We received the following question this week from a customer: Can microfiber mop heads be washed, sanitized, dried and reused?
Just like a home builder might forget that not everybody knows how to finish drywall or hang a door, we sometimes forget that things that seem obvious to us might not be obvious to our customers. This is one of those instances. Although it’s not quite a new years resolution, because if it was we’d surely fail, we’ll try to do a better job of explaining things that we assume people already know… even if our last blog post was about this very subject. Haha! It’s important so we’ll go over it again.
The answer to the question above is YES! Microfiber mops are made to be washed, sanitized, dried and reused. Microfiber mops originally gained popularity in hospitals in Europe. In this setting microfiber mops are washed, sanitized and dried daily. Then they were back to work the next day. When done correctly these mops can last hundreds of washings. The microfiber mop pads can absolutely be sanitized, the question is what is the best way to do it. The CDC recommends that hospitals wash contaminated textiles with detergent in water at 160° for 25 minutes. Unless you have a commercial boiler at home, you probably don’t have the ability to get water that hot. So if you’re really concerned with sanitizing your mops the easiest thing to do is to use a little bleach. Contrary to what you may have heard using a little bleach in the laundering process will not damage microfiber. There is a difference between microfiber mops (or towels) soaking in bleach while you’re cleaning and a little bleach in the wash.
