Thursday, February 7, 2013

Microfiber Goodness!




In my quest to be more self sustainable, and "green" I have started changing the way I clean, cook, and generally live. I will feature different products on my blog that *I* have used, and let you know what *I* think about them. Think of it as a review from one mom to another, from one girlfriend to another, or one rocking chick who happens to love wine, to another?! You decide.
I admit it, before I discovered these little microfiber gems of magic cleaning goodness I used old cloth diaper, T-shirts, old dish towels and bar cloths to clean. You still can, but once you try these you may re purpose your old cleaning rags! A friend told me about microfiber and I haven’t looked back since. If you haven’t tried these, you must! A few reasons why I *heart* microfiber should be enough to convince you, right? You purchase, or make less cleaning products, which means less chemicals in your families home! You use less paper products, and you spend less time cleaning!
Before I start let me say do not go super cheap on these. The dollar store will have them, but they aren’t as good as a package of better ones. They last for a long time, so the money you save in the future on cleaning supplies and paper products will be a nice return on your investment. For The Cleaning Fairy I use different colored cloths so as not to cross contaminate when I clean. I suggest getting into that habit and always use the same colors for the same task so you don’t accidentally grab the bathroom one to wipe down your kitchen counters. Ewww! Maintenance on these little grippers is easy peasey too. All you have to do is toss them in the laundry with your towels. I wash them in hot water, and if I can, I hang mine to dry to save energy and help prolong the life of my cloths.
I rarely use glass cleaner, furniture polish, or shower cleaners when I use these. There is no need! I can dry dust with one, and it leaves the furniture clean, and the microfiber holds all the dust in the cloth. I can also mop with these. I use one on my swiffer instead of using the refills that you can buy in the store. You can either dry mop with them to collect dust and pet hair on hard wood floors, or use them wet. I sometimes will just use them dry with my spray bottle of vinegar and water solution to mop, because I like the disinfecting results of vinegar. When I do any type of glass, I wet half of my microfiber cloth and clean the glass, and dry with the other half. They have amazing absorbency  and don’t leave streaks. Showers are a little more work, but once you get your tub/shower cleaned up and sparkling clean, taking a microfiber cloth with a little vinegar and water solution to your tub once a week should keep it clean with very little effort.

You can buy these in bulk at Costco, and Sam’s club, or you can buy the ones I use HERE!
Have you tried microfiber? Do you have other uses for them? Let me know in the comments!