how do you clean your microfiber cloths?

[back alley]

i have read that they are supposed to be cleaned by hand, no soap and air dried.

 

[Gerry M]

The instructions on the packages I bought said to use mild detergent, clear water rinse and air dry. Seems to be working for my camera & eye glass lenses.

 

[back alley]

by hand or in the machine?

 

[Gerry M]

By hand and gently.

 

[jwicaksana]

I wash them in the bathroom, with warm water and face cleansing soap, their oil removing properties is especially useful. Just soak them and let the soap work, then rinse, then hang to air dry.

 

[Spicy]

I go to the store and buy a new one. Not worth a few bucks over the course of a year...

Use the old ones as cleaners for things less sensitive than lens elements (tablet/phone screen, instruments, etc)

 

[Chris101]

I go to the store and buy a new one. Not worth a few bucks over the course of a year...

Use the old ones as cleaners for things less sensitive than lens elements (tablet/phone screen, instruments, etc)

Me too. When I can see dirt on them, I throw them away. They are cheap.

When they first came out, they were expensive and rare. Now you can buy them in bulk at Best Buy/Frys.

 

[Chuck Albertson]

I throw them in the wash with the other laundry.

 

[George Bonanno]

I throw them in the wash with the other laundry.

The above is not a good idea.

I clean them weekly in powdered Tide in the machine on a gentle cycle. Then machine dry using the damp dry cycle. They come out softer and more absorbent than the hand wash method. Liquid Yes and Woolite works well too however Purex is a better alternative if Tide is not available.

 

[Jockos]

I use disposable ones once, then put them in my valet box for the shoes 🙂

 

[robbeiflex]

I only use new ones on camera lenses, which is not often. I clean my eye glasses with the old ones multiple times per day, and they get pretty greasy. Those ones go in the wash in jeans pockets or I just wash them by hand.

 

[back alley]

to be clear…i'm asking about the ones made for lenses cleaning, not the really big, buy in bulk cottony type found at the dollar store.

 

[KoNickon]

The above is not a good idea.

I clean them weekly in powdered Tide in the machine on a gentle cycle. Then machine dry using the damp dry cycle. They come out softer and more absorbent than the hand wash method. Liquid Yes and Woolite works well too however Purex is a better alternative if Tide is not available.

Why not a good idea to launder with other laundry?

 

[stet]

I was just looking this up last week, and landed on a NYT article about lens cleaning that quotes a NIkon senior technical manager. Part of what he says: “Make sure you wash your microfiber cloth from time to time. Just throw it in the washing machine.”

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com...ens-the-right-way/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

 

[divewizard]

I do a load of laundry of just the cloths with mostly hot water and just a touch of mild soap. Than I toss them in the dryer.
This has been working for me for years.

 

[mdarnton]

I bought some highly recommended ones and the directions said soak in plain water and do not use soap at all. Apparently the fibers release oil on their own, and soap residue is undesirable, according to the manufacturer. So I just throw them all into a jar full of hot water and shake it good through several clean water cycles and that's been working great.

 

[Richard G]

This is like a filter or no filter thread: more opinions than there are focal lengths.

 

[Sparrow]

... having a good working knowledge of textile fibres I know the term microfiber simply means a filament of less than one decitex (weight in grams of 1000 meters of a single filament yarn) ... so in effect finer than a single silk filament or less than a 1/20 of a human hair ...

... they can be made from most synthetic materials, but are usually made of polyester-chip, in fact exactly the same material that's used to make plastic coke-bottles ... which is why, when I must, I clean my lenses on my shirt, because that is 30s cotton-count and made of cotton, always freshly laundered and much softer than a coke-bottle 🙂

 

[mdarnton]

This is like a filter or no filter thread: more opinions than there are focal lengths.

I think it's more like a cat skinning thread: there is more than one way to do some things, and perhaps they all work. That's why I referenced the manufacturer's directions: to bring it out of the realm of opinion.

 

[back alley]

who knew celaning could be so complicated?
so stewart…are you saying that good old cotton is better to clean our lenses with?
i don't drink coke normally so don't have any bottles about...