Norwex Cloth Care Instructions

Here’s one of the first questions my customers ask! And with good reason- they want to take excellent care of their new Norwex microfiber!!! Bookmark this page so you can find it easily when you need a refresher! These cloths are EASY to care for, but it is important to know a few rules.

1. Between uses, scrub cloth against itself under running water, then wring out tightly & hang to dry. (May use small drop of dishwashing liquid.)

2. To launder, wash in washer; dry in dryer.

Follow these rules:
A. No fabric softener or dryer sheets.
B. No bleach.
C. Do not launder with linty loads, such as terry towels.
D. For best results, we recommend using Norwex Laundry Detergent (liquid or powder).

3. Every 6-12 months, your cloths will benefit from a Deep Clean. 1 scoop of Microfiber Cleaner Laundry Booster in a sink or bowl of hot water should do the trick! Soak cloths 30-60 minutes before laundering as usual.

Watch this quick video how to wash your Norwex microfiber cloths!

Are you having some specific challenges with your Norwex microfiber? 

Fortunately these situations are rare, but in case you’re dealing with one of these challenges, here are some words of wisdom to help you keep your Norwex cloths working great! 

1. Smelly Cloths

With our BacLock microsilver technology, thankfully stinky Norwex cloths aren’t the norm (unlike the old dish cloth!!! Ewww!)!

A stinky Norwex cloth can happen when the microsilver in the fibers gets coated or clogged, it doesn’t allow the BacLock microsilver to do it’s job of self-purifying. This action happens through CONTACT with the microsilver, which a coating will prevent. Coating of the fibers can happen from various things, such as using Norwex microfiber with soap or for washing dishes. The residue from the soap and the grease and food particles can build-up in the fibers and coat the microsilver.

The second reason for cloths starting to have odor is often the fact that the cloth was not rinsed out after use and was left in a pile rather than being hung to dry. How you care for your cloths between uses is very important.

Tips to prevent your cloths from getting stinky:

• RINSE well under running water between uses, scrubbing the fibers against themselves. 
• WRING out WELL.
• HANG to dry in a well-ventilated place (Translation: do not leave a wet Norwex cloth in a pile on the counter!)

The BacLock microsilver technology then can go to work self-purifying the cloth as it hangs to dry. DO NOT leave your wet Norwex microfiber in a pile on the counter. The bacterial growth that happens when doing this with ANY cloth is astronomical!

2. Cloths no longer absorbing as well

I find this is almost always tied to using the cloths or laundering the cloths with hard water (water with high mineral content). When I first started Norwex, we didn’t have a water softener in our house. This meant there was water mineral build-up in the shower and around the faucets. Over time, my Norwex cloths began to repel water from the minerals that had built up on those teeny tiny fibers. I learned how to “squeeze the water into the cloth” when getting it wet, but realized that it wasn’t absorbing spills the way they had in the beginning.

Tips that might be helpful if you have hard water:

• Use a spray bottle of distilled water for cleaning (rather than using your tap water)
• Add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to your microfiber loads (I put it where the fabric softener used to go before I learned better)
• If you have a standard washing machine, the Norwex Magnet Ball can dramatically help decrease the effects of hard water.
• If you have VERY hard water, you may even consider hand washing with the Norwex Laundry Booster in distilled water. 

You’ve likely had an appliance repair man tell you that your appliances will last much longer if you have a water softener. That’s because once hard water minerals build up, they can be difficult to remove and hard water can be VERY HARD on appliances. I have found the same to be true for our cloths. Once mine had build-up, I tried soaking them in vinegar and deep cleaning them, but quite honestly, they were never again quite as absorbent. Do they still work. Yes, absolutely! They clean amazing. But they are not as absorbent when used dry to clean up a spill. So prevention is definitely optimal here. When I got some new cloths and began using them with soft water, they are still absorbing beautifully years later. If you’ve had your Norwex cloths for a lot of years, it may simply be time to pamper yourself with a new set of cloths!

Speaking of hard water, the Norwex Descaler is amazing for breaking down hard water deposits on shower doors, coffee pots, humidifiers, tea pots, etc. Some people have tried soaking their Norwex cloths in Descaler with success, so that’d be an option to try. I can’t speak to this personally. Another hard water tip is to put the Norwex Magnet Ball in the tank of your toilets. My customers with hard water swear that it slows the development of the hard water ring. Just be sure to take the Magnet Ball out from time to time to wipe it off with an EnviroCloth or soak it in vinegar.