Best MF Towel for Household Dusting?

S

Setec Astronomy

Well-known member
I know a lot of you extend your detailing inclinations (and products) to household cleaning. I have some cheap microfiber towels that I got at Walmart or Target or Home Depot that I use for dusting (usually dampened with some ONR these days). I don't want to suggest that I might not dust often enough, but frequently I get a pile of dust on the surface of the towel, instead of going into the nap.

So I thought perhaps a towel with a different/higher pile would work better. I was looking at some Eagle Edgeless that I have, both the 350 and 500, and both of those seem like the fibers are too long, and wouldn't take full advantage in this use (I would try them....but I can't get myself to use good car towels for dusting). I would prefer to get something generic rather than from TRC or Autofiber, but I was looking at the TRC Edgeless 300's which they have in a 10-pack at Amazon for a non-bank breaking amount. From the pictures these look "deeper" than my cheap ones without being so shaggy as to not really work right either.

What do you fellers like to use?
 
Setec:
The "best" dusting microfibers are ones I found sold by Spic-n-Span (Yes, THAT cleaner owned by Drackett) that have a flannel-like short nap to them.
I am not sure that a "fluffy"- type nap is OK, but if you look at some of the throw-away dust mops that are sold and used today, the paper material is, indeed, "fluffy". I am using mine with End-Dust spray cleaner applied directly to the clothe, not on the surfaces being dusted.
If you look at The Rag Company (TRC, as it is known by here in this forum) website, their "recommended" dust rags are like cheaper 245 clothe.

My suggestion? Go to Lowes or Home Depot or Menards and look in the cleaning section for residential (home) or light commercial dusting clothes.

The again, you are using diluted ONR liquid cleaner, so a "fluffier" microfiber may make more sense to use.

My cheap,"unfrequent" dusting method? Dabbing Murphy's Oil Soap and Mr.Clean Summer Citrus Anti-bacterial Cleaner on a WHITE, UNPRINTED Bounty paper towel and "dusting" that way. By "dabbing" I mean placing the towel over the open bottle mouth, and just turning it over and just lightly soaking it on to the towel and yes, I "mix" the Murphy's with the Mr.Clean on the same spot.You do not have to saturate the toweling, just "dab" in on. It cleans, disinfects, and shines, all in one. Easy-peasy, for those who are "lax" about frequent dusting. (Hey, I am spending more time cleaning cars, not so much my house. Sacrilegious, Captain Obvious!)
One word of "CAUTION" about Murphy's Oil Soap is that if you use it undiluted, it will remove and strip some varnish. You may want to dilute 3:1 (Water to soap) for fine furniture finishes or varnished woodwork. I that case, a spray bottle with this diluted Murphy's Oil Soap that can be" lightly" applied to paper toweling may work better.
 
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Yeah, that would stand to reason about the no-longer-available Spic-N-Span dusting microfiber clothes.

Setec, I see that you are using Optimum Polymer Technology's "No-Rinse" (OPT, as it is know here in this forum) car wash cleaner/soap for a dusting cleaner.
What ratio of water-to-ONR are you diluting this to for dusting? I also assume you spray or mist this on to the microfiber of choice and then dust the surface to be cleaned. Do you wipe this surface with a different dry microfiber towel/clothe after doing cleaning with ONR to prevent streaking?
Is there any build-up on varnished wood surfaces?
AND, when you do come to decision on which specific microfiber towel you choose for dusting with ONR, let us autopians know.
I do NOT do a lot of no-rinse cleaning of vehicles, just because I prefer the two-bucket car wash-and-rinse method for "better" cleaning (Yeah, I know, it is all in the methodology!), so if I can find an alternate use for ONR-cleaning around the house, that would be a great way to use up the ONR that I have.
But like I said, the Murphy's Oil Soap-Mr.Clean soap on white Bounty paper toweling dusting "works" for me.

For what it is worth, I do wax wood surfaces with Howard's Feed-N-Wax wood polish & conditioner (why it is called polish is beyond me!) with orange oil and beeswax. My second choice is Formby's Lemon Oil Furniture Treatment. My third choice is Church & Dwight Co.'s Orange-Glo Wood Furniture 2-in-! Clean and Polish that I think can still be found at Dollar General. I have used S.C. Johnson's Wood Paste Wax as well. It is an old stand-by that was the impetus for importing carnauba waxes we now use with car waxes today and the tin of that wax that I have is probably 35 years old and smells of pre-VOC regulations!

Come to think of it. it was the SC Johnson's Paste Wax that my younger brother and I put down on the linoleum floor in the upstairs hallway and first bedroom when we had a who-could-slide-the-farthest-in-wool-socks contest when we were about 8 & 9 years old as kids. With a short run from the farthest bedroom into the hall we slid on our stocking feet and into the first bedroom. Don't remember who won, BUT I do remember mom coming up the stairs in her stocking feet with a clothes basket in her hands and almost slipping backwards when she stepped onto the waxed floor. NOT a happy camper!!! Needless to say, two young boys had to scrub brush the floor and hallway vigorously with Ajax White Tornado Ammonia Cleaner and water until the wax was removed. My hands are still chapped to this day, or at least that is how I remember it.
 
