All Microfiber Not Created Equal

I've talked about using microfiber for cleaning, but not all microfiber is created equal. Microfiber cloths can look the same upon first glance, but there’s details you can see and the most important ones you can’t.. that can make all the difference in the world!

Most microfiber combines two fibers, Polyester and Polymide (basically Nylon). These fibers are usually “split” through a specialized heating process that creates edges and capillaries within each fiber that make it superior for cleaning.

So what is quality Microfiber and how can you tell? 

First – here’s what you can’t see:

Split fiber. Unsplit microfiber is terrible at absorption which makes it near useless for cleaning.  Machines that produce the raw Microfiber thread can be purchased for under $100,000. The machines that do the splitting and processing of the thread into quality Microfiber cost over $1,000,000.  This is why there can be a dramatic difference in price between microfiber cloths.

Size matters.  To be classified as microfiber a fiber only needs to be 1/6 the diameter of a human hair. Tests done to show % removal of bacteria and viruses is dependent upon the size of individual fibers.   Smaller is better.  Think of how clean your floor would be using a rake versus a broom.  The size of the fibers needs to fit the size of the mess being cleaned.  At 1/200^th the diameter of a human hair, Norwex microfiber is smaller than the cloth fibers used in the study below which was able to remove 98% of bacteria and 93% of viruses from a surface.

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2008/11/understanding-microfiber-s-role-in-infection-prev.aspx

Density.  For high quality microfiber, higher density (fibers per square inch) translates into greater cleaning power and absorption. The Norwex enviro cloth has 8.5 million feet of fiber in every cloth!

What you can see:
1. Look for finished edges on a microfiber cloth better cloths are finished well.  
2. Pull the cloth, a cheap microfiber cloth will stretch, a sturdy high quality cloth will barely budge. 
3. Feel the cloth, the split weave microfiber will catch on dry skin.  High quality will also be thicker.
4. Hold the cloth up to a window or light. Denser microfiber will block out significantly more light.
5. Try it! See how much water the cloth can soak up.  Clean with another cloth side by side.. see how the surface looks after and how the cloths look.

Personally, I prefer Norwex microfiber. Here's what makes their microfiber so special.

Silver. Norwex has a unique patented process in which it has incorporated a silver agent that can't be washed out and when used with water can destroy viruses, bacteria, mold, and mildew.  This gives Norwex the unique advantage of having a cloth that can be used over and over without laundering and actually purifies itself within 24 hours.

For more about Silver:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/27431.php

http://youtu.be/Yz6LuH-11II

Warranty. Norwex microfiber comes with a 2 year warranty. This means the company answers for the quality they provide. I personally have several friends who are using Norwex cloths 10 years after having purchased them.  

 

Some independent news reports on Norwex:

http://www.americanownews.com/story/23517214/andy-will-it-work-norwex-antibac-microfiber-cloth - keep in mind Norwex was used improperly (should’ve been thoroughly rung out instead of “soaked”)

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?id=9405563

References (incomplete):

http://www.nnjr-pca.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=321:microfiber-what-is-it&catid=76:concours-articles&Itemid=117

Norwex En Español

La misión de Norwex es mejorar la calidad de vida reduciendo de manera radical el uso de químicos en el cuidado personal y la limpieza.

Norwex ha creado productos de limpieza de microfibra.  Nuestra microfibra es la única que tiene plata integrada en tela de microfibra por sus propiedades antimicrobianas (la plata tiene la capacidad de destruir o inhibir el crecimiento de microorganismos causantes de enfermedades).  La plata dentro del paño lo purifica así que está listo para volver a utilizarse dentro de 24 horas.  Se aconseja lavar a las telas una vez por semana.

Además de vitar los productos químicos tóxicos que producen efectos graves para la salud o el medio ambiente, la limpieza con la microfibra Norwex y agua permite:

- Ahorrar tiempo - el sistema de limpieza Norwex reduce el tiempo de limpieza por un 75% o más.

- Ahorrar dinero – El gasto promedio de productos de limpieza por hogar es $ 600 - $ 800 al año.  Mediante el uso de productos de Norwex usted puede tener ahorros de hasta un 90%!

A diferencia de paños de algodón propagan la suciedad, grasa y otras partículas, la microfibra Norwex , cuando utiliza mojada, levanta estas partículas en el paño y deja la superficie limpia.

