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Ellen Airhart writes about emergency preparedness and sanitation. She's used blood and dog excrement to test cleaning products. Cleaning Cloths For Hospital
We’ve suspected for years that the tiny synthetic-material squares known as microfiber cloths are all the same. But we had to challenge that assumption.
So we spent six weeks testing a half dozen top contenders on side-by-side wipe-downs of wet countertops, dusty shelves, and smudged picture frames, and we did some covert cleaning of items for sale at a secondhand store.
Some cloths were so identical, they even repeated the same typos on their labels.
But a couple of cloths stood out for being (ever so slightly) better performers.
Despite being made with the same materials as virtually every other cloth we tested, the Fixsmith cloths were the most absorbent and most affordable, and they survived multiple washes.
MagicFiber’s cleaning cloths are thicker and felt better in our hands than the others we tested, but they’re more expensive.
Despite being made with the same materials as virtually every other cloth we tested, the Fixsmith cloths were the most absorbent and most affordable, and they survived multiple washes.
After six weeks of testing, we think the Fixsmith Microfiber Cleaning Cloth offers the best value, water-absorption power, and overall durability. It deftly handled around-the-house tasks, made a grimy secondhand keyboard look nearly like new, and held up well through multiple washes.
MagicFiber’s cleaning cloths are thicker and felt better in our hands than the others we tested, but they’re more expensive.
Thicker, softer, and less uncomfortable to hold, MagicFiber’s Microfiber Cleaning Cloth just barely stood out from the pack. One finding we want to make clear, though, is that the things setting our picks apart from the field are not vast differences, and you really wouldn’t go wrong with most of the other cloths we tested.
I’ve covered cleaning items for Wirecutter since 2022. In that time, I’ve written about brooms, all-purpose cleaners, mops, toilet plungers, and many other mess-busting tools. I’ve also attended the International Sanitary Supply Association conference (a trade show for the cleaning industry) and spoken with microfiber cloth manufacturers for research on this guide.
You can find two types of microfiber cloths for cleaning. The first is the smaller, flat kind often used to rid eyeglasses or electronic screens of smudges. The second is a larger, fluffier sheet meant for household cleaning. We focused on the latter type for this testing.
Some manufacturers refer to the household-cleaning variety as “towels.” But most sellers don’t make a distinction, referring to both the fluffy sheets and the flat pads as “microfiber cloths.” This is like calling a carpet and a placemat the same thing.
Keep in mind that whenever we use the phrase “microfiber cloth” in this guide, we mean the fluffy kind. These are typically made from a combination of synthetic threads, usually more than 75% polyester and the rest polyamide. The polyester is a little denser than the polyamide, creating a fluffy but still maneuverable wipe, according to clothing-manufacturer platform Sewport.
Here’s why they’re great at cleaning:
Although we’ve been writing about and recommending microfiber cloths for years, we’ve found them to be pretty interchangeable, and we had never heard a writer here or one of our readers express a preference or dissatisfaction with any particular brand.
As we narrowed down the staggering number of similar-looking options, we focused on a handful of best sellers with high ratings and long histories of positive owner reviews. We also asked Wirecutter staffers about their favorite microfiber cloths. We wound up with a dozen that looked distinct enough from the pack, and we then whittled that list down to six to call in for testing.
Some of the cloths came with tiny brand tags; some didn’t. To keep track of the cloths without a brand label, I embroidered a small identifying stitch on the corner of each one.
General cleaning: I used the cloths to lift dirt from keyboards, clear smudged glass on hanging pictures, and rescue collectable action figures from dust. Baseboards, windowsills filled with houseplants, and the top of my TV and computer were spotless in seconds. Spills on counters vanished, and the usually wet, grimy area beneath my bathroom sink’s soap dish sparkled.
Looking for a larger array of items to clean, I headed to the massive Livingston Street Goodwill store in downtown Brooklyn and went to work on anything I could find that needed a wipe-down, which, unsurprisingly, was a lot: books, electronics, glassware, ceramics, a random piece of glass with seashells and marbles glued to it, framed paintings, a hat rack, even Christmas ornaments. I got some strange looks, but all the items looked much better by the time I left. (You’re welcome, future owners.)
Water absorption: According to the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PDF), microfiber cloths can absorb seven times their weight in water. Though I couldn’t replicate that exact study, I placed the cloths on a cutting board and poured tablespoons of water onto them until water began seeping out the edges. Even accounting for some size differences in the cloths, I found the results impressive: The cloths absorbed 20 to 31 tablespoons of water.
Washing and durability: Throughout my cleaning process, I washed all the microfiber cloths at least five times in cold water and let them air-dry to see whether any of them were affected by the wash. I knew I wouldn’t get through 75 washes to see if their performance improved, as in the UK study, but five wash cycles ended up being the right number for me to test the durability of the stitching, especially at the hems.