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Lonnie said:
Setec, I see that you are using Optimum Polymer Technology's "No-Rinse" (OPT, as it is know here in this forum) car wash cleaner/soap for a dusting cleaner.
What ratio of water-to-ONR are you diluting this to for dusting? I also assume you spray or mist this on to the microfiber of choice and then dust the surface to be cleaned. Do you wipe this surface with a different dry microfiber towel/clothe after doing cleaning with ONR to prevent streaking?
Is there any build-up on varnished wood surfaces? I can find an alternate use for ONR-cleaning around the house, that would be a great way to use up the ONR that I have.
Click to expand...

I keep a bottle at 1:128 (twice the concentration for rinseless washing) for general wipedown chores around the house, and yes, I started doing that to use up old versions of ONR, because they were coming out with new versions faster than I was using them up, and of course started trying all kinds of other rinseless washes (on the cars). I minimally dampen a MF towel for dusting, and no, it leaves no streaks, so I don't dry with another towel. No build-up.

Lonnie said:
AND, when you do come to decision on which specific microfiber towel you choose for dusting with ONR, let us autopians know.
Click to expand...

Will do.

Lonnie said:
For what it is worth, I do wax wood surfaces with Howard's Feed-N-Wax wood polish & conditioner (why it is called polish is beyond me!) with orange oil and beeswax. My second choice is Formby's Lemon Oil Furniture Treatment. My third choice is Church & Dwight Co.'s Orange-Glo Wood Furniture 2-in-! Clean and Polish that I think can still be found at Dollar General. I have used S.C. Johnson's Wood Paste Wax as well. It is an old stand-by that was the impetus for importing carnauba waxes we now use with car waxes today and the tin of that wax that I have is probably 35 years old and smells of pre-VOC regulations!
Click to expand...

I have a can of that Johnson's paste was, as well as the (aerosol) spray version of it. I have only used it on wood paneling, and not for a long time...I have thought about it, though.

Lonnie said:
Come to think of it. it was the SC Johnson's Paste Wax that my younger brother and I put down on the linoleum floor in the upstairs hallway and first bedroom when we had a who-could-slide-the-farthest-in-wool-socks contest when we were about 8 & 9 years old as kids. With a short run from the farthest bedroom into the hall we slid on our stocking feet and into the first bedroom. Don't remember who won, BUT I do remember mom coming up the stairs in her stocking feet with a clothes basket in her hands and almost slipping backwards when she stepped onto the waxed floor. NOT a happy camper!!! Needless to say, two young boys had to scrub brush the floor and hallway vigorously with Ajax White Tornado Ammonia Cleaner and water until the wax was removed. My hands are still chapped to this day, or at least that is how I remember it.
Click to expand...

You almost had me on the floor with this, that's some combination of Risky Business and Bill Cosby smearing jello on the floor to protect himself from The Chicken Heart That Ate Cleveland.
 
I use 0.75oz. ONR + 16oz. water. For the MF, I won't be of much help as I'm still using up the gross of [whatever GSM they are..] cheapie ones I bought from [somebody...the Rag Co. maybe? dunno..] long ago. No, I don't use something really plush, these are a medium-nap until they wear down and get demoted to other uses.

Note that after a few years of ONRing household stuff, I don't have to dust nearly as often! No, it's not something really miraculous, but it is indeed a very noticeable difference. This was one of the very best household maintenance ideas I've ever had. (But FWIW, IUDJ works even better.)
 
IUDJ is the Infinite Use Detailing Juice from Garry Dean. Is that detailing guru still in business???
There was a lot of discussion in this forum on his detailing products that he formulated and sold (I do not think he manufactured them himself) BUT as I recall, his stuff was rather expensive, even back then. Those who did use his detailing products and specific Garry Dean-developed methodologies "seemed" to like them; not Zaino zealots, but more like realistic detailers who could afford to buy and use his products. I could not justify the cost-to-results myself as a detailing value, but then I am frugal (let's get real, Captain Obvious; more like cheap!!)

Seems like we had this "what-car-detailing-products-do-you-also-use-for-house-cleaning" discussion before.
So much so, that McKee's 37 relabeled some their car detailing products as house cleaning products under a "different" name (Carolina Home & Patio? cannot remember what it was), but I think it did not sell and they dropped it.
 
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Lonnie- AFAIK, Garry Dean is still in business. I guess I'll know for certain when I try to reorder the IUDJ.

I tend to :rolleyes: about Garry's online persona, and I know nothing whatsoever about others who use his stuff, but the product was so much better than the (version of) ONR I have that I'm sold on it.
 
Accumulator said:
I use 0.75oz. ONR + 16oz. water.
Click to expand...
Wow, that's a lot, 6oz/gallon...of course that is what OPT recommends for glass cleaning, interior cleaning, floor cleaning, etc. I had started at the regular RW dilution (.5oz/gal) but I've bumped that up to 1oz/gal. I've also been using that in my Bissell hard floor scrubber.
 
Setec- That dilution doesn't streak or cause other issues (I don't use it on glass), and I sure won't mind if I ever use up all of that ONR v2.0.
 
Setec- Any significant diffs with those vs. v2.0. I've heard that they're more compatible with LSPs (e.g., Collinite, which v2.0 utterly trashes), but that's all I know to be different.
 
Accumulator--I was still on my bottle of V.2 when V.3 came out, so I bought the little 8oz. When I finished the V.2 I stopped using ONR on vehicles and moved on to other rinseless washes I wanted to use up, but along the way I bought 8oz of V.4 & V.5 as they came out, just to have a reference, but my usage for (house) cleaning doesn't really allow me to discern any differences (like LSP compatibility), even though I have sampled all 3 of them.
 
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