Los tipos de paños y como utilizar:

Enviro Cloth

Cómo utilizar: moje el paño con agua y luego escurra bien. Doblar en cautro, coloque su mano entera en el paño y limpie con movimientos uniformes. Para una limpieza más intensa, use sólo unos cuantos dedos en un trozo de tela desplegada.

El enviro cloth es bueno para quitar la suciedad, grasa, TODO, de todas las superficies como encimeras, granito, acero inoxidable, ventanas, y baños.

Window Polishing Cloth (Paño de la ventana)
Utilicelo húmedo o seco (sobre una superficie húmeda) para conseguir ventanas limpias sin manchas ni pelusas, también funciona para espejos, acero inoxidable, todo lo que necesita un especto pulido sin rayas.

Dusting Mitt (Guante por limpiar el polvo) 
Utilice seco para limpiar superficies polvorientas. La estática en la guante atrapará todo el polvo. Úselo ligeramente humedecido para remover el polvo y sacar los huellas digitales de un piano. Úselo mojado en tela metálica de las pantallas de las ventanas.

Bathroom Scrub Mitt (Guante para limpiar al baño)

Use la parte áspera para eliminar residuos de jabón, pasta de dientes, y mas sin raspar las superficies. Utilice el lado suave del guante para absorber agua y pulir las superficies.  No necesita jabones o aerosoles, sólo agua.

Mop System (El sistema del trapeador) 
Use la almohadilla amarilla para barrer los pisos en un patrón de 8. Limpie la almohadilla con la escobilla de goma. Utilice la almohadilla azul mojada y escurrida completamente con agua para limpiar. Funciona como el enviro para quitar todo lo de la superficie, tan solo utilizando agua, sin productos químicos tóxicos.

Instrucciones para el cuidado de la microfibra.

Para los paños y almohadillas ligeramente sucios, lavar con un poco de jabón de lavaplatos, bajo agua caliente corriente y utiliza otra vez antes de lavar en la lavadora. 

Para lavar en la lavadora

• Lavar los paños de microfibra con otra ropa libre de pelusa (no toallas)

• Utilice únicamente Norwex detergente o un detergente ecológico sin rellenos o blanqueador.

• Nunca use blanqueador, suavizante o hojas para la secadora porque estos productos destruyen o reducen la capacidad de la tela para limpiar con eficiencia.

La limpieza profunda

Aproximadamente cada 6-10 semanas se recomienda hacer una limpieza profunda. Para limpiar profundamente coloque los paños en una cubeta con 2 cucharadas de detergente luego verter agua hirviendo o casi hirviendo en un balde y remojar durante 10 minutos o varias horas. Asegúrese agitar un poco. Enjuague con agua hasta que el agua salga limpia.


English Translation:

Norwex’s mission is to improve quality of life by radically reducing the use of chemicals in cleaning and personal products.

Norwex has created microfiber cleaning products.  Ours is the only microfiber that has silver in the cloth for it’s antimicrobial properties. The silver in the cloth purifies the cloth so that it is ready to use again within 24 hours.  It’s recommended to wash the cloths once a week.

Different than cotton cloths which spread dirt, grease, and grime, Norwex Microfiber when used wet lifts the particles into the cloth  and away from the surface.

The types of cloths & how to use them:

Enviro Cloth

How to use:  Wet the cloth with water then wring out thoroughly.  Fold into fourths, place your whole hand on the cloth and wipe with even strokes.   For more intense cleaning, use just a few fingers on an unfolded section of cloth. 

The enviro is good for removing dirt, grease, grime, everything from surfaces like countertops, granite, stainless steel, windows, bathrooms. 

The window cloth.  Use damp or dry (on a wet surface) to get clear, lint free, streak free windows, mirrors, stainless steel, anything that needs a polished streak free look.

Dusting mitt – use dry to lightly wipe dusty surfaces.  The static in the mitt will trap dust.  Use slightly damp on a piano to dust & remove finger prints.  Use wet on screens to get into the holes.

Bathroom scrub mitt – use the scratchy surface will remove soap scum, toothpaste, etc.  It will not leave scratches on a surface.  Use the soft side of the mitt to soak up water and polish surfaces.  No soaps or sprays needed, just water.

