Talk:Microfiber/Archive 1

Untitled
remove stub tag? Missilepenguin! 02:11, 10 July 2006 (UTC) missilepenguin

Cleaning Microfiber Cloths
Can someone please put in information regarding how to clean microfiber cloths? Thanks.

The most ideal approach to clean Microfiber are as follows: Microfiber might be flushed and wrung out as you’re utilizing it, wash them with cleanser, never utilize cleansing agent and always dry in the drier. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 39.50.156.15 (talk) 11:07, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

REPLY: Many distributors say not to use chlorine bleach nor cationic sufactants (fabric relaxers, fabric conditioners).

AIUI too high a concentration of bleach may distort the fibers [please confirm]. The cationic surfactant will fill the holes in the microfiber and reduce its efficiency.

Similarly microfiber should not be washed at too high temperatures (eg 80 celsius). However it is hard to get microfiber to release the dirt it holds and so the method of washing needs to be a bit of a compromise.

Do not wash with other garments especially those which shed small particles of fiber as these will be taken in and held by the microfiber cloth. (Guest comment: That seems like a potential solution for reducing the microfibre content of laundry water...microfibres from loose-fibre fleeces etc are getting into marine ecosystems and getting into the food chain.)  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.182.144.20 (talk) 22:15, 22 June 2016 (UTC)

There does not seem to be a case for using special detergents.

Again, some will advocate using a drier but the temperature must not be so high as to distort the micro fibers. I would not want to iron or press washed microfiber because of the possible loss of the dirt traps.

Some distributors will suggest the use of bleach (eg 3M and its Scotch-Brite microfiber kitchen cloths) and others will specify rather high temperatures. Perhaps their microfibers have been treated or manufactured to withstand such washing but I am not sure how it could have been achieved.

http://www.microfiber-products-online.com/faqs.html

would it be relevant to add that microfiber cloths are recommended to clean compact discs? (I do some work with iron and small particles get cought in the fiber and never leave the cloth, later to scratch almost everything if you use it for cleaning, especially CDs. nekko@engine.com)

Could do with changing the category of this item, and updating with information about their structure. Someone willing to construct a diagram of split microfibre cleaning cloths?

Most cleaning cloths I've seen say to wash at 60°C.

Not sure if Israel is an authority on the subject, being that there is no production of microfiber here, but the instructions are translated from the manufacturers just the same. The recommendation is, do use chlorine, and better before you even start to clean, so the cloth will remain clean. From my experience, this does not work as described at all, but does maintain the material much cleaner than otherwise. --Ohadaloni 18:03, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

The article doesn't mention anything about drying microfiber cloth in a clothes dryer. Even at low heat settings, the small area by the hot air inlet becomes very hot. Because cloths tumbling inside a dryer are bound to touch this area, the lowest heat setting is probably the only setting that won't get that inlet spot overly hot. I have not been able to find a temperature standard for the various settings (like an ISO or mil-spec) such as the "delicate" setting.AnimeJanai (talk) 08:34, 5 June 2011 (UTC)

Microfiber Production Process
I only have questions, hopefully at least those make sense: Is the fiber cloth resulting, being produced, woven and knit in a single process, or if not, what machinery can deal with such small size threads to store them and deliver to the next piece of mchinery?

If anyone can point me to other URLs I will follow up here with summaries of concise but detailed descriptions of my findings.

--Ohadaloni 17:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Will someone with any knowledge on the subject, espcially buzzwords for googling, place a title in the main page with such information? http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5935883-description.html --Ohadaloni 18:08, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

Overly Enthusiastic Tone?
There are a few bits of the article as it stands that read more like an advert than a proper encyclopedia article. Passages like "Microfiber is the perfect blend of polyester and polyamide" and "They are made from a revolutionary warp knitted thread (...)" come to mind. 89.180.49.53 04:25, 25 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I agree. This seems like it was written by a pro-microfiber marketing agency. LeoTrottier 05:12, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

Absolutely agree. Highly informative article but almost COMPLETELY uncritical of the subject, and after a few paragraphs I began to get the feeling that someone was trying to sell me the stuff. The tone is very sales rep-like. It definitely needs a good editor's touch to get this article from sales pitch to encyclopedia article.Bo-Bo Belsinger (talk) 04:01, 14 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Absolutely absolutely agree. 5 years have passed since the above comments were posted and the article is still long on adulations and short on references.  This is my first visit to this article and was highly disappointed with the sales pitch style of writing.  There are just too many unsubstantiated claims and the tone is conversational, at best.  Also, one glaring omission is exactly how the fiber is "split" into the shape of an asterisk.  Is this a thermal, chemical or mechanical process?   N0w8st8s (talk) 11:08, 3 August 2013 (UTC)n0w8st8s

