We all are familiar with lint, the tiny sometimes microscopic pieces of fluff formed from small flakes from fabric or paper fibers.
Because lint can contaminate surfaces, these annoying flecks are enemy #1 for cleaners everywhere, especially in industrial environments or serious hobbyist applications. Auto body paint prep, glass cleaning, printing presses, machined parts, or fine woodworking all require lint-free results.
How to Remove Lint
The fibrous nature of lint can make it difficult to remove. Here are three options to get rid of unwanted lint:
- Dry the surface and wipe the lint away with a tacky cloth (Tack Cloth).
- Dry the surface and use a clean, soft bristle brush to stroke the lint away. (To avoid scratches, test your brush on the surface first, if possible, in a concealed area.)
- Dry the surface and use a low-lint soft cloth, applying a solvent if necessary. Spunlace nonwoven fabric is the lowest lint wiper on the market, and it’s perfect for this purpose.
Still trying to decide which wiper to use for lint-free cleanup?
When it comes to eliminating lint, your choice of shop towel or cloth is critical. To help out, below we’ve ranked some of the most popular shop towels from worst to best.
Worst
- Paper towels are okay for everyday household wiping and some shop applications such as drying hands or cleaning up liquid spills. However, due to their fibrous materials, paper towels will leave unwanted particles behind.
- Cotton cloth rags are also one of the main culprits of spreading lint, making them one of the worst choices for lint-free clean up.
- DRC wipes (Double Re-creped) which you can purchase at Lowe’s or Home Depot. While DRC shop towels have excellent absorbency and good strength and durability, their wood pulp fibers also contaminate surfaces with lint.
Better
- Microfiber towels are one of the better choices for one-time use. However, since they’re designed to be tacky, microfiber cloths can retain dirt and particles from previous use, even after washing. Embedded dirt and fiber particles may contaminate your surfaces.
- Hydroknit nonwoven fabric shop towels come close to the strength of a woven cloth, so they are the choice of many businesses. If you need to polish, scrub or use a solvent, Hydroknit is good for cleanup, but spunlace is better for no-lint applications.
Best
- Spunlace nonwoven fabric is the best lint-free cleaning shop towel, especially when combined with a solvent. Spunlace wipers are high-performance nonwoven shop towels manufactured explicitly for durability, strength, and absorbency with low to no lint. Spunlace wipers are durable enough to cover a lot of surface cleaning. And single-use provides a new, lint-free cloth every time at an economical price point, about $.10 to $.15 per wiper.
How good are spunlace shop towels?
Spunlace is used in many cleanrooms, which are contained work-spaces where pollutants, dust, and particles are filtered out in order to provide the cleanest environment possible.
Spunlace wipers typically are a cellulose and polyester blend formed without binders, starches, or thermal bonding techniques for a strong, clean, and highly absorbent chemically pure sheet.
Their low price point makes spunalce shop towels accessible for anyone looking for professional low- to no-lint results! If they are good enough for cleanrooms, spunlace wipers will meet or exceed your production requirements!
Maybe you’re asking: “Where can I buy spunlace shop towels?”
You won’t find hydroknit or spunlace shop towels at Lowe’s or Home Depot, but you can easily order them online.
Of course, TelestoProducts.com has a complete line of
made from spunlace you can shop right now.
Shop all of Telesto’s high-performance spunlace wipers and shop towels for any industry.
Want to avoid shop towel mistakes that directly impact your bottom line? Download our
for straight advice on how to choose the best wiping product for your business.
