Technology has been working its way through our lives and in our daily needs. Cleaning is such a hard chore for most of us. It requires patience, the right tools and a lot of energy. What if there was a way to make life a little easier?
Fiber was a restricted in the past because there are only a limited number of natural fibers available. Cotton and linen are some examples of natural cloths which easily get destroyed. Silk is too beautiful to be used as cleaning materials. Wool damages the surfaces rather than keeping it cleaned. This rough material shrinks when washed.
The start of the fiber chemistry was initiated by Rayon, the first ever man made fiber which was synthetically made 100 years back. This marked the start of a highly beneficial fiber industry for a number of applications.
Dacron is a type of polyester made from the polymerization of an alcohol and an organic-acid reaction. This polyester is a durable and wrinkle-resistant material.
The newest technology has produced the magical tool in cleaning. Microfiber is a synthetically made fiber made from polyamides and polyesters. These fibers do not exceed the size of one denier which is really small, about 1/16 of hair’s thickness. The over- all quality of synthetic fibers comes from its durability, absorptive quality, water repellence, wicking abilities, filtering capabilities and electrodynamics. Being that microfiber is strong, flexible and versatile; this can be made into thin materials.
There are a lot uses which have been found for microfiber such as for upholstery, textile, a wide variety of fabrics, industrial filters and cleaning products. The discovery of microfiber has made it a big part of civilization. Since microfibers are synthetically produced, man can control the distribution and production of this. Scarcity of natural components will not affect production unlike for natural fibers.
A variety of these cleaning products have been made from microfiber. Due to its strength, thin quality and absorptive quality, this is the perfect material that can be used for cleaning jobs. Household cleaning materials differ from commercial cleaning materials. A mixture of nylon and polyester make up the composition of household cleaning products. For commercial cleaning products, a 100% polyester composition makes up these products. But a 100% polyester composition of microfiber will eventually cause it to wear out. This is why most microfibers are usually made with a mixture of nylon. Nylon is a thermoplastic material which is sturdy, resilient, abrasion as well as chemical resistant. It also has low moisture absorbency. But be careful because nylon and polyester must be made in perfect harmony. As tempting as it may sound, the addition of an excessive amount of nylon can actually causes scratches to surfaces like wood, coated optics or even painted surfaces. If the amount of nylon it too small, microfibers will be destroyed on hard materials.
Fabrics made out of microfiber retain their shape and is very soft. A high quality microfiber can be and effective cleaning tool. Its absorptive property is quite impressive, it can hold water more than what the regular cloths can hold. It an amount of water to more than it weight, to be exact seven times more. Not only does it efficiently hold water, but its fibers can also trap oil.
These fibers work in such a way that the materials used to make these microfibers are split in the manufacturing process. This split result to the formation of hooks which is the secret to microfiber cleaning. These hooks sweep up the dust, dirt, grime, and bacteria. Since microfibers work due to static, particularly having a positive charge, these attract the negatively charged particles and also trap them in the fiber network.
Is Microfiber Environment-Friendly?
Do you know anything about microfiber? What purpose does it serve you?
The fibers of any microfiber material are synthetically made, in short they are not natural. Not all microfibers are made equally so make sure that you buy high quality microfiber. These eco-friendly materials pose a lot of advantages, not only for the people but also for the environment. The most important feature of a microfiber is that it reduces water consumption. This applies in both cleaning and washing of the microfiber. It also reduces the usage of disposable cleaning materials such as paper towels. The use of cleaning solutions is also reduced when switching to microfiber. This effectively clean dust, bacteria and allergens.
A high quality microfiber has a long life span since these are durable. These exhibit 2,000 wear cycles, no. 36 abrasiveness, lasting for about 1,000 washings and have 14,000 mL/m absorbency. When compared to regular mops and rags, microfiber lasts 10 times more than a regular mop.
A flaw of microfiber is that polyester and polyamide, the two precursors of microfibers are by product of petroleum. This source is a non- biodegradable and non-renewable. The manufacture of polyamide and polyester produces nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas which is 310 times than carbon dioxide. The process is found to be harmful and toxic. This can disrupt the hormones in the body.
At present, we use and abuse the advantages of microfiber. Everyone has found a specific use for microfiber. There are ongoing researches in how to improve microfiber products. Research scientists have been constantly finding different ways to combine transform and adapt fibers. This is done for microfiber to exceed the capabilities or a naturally- occurring fiber such as cotton, silk and wool. The purposes are served by microfiber through the products used in clothing, home fitting, medicine aeronautics, engineering and other choices.
One more popular feature of microfiber is the color coded system that theses have provided. A color for each cleaning job is highly recommended to prevent contamination of the cleaning materials. Colors are usually available on green, blue, and yellow and pink. This provides a more organized cleaning cabinet since it will not be a place of piling cleaning materials but these can be grouped depending on the their color. This is such a fun task to do with also a sense of responsibility for cleaning jobs anywhere.