Smelly Cloths?

Over time some cloths may smell when wet and laundering does not get rid of the smell. This can happen for a couple of reasons. Over time the microfiber and silver may become coated with soap, grease, and hard water buildup rendering the microfiber and silver ineffective (if the bacteria are not in contact with the silver they will continue to grow and when they grow - they smell). Sometimes, even new cloths will smell after a few uses, usually because they are quickly filled with grease removing old build up.

Here are some ideas on what you can do to sanitize your cloths to rid them of smells and how you can prevent it from happening again.

* All Norwex microfiber should be laundered with quality laundry powder or liquid in cold, warm or hot wash. To thermally clean/ sanitize the cloths they need to be laundered above 77˚C for more than 15 minutes (namely, wash in warm-hot water). Periodically, it is a good idea to wash them on the hottest wash available as this will open the fibers and release debris and grease caught deep within the fibers. Norwex microfiber can be laundered up to 95˚C.

* If your laundry system is not capable of heating the water, you may want to occasionally deep clean your microfiber by boiling it on the stove for about 15 minutes. Then launder with detergent and dry in a hot dryer for 1 hour.

* After the rinse cycle, hanging cloths in direct sunlight also helps sanitize them using the sun’s ultra violet rays or you can dry them in a hot clothes dryer without any lint (fluffy) garments or towels.

* Soak cloths in a solution of 1:1 water to vinegar for an hour. Then boil the cloths for 15 minutes in a big pot of water. Then launder with detergent and dry in a hot dryer for 1 hour.

* You can soak your cloths in the Odour Eliminator overnight and then launder normally.

* To remove stubborn stains, they can be boiled for 10 minutes to allow the fibers to swell and release any debris or spray the stain with the Carpet Stain Buster and allow to soak for ten minutes before laundering.

It is best to rinse all microfiber cloths in warm to hot water after use, wring out and hang to dry.

Well Water

If you have well water, you may experience more odour issues with your Norwex Cloths. The reason for this is because well water does not contain Chlorine. Chlorine works to disinfect and sanitize the water, think swimming pools and hottubs (treated drinking water contains much lower levels). To remove the odour you will need to Deep Clean your cloths more frequently. Follow the instructions in this Microfiber Care Post to thoroughly remove/kill any bacteria or organisms that may be causing the odour.

All microfiber has a 2 year warranty.