Fiber Composition

• Differences exist in microfiber towels which can make one type a high performer, while another labeled microfiber towel performs no better than your cotton terry towel. It pays for consumers to know what makes the difference between the two. Fiber composition is part of it, with both types containing polyester and nylon (or, rather, a nylon byproduct called polyamide). The difference lies in how much nylon and polyester in each is used, with some companies using 80/20 (20 percent nylon and 80 percent polyester), and other companies using a 70/30 fiber composition (30 percent nylon and 70 percent polyester). Some in the industry think the higher the nylon content is, the higher-performing the towel is in the home, workplace or auto.
  
  

Fiber Splits

• According to Auto Laundry News, it's the fiber's "splits" that make microfiber towels different from one another in regards to performance. Some have splits; others don't. The split fiber found in some microfiber towels is credited with why the towel collects dirt and grime, and absorbs water well when used for cleaning autos, household furniture and in commercial business buildings. These split fiber strands are like tentacles on an octopus, reaching out and grabbing up water molecules and dirt particles as the towel moves over hard surfaces. The more splits a microfiber towel has, the better it performs, with 16 splits being the most ideal. Towels without splits just glide over surfaces, not picking up as much.
  
  

Towel Weight

• Microfiber towels that weigh as much as 400 grams-per-square-meter (GSM), or even more, are the towels in this product line you can expect to perform the best, according to Auto Laundry News. Weight impacts the expected product life of microfiber towels, with higher weights yielding longer product life. Higher weighted towels contain more fibers, giving the towel more density and the ability to withstand larger numbers of washings and uses.
  
  

Significance

• Before you invest money in a microfiber towel, observe the GSM number on the towel, opting for only those with a 400 number or above, if you desire high-performance and long product life. You also want a split-fiber, not an un-split one, and a fiber composition of 70/30. Expect to pay as much as $33 for some microfiber towels sold, according to Amazon.com, at the time of publication.