I think I may have ruined mine, as I've been caring for it the same way I cared for my MF mitt, without really thinking about it.

But today when I dragged it out for Clara's thorough exterior detail (I don't know why, but I have to be in the right mood to do the interior, and today I just was not), I noticed the inside "hide" part is really stiff and sort of crackly feeling. It softened up after being in the water but it just didn't seem right. Also, the fibers are all matted up.

So what SHOULD I be doing with my mitt after I use it? I'll probably go get a new one this week.

Note: New trick - wear latex/poly gloves inside your mitt. It was relatively cold out today (low 60s) and the wash water was freeeeeeeezing. I have a cut on each thumb on both hands (don't ask LOL) and wanted to wear them to keep anything from burning the wounds and this worked really well to keep them from being as cold as well!

 

Mine did the same thing. My new one from my coopersport prima package I dry in the garage and its been perfect. My old one I dried outside. I don't know if that has anything to do with it or if is just the mit itself.
Hopefully someone will chime in

 

Even better is to use thicker, longer kitchen gloves (you know like Platex living gloves). You won't feel a thing with those babies on under your mitt.
I plan on doing just that tomorrow as I will be washing w/temps in the 40's

 

I have the same problems with my lambswool mitt as well. I dry mine inside, but it is still always hard and matted until I get it wet again. I was just thinking that I should get a new one.

Thanks for bringing up this topic. I would love to hear other people's thoughts.

 

I always think of Animal House when I see those kind of gloves.

Mine always gets rather stiff after it dries (I'm really trying not to laugh while I type this, and I'm not trying to be cute ). Anyway, as I was saying, it is stiff until it gets wet again ... oh forget it

Its fine don't worry about it. Just make sure all the soap is out when your done and wring it out real good when your done.

Sorry

 

Is it best to dry it, or keep it damp (i.e. in a ziploc)?

 

this thread only sounds like ML is making excuses cause she wants
another free IPP...

 

i'm having this same problem. I stuck it in my microfiber box and let it dry slowly (no heating or anything, just warmer than the garage), but it still got a little hard inside. i just bent it around and moved my hand in it and it softened back up. now all i want is the hairs to smooth out again like the day i bought it...

 

just use it like a pad than the mitt... meaning, no hand inside the mitt...

well, that's how i use my MF mitt, like a pad.

 

As you're finding from posts reflecting similar experiences with natural wool mitts, this is normal. When you're working with a piece of natural hide, the stiffening is inevitable. Also, some separating of the fibers when it's dry is inevitable too.

The good news is that this is ok! It will re-soften when it's wet again and your mitt should work just as it did when it was new.

The bad news is that natural wool mitts don't last forever either. I guess it's the price you pay to go with the safest option! For the typical obsessed, frequent washer, expect most natural wool mitts to last about a year or so. Longer if you wash less frequently, but I know how many of you are! At some point they will lose the ability to re-soften and the fibers will start to separate, sometimes to the point of nearly falling apart. Also, some mitts last longer than others without a good explanation. Again, they're natural so there will be variations.


So how should you care for your wool mitt?

1. Tossle well in your remaining car soap/water bucket to loosen any remaining debris.
2. Rinse well with your hose water: You want to blast it at this point, as extra assurance that you've removed all the debris, as well as the soap. Be sure to hold on tightly to your mitt when you blast it! Doing otherwise could result in your mitt on the dirty ground. Blast it on both sides really well.
3. Hang to air dry.

Also, don't set/store your mitt anywhere it can pick up dirt and gunk. Goes without saying, but I figured I'd mention it anyway for any lurking newbies.

-Heather
who is having a really hard time typing on this airport internet kiosk keyboard! ...and who is waiting for a, yet again, delayed flight. I should just give up and stop trying to travel these days!!

 

I wouldn't recommend this under normal circumstances. Keeping it damp will likely cause mold and mildew growth. If it was really cold and damp, then I suppose this would inhibit the mold/mildew growth. Even still, I'm not sure you'd gain much from doing it this way.

Good question though! I always like to see it when the idea wheel is churning. You'd be surprised how many now "standard" protocols came from a random question thrown into a forum pool! IMO, NAMers are particularly good at being creative (although sometimes the creativity is way off topic!! ).