The Mop – use the yellow pad to dry mop the floors in a figure 8 pattern.  Clean the dry mop with the rubber brush.  Use the blue pad wet and thoroughly wrung out with water to mop.  It works like the enviro to remove everything from the surface, rather than spreading on chemicals.

Microfiber care instructions.

Slightly dirty cloths and mops be washed, with a little Norwex Dishwashing Liquid, under

warm running water and used again before laundering.  

When laundering:

• Launder microfiber cloths with other lint-free laundry (no towels)

• Only use Norwex detergent or an environmentally friendly detergent without fillers and bleach.

• Never use bleach, fabric softener, or dryer sheets as these products destroy or reduce the cloth’s ability to clean effectively.

About every 6-10 weeks it’s recommended to do a deep clean.  Deep clean by placing the cloths in a bucket with 2 tablespoons of detergent then pour boiling or almost boiling water into the bucket and let soak for 10 minutes to several hours. Make sure to stir the cloths a little.  Rinse until the water runs clear.

Perfectly Polished

I love a clean window or mirror.  It's my favorite thing to clean, especially now that I can do it perfectly with just microfiber and water!  I was amazed when I tried the window cloth side by side against window cleaner & a paper towel. The cleaner left a residue I never noticed before.  The window cloth blew me away.

Here's some best practices for using a microfiber window cloth like the Norwex window cloth.

Ideally, you want to remove any major grime (doggie or kid slobber, bird poop, food, etc) with a wet enviro cloth or another cloth with more scrubbing action before wiping it down with the smooth fibers of a window cloth.  The purpose of the window/polishing cloth is to get a perfect polish, not to remove heavy grime.  You can then use a dry window cloth immediately after to dry and polish the window or mirror.  If there's no heavy grime you can spritz a little water on the window or mirror to help remove any oils, then polish it until its completely dry.

Occasionally at certain temperature and humidity increases static on the surface to be cleand and the cloth may leave tiny sparkling specs of dust behind. End the static war by using a damp cloth over the mirror, then follow with a DAMP window cloth and allow the surface to dry streak free.  

If lint is still left behind, check the last time you cleaned your cloth or make sure you laundered it properly.

If the mirror or window only has dust, consider using a dusting mitt.  Or for massive windows/mirrors use the a clean dry microfiber mop. It's a lot faster.  If there's a few light fingerprints, dampen the dusting mitt and hit those spots first.  You'll still end up with a clean and perfectly polished surface.

Spread Holiday Cheer Not Holiday Germs

With traveling, hosting, and holiday parties, germs are spreading faster than Holiday cheer.

Some of the biggest havens for germs are your kitchen and bathroom towels.

 

Here's a quick story from my homeland of Minnesota 

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/video-on-demand/?autoStart=true&clipId=7292256 

 

With Norwex antibacterial microfiber towels, you can keep using the same towel over the course of a week without a worry.  And Norwex is running a few extra special deals for the rest of December.

 

Here's some extra specials going on right now that can help you in battling the most germ filled places in your home.
307105 Salmon Kitchen Towel $19.99 now only $16.99
307205 Salmon Kitchen Cloth $9.99 now only $7.99
303901 Hand Towel, Taupe $18.99 now only $16.99
309000 Bath Towel, Taupe $22.99 now only $19.99

Let's do latte kitchen towel & cloth set $24.99  ($5 off)

Face the day - bathroom towel, body pack, and tooth brush $53.99 ($6 off) 

 

If you can't get Norwex right now here's some more tips for keeping those germ havens at bay.

1. Wash all towels daily in hot water with vinegar in the wash (for more germ fighting power) and dry on hot

2. If you're having guests over, change the bathroom hand towel before and after the event

3. Keep separate kitchen towels for drying hands and drying dishes

4. Make sure your towels are hung so as to dry out as quickly and adequately as possible.  Germs love a most environment

5. Wipe down faucet handles often.  They get the brunt of the germs since that's where dirty hands go first and it's also the last place hands go before reaching for a towel. 

  

 Don't wait - these specials will be gone fast & if you order now, they might arrive in time for the new year!

