You want to make sure your microfiber towels have a "grippy" feel. The more "grippy" feel of the towel, the more dirt, dust, water, and even bacteria it will pick up! Don't worry, the grippy feel does not take away from the softness of the cloth, so you won't have to be concerned with scratching anything delicate. So here's how to do the Touch Test:
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- Run your hand over the towel and ask yourself the following questions.
- Is the cloth soft?
- Would you use it on the finish of your car?
- Does the material grab the imperfections in your skin, getting caught on your hand?
If your towel catches on your hand, it is made with split microfiber. High quality cloths have gone through a splitting process, leaving the fibers to look like an asterisk in cross section. The spaces left by the process is what gives your cloth the ability to pick up dirt and absorb liquid.
If your cloth isn’t split, it won’t be any more effective in cleaning than a cotton towel. Another factor that contributes to how well your towel will clean is the size of each fiber. The smaller the fiber, the more it can pick up.
Microfibers are measured in denier, which is the diameter of each fiber. By definition microfiber must be lower than one denier, which is equal to 10 micrometers. Good quality microfiber towels for cleaning usually have below 0.5 denier. This makes it small enough to pick up a variety of germs, bacteria, and microbes!
For example, our Buff™ Pro and Microfiber Glass Cloths both have extremely low deniers of 0.1 to 0.2. If you are looking for the best quality cleaning cloths, make sure you check the denier (if available).