-Heather

 

My guess is that it may have been either just a variation in the natural wool hide or that your inside could be drier than your garage? Perhaps a more humid environment keeps the new one a little less stiff? Or, possibly a combination of the two. That's my guess anyway.

I'd like to say that your new Prima mitt is just a better mitt , but I doubt it. More likely just a hide and/or humidity variation.

That's my guess.

-Heather

 

Great idea!!

-Heather

 

i use those cheepo rubber glove on my right hand when i wash in sub 50F
temps. it does keep the hand warm, but more importantly i dont get
those badly cracked finger tips after washing the car. higher temps my
hands fine, but when it gets older dry skin is a pita!

6-7 more weeks and i should be out there washing again.

 

haha. its 27 degrees here and im about to wash. no problems for me, just use nice warm water and your all set... it is snowing pretty hard though, maybe i iwll wait for the sun to come out...

 

My experience (since I wash all the time in cold weather - comes with owning a MINI in MINNEsota) is that the colder the air temp, the warmer the water feels - so you guys need to let it get colder before you wash.

I find my hands get much colder when I have finished washing and am drying. The trick is to work fast, you have to anyway to keep the water from freezing on the car.

I agree with Heather, washing once or twice a week my mitts are lasting about a year. At that point they will either tear or develop some nasty mildewy thing that will make you want to chuck it anyway.

 

it was 8F here so do not want to defrost and refreeze the car for the
car's sake. i rather keep the cars outside frozen dirty than cycling them
as i found out from experience that it is actually better for the car.

plus, it's still got a nice coat of wax on it. im more worried about the
suspension related components, not the appearance in the winter time.

 

i know exactly what you mean. while driving on some windy roads which usually never get driven on, my friend an i found some new potholes (we know all of the potholes on this road, it is a balst in the summer time... ) and manages to bubble not one, but two of his tires on his A4. luckily has dad owns a trucking business and gets an in with a tire dealer... yay cheap Pirelli's!

 

dohh! good thing he gets an 'in' with the tires. check
alignment too.

 

yea. it wasn't too too bad, just some minor bubbling. haha and we were having so much fun too. o well.

 

Great idea with the rubber gloves..I hate working with them because my hands get too warm and sweat. Washing the car in 40-50 degrees in the winter the water is cold on my hands and I end up doing a rush job. Combine the two and it should be comfy.

 

Interesting thread---I've been staying out of it to see what others have been saying.

For me, I don't even put my hand inside the mitt. I just soak the mitt, and now I have a thick layer of cushion between my hand and the paint. Working a panel at a time, and then rinsing it out in a bucket until it's clean, and resoaping really doesn't require you to put your hand inside.

As far as storage, I wash a car once a week or once every two weeks--I don't always wash when I polish, so I just completely rinse the soap out of the mitt with clean water, wring it by hand, and leave it slightly damp in my bucket--which has a Grit Guard and let it dry there.

So far it's outlasted my cotton mitts by several times, but it's starting to show wear--I noticed it shed some hairs the other day, but not too serious. But the hair is still very soft and cushy.

The coldest I've had to wash a car yet was in the 30s' and low 40's. Warm water in the soap bucket helps quite a bit--cold water in the rinse bucket will ensure you don't confuse which is which, LOL.

Richard

 

My lamgswool mit started shedding hairs not long after purchase. Now, the wool fibers on one side have separated from the hide, basically ruining one side of the mit. After use, I rinse with the hose, ring it out and let it dry hanging over the edge of the wash bucket.

So, bad mit drying method or just a fault in the hide/wool?

 

Well I bought my lambswool wash mitt from DetailersParadise and I've washed a couple of dozen cars with it, and the only fiber that has been lost was from me trying to pull out some tar that the mitt picked off of an exceptionally dirty car.

They really should last if treated carefully. This is assuming you are using a real lambswool mitt and not a synthetic. The synthetic ones don't last long at all. Be sure to check the inside of the mitt for "skin" instead of fabric to know for sure.

Richard

 

Yes, it is real lambswool.

I have already replaced it with a new one from DetailerParadise (with a new monster fluffy too boot).