How to Care for Microfiber

[Updated 7/21/2018]

In order for high quality microfiber like Norwex to keep it's cleaning edge (literally, the fibers have edges, which is part of why it scrapes the surfaces so clean), and to unclog any buildup from the surface or from within the microscopic spaces between and within fibers, special care must be taken to get it thoroughly clean without damaging it.

Suzanne Holt, who has been doing Norwex much longer than my 8 years has written her own recommendations, which I mostly agree with.  My kitchen cloths don't start to stink as quickly as hers - but I usually wipe up the first round of any mess with the dish cloth. It rinses very clean and is nearly impossible to get stinky. I use my microfiber for getting things truly clean, de-germed, etc.

Here's how I do it.

Day to Day
I rinse & hang cloths between uses sometimes with a little Norwex or other dish soap. I let my dirty microfiber build up and throw dry dirty ones into a pile and launder them in a microfiber only load (or with sheets or jeans - no cotton towels/ no linty items!!) about every 10 days in my front loader. I use Norwex detergent and do the sanitizing wash on my machine every other load of microfiber (about once a month) & I do a deep soak on occasion (about once every 3-6 months). 

Detergent
Never use bleach with any microfiber.  It destroys the tiniest, most powerfully cleaning fibers. 

Do not use fabric softener, it coats the fiber in a thick oil which causes it to repel instead of absorb water and reduces the grip of the fiber on a surface reducing it's superiority as a cleaning fiber.  This usually can be reversed through one deep soak or several launderings depending on how much fabric softener build up there is.

Use Norwex detergent ideally.  If not, then use a detergent that is free of the above (bleach and softeners) as well as free of fillers and dyes.  For your health you should avoid fragrances, but I also find that when I've used fragrances the cloths start to smell bad more quickly.

Deep Soak
Even though you may launder your microfiber often, you need to do a deep soak. Clean looking & clear rinsing microfiber will still get microscopic build up that can only be released by heat. To do a deek soak, boili a large pot of water, then place microfiber in, turn it off, add 1 tsp - 1 TB detergent, let sit for at least 10 minutes & swish around with tongs). Then I rinse each cloth out (carefully! they'll retain that very hot water) until the water runs clear.  Usually 4 or 5 times ringing out, then hang dry.

Drying
I dry Norwex microfiber in the dryer - usually on hot (do not do this with any other microfiber). No dryer sheets, ever.. it's fabric softener.  I sometimes take out the dryer balls b/c I want static build up (attracts more dust). I do not put my bathroom scrub mitt in the dryer or anything else with that plastic scrubby side b/c I've had one shrink on me in the past. 

It does seem for those that hang dry their cloths, they retain their color a little better, but it's a purely aesthetic thing.

For cheaper microfiber, drying is not recommend by manufacturer, however I have found that it turns out better if dried on low/no heat... it's the static build up thing again.

Testimonial - Norwex Body Cloths

My friend made the switch - ditching years of routine chemicals for water & microfiber.  I'm super impressed with the results.  Here's her experience - from her own words.

Before I began using Norwex body cloths as my sole facial care product, I was using the Proactiv line of facial products every morning, along with an organic facial cleanser from Whole Foods to take my eye makeup off and clean my face at night.  I received the body cloths in a 3-pack as a gift, and I had decided that I would give them a try for 2-weeks, and drop the products I had been using every day for the last 5 years.  I figured it was worth it to try to see if I could actually just use the silver in the cloths as a cleanser, and no longer have to use chemicals on my face. 

It took me a while to change my routine and just use the body cloths, because I was set in my routine and just the smallest switch like that felt difficult when I was in a rush on my way out the door.  That was silly because when I finally did begin my personal test of the body cloths, the cloths ended up being much easier and faster than what I was already doing.  

Now it’s been 2 months and I have been so impressed that I’m continuing to use the Norwex body cloths to clean my face instead of Proactiv.  I’ve completely switched over!   I’m 32 years old, and one thing I noticed is that the amount of breakouts I had were completely unchanged, even though I was no longer using acne medication.  One of my theories on that is that I may have been breaking out more when I was 27, than I do now, so that I really didn’t need to be medicating any, but had no idea that the medication wasn’t doing anything for me.  Another theory is that keeping your face clean and exfoliated has just as much effect on someone who needs mild acne control as medications.