Construction and integrity: I inspected the threads to confirm that they were even, and I pulled at the fabric gently with a needle to see whether it resisted my efforts to unravel the weave by tugging.
Despite being made with the same materials as virtually every other cloth we tested, the Fixsmith cloths were the most absorbent and most affordable, and they survived multiple washes.
The Fixsmith Microfiber Cleaning Cloth rose to the top of the heap for its low price and absorbency. With eight to a pack, each 12-by-16-inch cloth costs only about 63¢. In our tests, it held 31 tablespoons of water before starting to leak.
It performed well in the thrift store, making a grimy keyboard look almost new. As I tackled particularly dusty items, I imagined I could hear the crackling of static as motes stuck to it like a magnet. And even after I put the cloth through five rounds in the wash, the stitching at the hem held tight.
The Fixsmith cloths are available in only three colors—gray, blue, and bright yellow—but you can order them in packs of different amounts, from eight to 800.
MagicFiber’s cleaning cloths are thicker and felt better in our hands than the others we tested, but they’re more expensive.
The fabric of the MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloth is visibly thicker and feels softer than our other picks, possibly due to its different ratio of polyester to polyamide. Whereas all of the other models we tested contain 13% polyamide, the MagicFiber cloth contains 20% of the synthetic fibers.
The difference in the texture didn’t seem to make an impact in cleaning performance, but I did like the feel of this cloth in my hands as I worked, and it stayed fluffy after five washes. In absorption ability, it ranked lower than our top pick but higher than other cloths we tested. And at 13 by 13 inches, it provides a slightly larger square to work with than the Fixsmith cloth.
Follow the washing guidelines: Microfiber cloths catch tiny debris at all times—even in the wash. So most manufacturers recommend not washing them with clothes, towels, or other lint-producing textiles. You can use soap or detergent, but fabric softener, bleach, and heat will damage the material. In our testing, after we put a cloth through a cycle in the dryer on a hot setting, the texture changed, as the fibers seemed to melt slightly and become a little sticky. Hang your cloths to air-dry.
Exercise proper care to help offset microplastic shedding: “No bones about it—microfiber cloths are made from plastic, and they definitely shed microplastics,” said Katie Okamoto, Wirecutter’s editor of sustainability coverage, when I asked about any potential environmental damage these cleaning tools may cause.
Katie told me that microfiber cloths shed more plastic than most other fabrics, which has potential health and ecosystem effects. To cut down on the amount of shedding, use a laundry bag or install a machine filter specifically designed to capture microplastics. With proper maintenance, the reusability of microfiber cloths helps balance out their environmental costs to some degree. “A little reusable plastic around the home, even if it’s shedding, will be a small amount of pollution in the grand scheme of things, if you hold on to them for years,” Katie said.
We are currently testing Tricol Recycled Microfiber Cleaning Cloths, which are made of 80% post-consumer plastic. On one source’s recommendation, we’ll test the Rubbermaid Microfiber Cleaning Cloth. We are also planning ongoing tests of Amazon Basics and MW Pro cloths, and we will update this guide with our findings.
The Aidea Microfiber Cleaning Cloths seem basically identical to the Fixsmith cloths, right down to the typos in the material description on the tags and the person shown using the product on its Amazon listing. Yet these were slightly more expensive at the time of our testing and didn’t perform as well in our water-absorption tests. We’re not sure why.
Bona’s Microfiber Cleaning Cloths cost an eye-popping $3.50 a cloth, more than five and a half times a Fixsmith cloth. Each cloth is labeled for a different type of surface: kitchen, wood, bathroom, and glass, with the last one being the flat style of microfiber cloth. Andy Telatnik, director of retail marketing at Bona, told us that the company developed special knits for cleaning each of these surfaces. In our tests, all the microfiber cloths were equally effective, and we didn’t notice any differences in how the various weaves of the Bona cloths performed on assorted surfaces in comparison with a standard cloth. We also found the Bona cloths’ large tags bulky and annoying while we were cleaning. Bona’s cloths are made of 80% recycled plastic, which we appreciate. We plan to test more recycled options for a future update.
At the time of our testing, the Homexcel Microfiber Cleaning Cloths were more expensive than the Fixsmith and Aidea cloths, despite appearing identical. One of the cloths tore along the hem after a few washes.
A piece of the Mr.Siga Microfiber Cleaning Cloth broke when we ran it over a photo album with a rough fabric cover in the thrift shop. This brand’s cloth also absorbed the least amount of water among all those we tested.
This article was edited by Joshua Lyon and Harry Sawyers.
Andy Telatnik, director of retail marketing at Bona, video interview, March 7, 2024
George Clarke, CEO of UMF Corporation, video interview, March 6, 2024
Ellen Airhart is an associate writer at Wirecutter, where she covers cleaning and emergency preparedness. Please email her with your biggest messes and most anxious thoughts.
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