Yep, the Norwex freaks continually try to hijack the article — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.77.42.58 (talk) 22:42, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

What Exactly Is All This?:
(Doesn't it need to be incorporated into the article?)

the traditional application being in clothing natural fibers such as silk, wool, or cotton provide attractive properties for such applications fiber diameters characteristic of such natural fiber are 15-40 for sleep wool approximately 20 for cottonm and approximately 20 for cultivated silk natural fibers compete in this area of applications with synthetic fibers man-made fiber are predominantly produced by melt spinning, which leads to fiber diameters atypically in the range from about 5 to more than 70, thus covering the diameter range charcteristic of natural fiber to produce such fibers, the polymer melt is pumped through a spinneret fiber streching is applied not only to obtain a certain reduction of the diameter but also to simultaneously enhance the chain orientation and mechanical properties —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.80.105.149 (talk) 09:20, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Woodpulp
I believe there is a material named Tencel, a woodpulp microfibre, renewable, biodegradeable, etc. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.171.86.88 (talk) 09:43, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

Materials used for microfiber can be: polyester, polyamide, acylic, rayon type materials ( made from wood pulp) confirmed by Technical Textile Yarns, R Alagirusamy, A. Das Elsevier, 30 Jun 2010 Ludo de Lathouder — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.77.228.204 (talk) 13:50, 10 December 2014 (UTC)

Environmental issues -- Dishes?
Under Environmental issues, there is this sentence:

In many household cleaning applications (washing dishes, floors, furniture, etc.) using microfiber tools disposes of the need to use detergents and cleaning solutions, bringing potentially significant environmental and economic benefits.

How does microfibre eliminate the need for detergents when washing dishes? Novernae (talk) 23:26, 6 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Sounds like someone is overstating their benefits a bit, but in good condition, microfiber towels do have an anti-microbial effect. I've seen this reported as killing up to %99.99 of microbes on a test surface.  Why?  Well, part of it is that the split fibers pick up some of the microbes and remove them from the surface, but I also saw one lab reporting that the unnaturally sharp edges along the fiber actual rupture many single cell organisms (I can't remember the source, so feel free to take it anecdotally, or look it up yourself).  That being said, personally I'd still use detergent, but I'd probably use a more dilute solution.  --Reverend Loki (talk) 21:10, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

A thought on the above paragraph: When doing dishes one is generally dealing with fats and oils from food residues. Detergents disperse these and allow them to be carried away in the dishwater. If you don't use detergents, the lipids will become trapped in the microfibre (or ordinary) cloth, and this will become a problem (loss of cleaning efficiency, residual fats going rancid, bacterial growth as fats are a food source), unless the cloth is regularly cleaned (which will in itself necessitate the use of detergents or soaps). However, the amounts of detergent used by the average person doing dishes is far in excess of actual requirement to do the job (also true for clothes washing). You can further reduce detergent requirements for dishwashing by wiping greasy plates and frypans with paper towelling which then goes in your compost. - For ordinary cleaning of floors, furniture etc detergents are not necessary, and the amount of lipids picked up in the cloth won't be large, and can be easily removed by laundering the cloth. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 49.182.144.20 (talk) 22:05, 22 June 2016 (UTC)

Style Comments
I took out one sentence that seemed very out of place. Overall this one needs some cleanup. The lack of references aside (which is a problem), it reads way too much like a press release from a business for my taste.

Also, way too many sentences (and paragraphs) begin with the word "microfiber". I know its an article about microfiber but, its a definite style issue. I may try to do a sweep through later and clean up some of this, but I don't have time now so I wanted to note it in case anyone else feels like tackling it. 97.107.131.163 (talk) 21:01, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

Static Electricity
I'm not going to add it because I'm too lazy to look up acceptable references and original research is not allowed, but in my experience, I have seen it creating large amounts of static electricity, even more than wool, to the point that my brothers microfiber blanket became sort of "magnetized" with my brother's leg, the bottom part sticking to the leg and the top part of it actually being repelled. Also, it continually crackled as he walked around wearing it. If anyone can find a reference for the static electricity associated with microfiber, I believe it should be added to the article.63.3.9.129 (talk) 02:39, 28 December 2009 (UTC)

Microfibre is NOT positively charged, dust and dirt are not negatively charged. According to "SYNTHETIC SPLIT MICROFIBER TECHNOLOGY FOR FILTRATION" by Jeff Dugan, Vice President Research and Development Fiber Innovation Technologies and Ed Homonoff President Edward C. Homonoff & Associates, LLC Mcrofibre CAN be electrostatically-charged. Ludo de Lathouder — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ludwichdl (talk • contribs) 14:28, 10 December 2014 (UTC)