Microfibre cloth
Split synthetic fibres with a very large surface area, which lift and trap soil mechanically — often with water alone.
In detail
Microfibre is made from synthetic filaments split into strands far finer than a natural textile fibre, producing an enormous surface area and a great many edges. This lets the cloth trap fine particles and absorb liquid films mechanically, which is why microfibre often cleans effectively with water alone where a conventional cloth would need detergent. The trapping is also why rinsing the cloth during use matters: soil is held in the fibre structure rather than dissolved, so a saturated cloth stops cleaning and starts redistributing. Two practical limits are worth knowing. Fabric softener coats the fibres and destroys the property that makes them work, so microfibre should be laundered without it. And because the cloth traps grit as readily as dust, a microfibre cloth used on a gritty surface and then on a polished one carries the grit with it, which is a common cause of fine scratching on glass and paintwork.
What works
Microfibre cloth is effective against Fingerprints Established practitioner practice
Hacks and claims involving this
- Newspaper for cleaning glass Established practitioner practice
- Fabric softener is fine on everything Does not work
When the obvious answer is wrong
How do I get hard water spots off a bathroom mirror without wrecking it?
A mirror is not a pane of glass. It is glass with a reflective coating and a protective backing, and both are exposed at every edge. The glass industry's mirror division states that acid or alkali cleaners can attack the front surface, the edges and the backing, and names cleaners containing ammonia or vinegar specifically as ones not to use. The failure is called black edge, it starts where liquid runs into the perimeter, and it is degradation of the mirror rather than dirt on it.
A different kind of treatment works: Change the mechanism from dissolving to drying. The mirror division's own recommendation is clean warm water on a soft lint-free cloth, wrung out, with the mirror dried immediately afterwards — which works because the deposit is created at the moment of evaporation rather than while the water sits. Apply any liquid to the cloth and never spray it at the mirror, so nothing can run down into the edges, and finish by checking that the joints and edges are dry. Where a mark will not come off with water, the paper's stated method is 0000 oil-free steel wool, explicitly not a solvent, since solvents attack the edges and backing too. The prevention is the whole answer in a bathroom: ventilate, and wipe the mirror dry rather than letting the condensation evaporate on it.
Can I use a limescale remover on my bathroom taps?
The visible part of a modern tap is a plated, physical-vapour-deposited or powder-coated finish a few microns thick, not solid metal. The manufacturer's care sheet states that PVD finishes must not meet cleaners containing ammonia, bleach or acid, which excludes most limescale removers and a good share of bathroom sprays. Because the finish is microns thick there is no margin: material lost is coating lost, the dulling is progressive, and it cannot be polished back because there is nothing underneath to polish.
A different kind of treatment works: Prevent the deposit instead of dissolving it. The same care sheet gives the mechanism and the method in one line: allowing water to evaporate on metal will form water deposits, so blot the fitting dry with a dabbing action rather than rubbing, after use. That removes the water before it can leave anything behind, which is the only point at which the deposit is actually created. For routine cleaning, rinse away soap traces and dry with a soft cloth. Establish which finish you have before using anything else — the exception is instructive, since matte black and other powder coats are the one family the manufacturer permits a fifty-fifty water and vinegar solution on, so the finish that looks most fragile is the one that tolerates the household remedy.
How do I get tarnish off silver-plated cutlery without wearing the plating through?
That sentence is also the problem. Tarnish CONTAINS silver, so removing it always removes a little metal, and abrasive polishes carry corrosive acids as well as abrasive compounds. On solid silver that is a slow recurring cost. On plate the silver is only microns thick, so the same treatment is a countdown - and the museum sheet records how it ends: over-polishing plated silver removes the plating and exposes dull base metal that CAN BE MISTAKEN FOR TARNISH. The reader then polishes harder, on the one area with nothing left.
A different kind of treatment works: Work out which you have first, because the answer diverges and hallmarks are how you tell. On plate, drop down the escalation rather than up it. Both conservation bodies read here direct a silver cleaning CLOTH as the routine treatment for light tarnish on plain undecorated pieces, and the museum sheet states that a cloth or a dip removes far less surface than a polishing cream does. For heavier tarnish the UK professional body permits a silver DIP, with conditions that are not optional: follow the container instructions, wear gloves, use fresh solution, and rinse thoroughly - dip left in crevices keeps corroding and produces a green crust. Electrochemical cleaners, including the aluminium-foil-and-bicarbonate method, are ruled out by both bodies as a class. The larger answer is to clean less.
Sources for this page
Sources
Cleaning product science and ingredient information
American Cleaning Institute (ACI) · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That mechanical action and cloth selection contribute to soil removal independently of chemistry.
Verification: the work exists and is described correctly. Nobody has yet read the specific passage.
Last reviewed by a person on .