: