Washing New Huck Towels

Hello everyone! I am new to the forum and to window cleaning so I have so many questions. For today I will only ask about one though.

I purchased blue surgical huck towels and they were starched before being shipped to me. My question is, how do I safely and effectively wash and remove the starch from the towels and still be able to use them as detailing towels?

They will be less obsorbing right away but a simple wash with regular soap helps.

I’ve even used right from box when needed.

If they’re new you’ll have to wash and dry them several times. Just be prepared for a ton of lint.

Also don’t use fabric softener

2 Likes

IMHO hucks are not detailing towels, I use them to clean up excess water, for wiping frames, but never to detail the glass, far too much lint.

Scrim if far better for detailing, or the waffle weave microfiber does pretty well.

1 Like

Add some ammonia next time you wash them that works very well for me, and clean your dryer’s lint filter often. And my two cents on the Huck towels is ditch them. What I have used for years and I’ve never found anything better is good old terry cloth towels. I buy them off eBay you can get them in various sizes I use 10 x 24 or something like that it’s the perfect length to swing over your shoulder and it stays there

I only use hucks for detailing. Microfiber for soaking up water and scrubbing.

4 Likes

The reason I bought them is 2 fold. 1 because I watch a youtube channel from a window cleaner and he recommended them. 2 because I clean offices and vacation homes and used many microfiber towels to clean glass and mirrors and they all leave lint on the glass. As for the scrim and the waffle weave, they are a bit out of my price range for now. I already spent a ton of money to get the window cleaning setup.

3 Likes

When I started up my own biz back in 2012 (not when I started WC)- I swore by the terry towels, but after 2-3 washes they are not suitable to be used on glass imo. I find the same with hucks they are cheap they snag easy , most of my hucks have chucks missing out of them, the waffle weave microfiber are really strong absorbent and have no lint unlike the others.

With traditional fabrics’ the tighter the weave the less lint you have, that’s why scrim is the superior fabric when it comes do detailing.

Hucks cost me about a buck a piece, I imagine you guys pay much less than that, the waffle weave cloths are between $3-$5 depending on size, and scrim are $19 each… you get what you pay for and each has its purpose, sure you can use brand new or near new hucks to detail, but after a month or so that huck is doing to leave more on the glass than its taking off, its cheap for a reason.

1 Like

When considering price and effectiveness balance I have found huck is on top. The fish scale towel is even better, but a bit pricey for a beginner.
Hucks won’t leave lint unless you are using them on very hot glass.
Terry towels and garden variety microfibers- I’ve found to be much better used to soak up water on sills than detailing.

3 Likes

I guess the glass here is very hot even in winter, but it kinda is in direct sun…
But I would ponder that “looked good in the shade” often doesn’t look as good in the right lighting.

I use hucks, MF’s, scrims, and terrys.

The ONLY thing that touches the glass to dry it is either a huck or a scrim for me and my crew. I do NOT dry any of my towels in a dryer. They all hang dry. I don’t have issues with lint.

Lots of info on google. Why not to give a try there?