Also, a little back story – in the last 5 years I’ve noticed my eye lids becoming dryer and dryer.  I figured this had to do with aging.  The last couple years it was getting so bad that after I washed my face my eyelids would get so wrinkly and dry that it would pull the skin in a strange way, and I couldn’t open my eyes all the way.  The only fix I found for this was to put Vaseline on my eyes, so I had to put Vaseline on after every time I washed my face.  Now skip to today – after about a week of only washing my face with body cloths, my eye lids were no longer dry!  The problem completely went away.  I had no idea that the facial products I was using were causing this problem, because it happened so gradually over a long period of time.

The body cloths are great at exfoliating, so I don’t miss the Proactiv cleanser at all (which was an exfoliator).  It is an easy substitute.  At first, I had a couple episodes where I scrubbed my face too much. That left my skin dried out and scaly, even though it felt really clean.  I have sensitive skin, and I found that for me, 3-5 swipes over each area of the face was the max amount I could scrub – any more would cause problems. 

Also, my eyes did not like being scrubbed when I tried to take off eye makeup – they would get sore.  At first I tried rubbing the eye makeup with some water and my fingers first, and then wiping it off with the cloth.  That worked pretty well, but still would leave some eyeliner.  So finally I would get a dab of Vaseline on my fingers and rub that into my mascara and eyeliner, smearing the makeup all around my eye with that until it was diluted into a thin layer.  Then I would wipe that off with the body cloth and with one or two wipes it all disappeared.  You probably could do this with olive oil or coconut oil as well.  One thing that is neat about that is that the cloth completely wiped away the greasiness from the Vaseline.  After a couple wipes it was 100% gone.  And the whole thing just take 30-60 seconds.

One last problem that was solved was with my ears.  For a long time now I’ve been scrubbing the inside of my ears on the shower with a body puff lathered in body wash.  My ears felt really clean for the day, but by the next day they would get really itchy.  If I scratched them they would get irritated and sore.  If I didn’t wash them they would still feel itchy, and also now unclean, so I felt like I was stuck in a vicious cycle.  I started putting an organic ear oil in my ears to help with the problem.  Now I just wash my ear with the Norwex cloth (not to many swipes to avoid irritation) and the itchiness is gone and it feels clean – win-win!

Over all, being able to just wet the cloth, wipe my face and go has been a great time saver.  I do put on a light moisturizer with a 15 spf in it when I leave in the morning, but besides that I do nothing else.

Switching over the body cloths has surprised me by solving a lot of problems.  My face always feels really clean, fresh, and dewy.  And the best part is that I am not putting chemicals on my skin anymore – not to mention the cost savings.  I recommend doing a 2-4 week trial like I did, and seeing how much you really needed your own facial products.  You might find that, like me, you didn’t need them at all.  If breakouts are still a problem after switching over, I think the cloths would combine really well with a gentle salicylic acid medication.

For more information about the body cloths, visit here:http://www.norwex.biz/PublicStore/stores/christinadronen/AM/product/Body-Pack,754,198.aspx

Microfiber for Infection Control

Europeans have been using microfiber cleaning tools for about 20 years, but this technology is only just now catching on in the U.S. where the use of consumables and toxic chemicals have been on the rise. 


 A study in "Infection Control Today" (the leading information source for infection preventionists) shows what microfiber that is 1 / 150th of a human hair in diameter can do against viruses & bacteria.


"In independent studies such as those published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and by Dr. William Rutala, extremely fine (.37 micrometer diameter) microfiber was both laboratory and clinically tested and proven to remove up to 98 percent of bacteria and 93 percent of viruses from a surface using only water (no chemicals)."

Norwex microfiber is even more effective at 1/200th of a human hair in diameter.  All microfiber is not created to this standard.  In fact, to qualify as microfiber a strand of the fabric must be around 1/16th of a human hair in diameter.  For cleaning a split weave is necessary to grab and trap oils & grime most efficiently.  It's one of Norwex microfiber's advantages over regular cleaning cloths that push dirt around.  (see the graphic)

There's definitely more to a high quality microfiber than meets the eye.  In fact, the EPA, CDC, and other government agencies are encouraging the use of microfiber in cleaning, not just because it's less toxic, but because it's more effective.

To read up more on the study visit:  http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/articles/2008/11/understanding-microfiber-s-role-in-infection-prev.aspx