PhaRO
01-12-2007, 07:09 PM
Sorry if this is long winded but I'm stumped.
Over the last year in my mobile business I've been switching over to rinseless washes. I started with QEW and tried ONR and DP4N1. All worked well and initially I preferred QEW but tried ONR again and am leaning towards it now. I use Sams Club and Costco MF towels but lately have been rethinking it some but have some questions.
Generallly I have 100 towels in circulation. Right out the package they absorb great. I noticed after a couple of washing they don't absorb as well. No fabric softener or bleach is used and they are tumbled on low heat. Cheap towels poor results is my initial thinking. I picked up a Cobra Super Plush a while back and tried it out. Certainly a nicer towel. I've used it a few times and it's been washed a few times. It doesn't seem to absorb as well either. So much for my cheap towel theory. My guess is either my towels are not getting clean enough, rinsed enough or it's the drying. I notice as the towels get older they become more and more water resistant. I can drop a towel in water and it won't get soaking wet until I wring it out once. When drying I use one towel and chase with the other. The first towel will pick up easier if it's damp but no matter if it's dry or damp it will have to be chased with a second towel. When they are new I don't have to follow up with a second towel as much, especially on the paint. My washer was old and it died so I got a new washer. I thought maybe my washer was too blame. New washer has extra rinse and great spin cycle. I was hoping extra rinse and better cleaning would do the trick. I recently replaced my towels again so this batch has only been cleaned in the new washer. They again are getting less and less absorbant. We don't use fabric sheets in the dryer so I don't think that is it. I use the low setting and a pretty short cycle. I suspect the blame is chemical or soap building up. I was using Cheer Powder. I tried MF restore with the Cheer and that didn't seem to help. I tried just the MF restore and that didn't clean the towels well enough. I've also oxy clean, vinegar in the rinse cycle, Meguiars Super Degreaser and various combinations. Last night I took a handful of towels and cleaned them in a bucket several times with Woolite a few times and Oxy Clean once or twice. I rinsed them several times then washed them with Cheer and MF restorer. After the double rinse, I started a new cycle with a couple cups of vinegar and a double rinse. Going to let some of them air dry and some tumble to see if that helps.
I have been thinking of buying nicer towels but need to figure out what is going wrong before I dump the money into them. If you use a rinseless wash what towels are you using to dry with?
Over the last year in my mobile business I've been switching over to rinseless washes. I started with QEW and tried ONR and DP4N1. All worked well and initially I preferred QEW but tried ONR again and am leaning towards it now. I use Sams Club and Costco MF towels but lately have been rethinking it some but have some questions.
Generallly I have 100 towels in circulation. Right out the package they absorb great. I noticed after a couple of washing they don't absorb as well. No fabric softener or bleach is used and they are tumbled on low heat. Cheap towels poor results is my initial thinking. I picked up a Cobra Super Plush a while back and tried it out. Certainly a nicer towel. I've used it a few times and it's been washed a few times. It doesn't seem to absorb as well either. So much for my cheap towel theory. My guess is either my towels are not getting clean enough, rinsed enough or it's the drying. I notice as the towels get older they become more and more water resistant. I can drop a towel in water and it won't get soaking wet until I wring it out once. When drying I use one towel and chase with the other. The first towel will pick up easier if it's damp but no matter if it's dry or damp it will have to be chased with a second towel. When they are new I don't have to follow up with a second towel as much, especially on the paint. My washer was old and it died so I got a new washer. I thought maybe my washer was too blame. New washer has extra rinse and great spin cycle. I was hoping extra rinse and better cleaning would do the trick. I recently replaced my towels again so this batch has only been cleaned in the new washer. They again are getting less and less absorbant. We don't use fabric sheets in the dryer so I don't think that is it. I use the low setting and a pretty short cycle. I suspect the blame is chemical or soap building up. I was using Cheer Powder. I tried MF restore with the Cheer and that didn't seem to help. I tried just the MF restore and that didn't clean the towels well enough. I've also oxy clean, vinegar in the rinse cycle, Meguiars Super Degreaser and various combinations. Last night I took a handful of towels and cleaned them in a bucket several times with Woolite a few times and Oxy Clean once or twice. I rinsed them several times then washed them with Cheer and MF restorer. After the double rinse, I started a new cycle with a couple cups of vinegar and a double rinse. Going to let some of them air dry and some tumble to see if that helps.
I have been thinking of buying nicer towels but need to figure out what is going wrong before I dump the money into them. If you use a rinseless wash what towels are you using to dry with?