Homer Simpson famously quipped, “To Alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems!” However, in the world of professional cleaning, that honor goes to microfiber!

I'm not just saying that because I'm a cleaning expert working for a microfiber manufacturer! My 20-year stint as a technical cleaning consultant for some of the nation's largest professional cleaning franchises has taught me one thing: microfiber is the secret key determinant of most cleaning results. It's either the hero or villain in a cleaner's story, hidden in plain sight because of its commonplace presence.

Microfiber’s popularity has caused its underlying technology to be taken for granted, with many incorrectly seeing it as a mere commodity to be bargain-hunted for. In reality, microfiber exists on a huge performance spectrum, ranging from life-changing to downright abysmal.

Sadly, failing to grasp microfiber's true performance range has led many business owners to inadvertently set up their own cleaners for failure.

This article is here to right this wrong, helping you empower your cleaners and your business for true success! I’ll explain HOW microfiber can drastically change cleaning outcomes and WHY the quality of that microfiber determines if those changes will be good or catastrophic.

I’ll show that when chosen correctly, microfiber can do everything from cutting cleaning times to ending poor service calls to increasing customer and employee retention to even improving bottom-line profits.

A Quick Primer on the Science of Microfiber

Professional cleaners use microfiber over six hours a day, yet most don’t really understand HOW it works! Even the business owners in charge of buying it rarely have more than a basic understanding, which hurts them and their staff!

The brilliance of microfiber lies in its architecture. Microfiber is a synthetic fabric made of ultra-fine polyester fibers (1000 microfibers = ten human hairs = one cotton fiber) that increase the surface area, lodging spots, and friction of the fabric.

The tiny fibers increase surface area and create ten times more spots for dirt to lodge in microfiber versus cotton. Premium microfiber shreds the sides of the tiny fibers (AKA split strands), creating more lodging spots and tons of electrically charged friction.

The charged friction makes it incredibly difficult for even fine particles to escape the fabric once they have been trapped. This is why premium microfiber can remove 99.5% of dirt and germs, versus only 67% with cotton. These properties also trap soap residue and fine dust particles, resulting in a lint-free, streak-free shine on almost any hard surface.

It's Not You, It's Your Microfiber: The Truth About Cleaning Performance

Contrary to popular belief, not all microfibers are created equal. Quality microfiber boasts high levels of fiber thinness, shred, and density, while bargain ones barely meet the minimum legal criteria to be called “microfiber.”

To be sold as microfiber, the fibers have to be 1 Decitex (dTx) or less, but good microfiber can be as thin as 0.5 dTx, which doubles the surface area for twice the dirt grabbing capacity per inch. Legally, fibers don’t even have to be shredded, so the bargain microfiber can be completely missing the electrically charged friction that holds all the dirt and germs in place.

For example, Microfiber Wholesale manufactures some of the densest, thinnest-fiber, split-strand microfiber on the market, durably sewn for years of industrial use. Our multi-surface towel sports over 320 GSM of split-strand microfiber, whereas most bargain towels only have 200 GSM or less. That means with every wipe of our towel, you’ll pick up over 33% more dirt, germs, and streak-causing residue than anything else you’ve tried!

The perfect example of how this quality issue plays out is mopping! Cheap, clunky-fibered mops fill up quickly and smear the remaining dirt, leaving streaky floors. Cleaners using bargain mops incorrectly blame their floor soaps when actually their mop left the dirt behind.

This is why floor soaps have such varied online ratings, as reviewers often blame the chemical for their own mop’s poor performance. So many cleaning companies waste time and money on new soaps with no improvement, never realizing the source of the problem is in their hands. For this reason, I always recommend optimizing microfiber and techniques before even considering switching up your soaps!

The Microfiber Ripple Effect: From Employee Morale to Satisfied Clients

Every cleaning business owner knows that the backbone of their business isn't their soap – it's their people! Cleaners are frontline soldiers battling dirt and restoring beauty. When they’re equipped with subpar tools, the war against grime becomes insurmountable. The result? Frustrated employees and dissatisfied clients.

