Microfiber cleaning towels have been around for about tenyears now. When I first heard about them they were beingsold through distributors in an MLM business. Since mybusiness was professional house cleaning, I couldn't seehow they could benefit me due to the high cost.

But I've been wondering more and more, could these reallybenefit the professional cleaners? So I've been doing someresearch and what I found should certainly be shared.

What is Microfiber? It is an ultrafine synthetic fiber thatis very strong and lint free. Each fiber is split duringmanufacturing, providing specific benefits. The density ofthe fibers make the product very absorbent with the abilityto hold up to six times its weight in water, and themicrobifers have a positive charge that attracts dirt anddust, which has a negative charge. Not only do themicrifibers attract dust and dirt, they hold it tightly sothat it is not redistributed while cleaning.

Does Microfiber Really Work? Absolutely! Not only are themicrofiber towels available, but now you can purchasemicrofiber mops to replace both your dry and wet mops.

I purchased a mop that came with three removable mop headpads. These pads are attached to the mop with velcro. Themop has a swivel base that allows it to get under and aroundfurniture. I have wood and vinyl flooring in my house andfound the microfiber mop to work very well and it was easyto use.

While dry mopping, I was able to pickup not only dust butsmall debris from the floor and it was not moved around; itactually was held in the fibers. Due to the swivel mophead, I was able to get into corners and along baseboards.

I prefer cotton string mops for cleaning floors, but I foundan immediate benefit to the microfiber. No bending over thewater bucket, no wringing out the mop head and no fibersgetting caught around table legs or split wood edges oncabinets. And I could still use the figure eight back andforth motion that I use with string mops. In fact, I foundthat I could mop standing up straighter because the mop islightweight and maneuverable. Great benefit here toeliminate back pain, shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingerinjuries.

The microfibers can hold a lot of water without drippingthus leaving the floor cleaner with less standing water. Thefloor dries much faster, reducing the chance of slippingand sliding. In fact I used a very dry mop head when moppingthe wood floor and could see the water evaporating as Imopped.

These microfiber mop pads are very durable and are estimatedto last ten times the normal life span of cotton loop mopsused in professional cleaning.

So with all these benefits, are there any areas of concern?There are a few: initial investment, cost versus quality,not appropriate for mopping up spills or floods, cannotremove or spread wax, cannot be washed with lint producingitems, cannot be laundered in industrial washers and somebrands are not recommended for the dryer.

If you're managing teams or a high number of employees, theinitial investment can be double or even triple the cost ofcotton loop and string mops. And you won't be able tolaunder these with your terry towels or use a commerciallaundry service.

To determine if you should convert your business tomicrofiber, you'll definitely need a cost benefit analysisto see the cost tradeoffs. If your Workers Comp costs arerunning high, is it due to scrubbing or mopping? Microfibermops could possibly reduce the costs related to moppinginjuries.

You might also want to consider the use of microfiber as apartial or total replacement for terry towels. Or even justusing microfiber for cleaning glass and mirrors. They havethe ability to clean and shine without using chemicals.This could possibly also reduce your product cost.

You can purchase microfiber towels on the Internet and alsoat your local depot and automotive stores in the automotivesection. But be aware that all microfiber towels are notequal. There are companies that make only one kind andother companies that have a specific microfiber towel fordifferent tasks.

I would definitely recommend more research into quality andcost before investing in microfiber.

Gail Metcalf built her cleaning business from the ground up and now shares her tips, tricks and trade secrets. Permission is granted to reproduce this article but credit must be given to the author. No part of the article content can be modified, and a link must be provided to: http://HouseCleaningPro.com