Enter high-quality microfiber, the ultimate game changer. With top-notch microfiber, cleaners work so much faster, ending the relentless scrubbing, retouching, and stress common with the bargain stuff. Finishing tasks faster and easier gives cleaners the emotional energy and time to check that their job is done right. This attention to detail inevitably leads to more satisfied customers and fewer complaints.

Most importantly, when microfiber makes cleaning less stressful, employee job satisfaction rises. When cleaners are no longer rushing, receive accolades instead of complaints, and go home less exhausted, it allows them to love their job again. Even the most cynical cleaners can switch from outright anger to genuinely believing their boss has their back!

While it can't solve every issue, premium microfiber can substantially elevate a cleaner's daily work experience. When cleaners suffer from inferior supplies and their resulting customer complaints, it subconsciously causes them to dread their job and distrust their employer. Everyone wants to be appreciated and good at their job, so when that feeling is absent, no amount of company pizza parties or bonus programs can compensate for the lack of it!

For business owners who have jumped through hoops in vain to increase employee retention, that performance dread is often what’s sabotaging their best efforts. If you are investing in improving cleaner recruitment and retention, you need to put aside a portion of that budget to improve your supplies, too, or you might as well not bother at all.

Talk is cheap, and so is pizza. If you want your cleaners to believe you appreciate them and take their job seriously, you have to prove it to them through their supply caddy first!

Bean Counting & Brass Tacks: The Economic Benefits of Premium Microfiber

So let’s say the quiet part out loud: while you care about your employees, every decision in your business is really governed by its return on investment (ROI). Rather than leave you with the false impression that upgrading your microfiber is just a feel-good decision, here’s a list of all the ways premium microfiber saves and makes you money:

Supply Costs

Quality microfiber products outlast their cheaper counterparts. Lab testing shows Microfiber Wholesale’s products retain 90% of their performance even after 300 washes, drastically reducing replacement costs.

Cleaning Labor

Quality microfiber cleans faster, reducing labor expenses or allowing companies to reinvest that time into improving services to reduce customer attrition. Both options result in measurable increases in profitability.

Customer Retention

Satisfied customers stay longer, write positive reviews, and bring in referrals, all of which dramatically increase your marketing ROI and profitability.

Employee Retention

Employees who feel valued and set up for success stay longer, reducing recruitment and training expenses.

Marketing Expenses

Happy cleaners and customers that stay reduce replacement marketing expenses, so your marketing $$$ stays focused on growth. Better service inspires better customer reviews, which amplifies the impact of every marketing dollar spent.

Office Staff Labor

Satisfied customers and staff demand less administrative work, allowing your office staff to spend more time on growth initiatives.

At the end of the day, it's simple math: Cleaners + Better Microfiber = Better Cleaning = Happy Customers = Happy Employees = More $$$

Selecting the Right Microfiber for Success

Prior to reading this article, you might have considered focusing on cost-saving on microfiber to be a prudent choice. Now you know that with microfiber, as with most things, you truly get what you pay for. As you’ve learned, investing in premium microfiber is investing in the success of your cleaning business.

Sourcing the best microfiber possible is the right thing to do on so many levels. Most business owners genuinely want their employees and customers to be thrilled and to spend their own money with vendors that run their businesses with the same care they do. When you switch to Microfiber Wholesale, you’re ensuring all of that and so much more!

Microfiber Wholesale is a third-generation, family-owned American company that has been standing behind its products for over 75 years. When you make us a strategic vendor partner, you not only get amazing microfiber but also top-notch customer service and access to expert advice like mine to take your business to new heights.

I know this from experience because I was a Microfiber Wholesale client for over ten years. I spent 18 years as the cleaning expert for MaidPro, one of North America’s largest residential cleaning franchises. This gave me a front-row seat to see the transformative power of Microfiber Wholesale’s products at over 300 locations with over 5,000 cleaners! So when I say these products change everything, it’s because I’ve seen them change everything.

Microfiber Wholesale impressed me so much that I decided to work for them so I could tell everyone, including you, how important it is that you try their products. Their microfiber will help your cleaners and your business so much, but only if you start the process NOW!