This is one of the top 3 questions I have fielded over the last 10 years. You have already purchased and used your Norwex cloths, but maybe they are ready for a wash, so let’s talk about the easy and most effective way to care for and keep you Norwex cloths in tip-top working condition.

Our microfiber is designed to clean with water, allowing you to bypass traditional cleaners that most of us would like to avoid. When you choose a Norwex cloth for the job instead of paper towel, you are saving money and making a solid environmental choice.

Our thick, absorbent and super-durable microfiber is awesome at grabbing crumbs, picking up and trapping dirt and stuck on messes. It’s a workhorse for wiping cupboards, walls, baseboards, tables, counters, and everything in between. But after awhile, and depending on how often you use it, wash day is going to come along and it’s important to know how to take care of your Norwex so it lasts longer and performs for you each and every time you grab it and use it.

Basic Daily Loving Care of a Norwex Cloth

1. Wash and dry them prior to your first use. This is a good general practice beyond Norwex. New clothes, bedding, anything that touches your skin— all of it should be laundered when it first comes into your home.
2. After each use: Rinse your used Norwex Microfiber cloths under warm, running water. You can help the hand rinse process go further by rubbing the fibers together, back and forth. That extra friction helps.
3. Wring the excess water from your Norwex cloth, and hang it to dry.

My Norwex Needs a Machine Wash! Now What?

1. Wash your Norwex cloths with other items that don’t “shed” or make lint.
2. Use a top-notch detergent. (One that’s not full of fillers, which is a lot of them.) My own personal detergent of choice for 10 years? Norwex Ultra Power Plus Detergent. Side note, as a team building leader, I have always earned Norwex Shopping Sprees and have spent $0 to wash my family’s laundry over the last decade!
3. Skip the bleach and fabric softeners. Pass on the dryer sheets. These will do a number on your Norwex, and by coating the fibers with the ingredients in these products, your microfiber will be less efficient at doing what it does best, which is picking up your filth!
4. You can put your Norwex in the dryer. Go ahead. It likes it.

My Norwex is FUNKY GROSS, old, smelly, and needs some TLC. Help!

Let’s start by making sure we didn’t end up here by accident.  Here are some of the top ways people abuse their Norwex.

Norwex No-Nos

Not rinsing it after using it.

Leaving it in a wet heap in the sink or in a bucket.

Washing your Norwex in fragranced, dye containing detergents. Noooo! Don’t!

Using the wrong Norwex cloth for the job, repeatedly. (Example: Our Enviro Cloth is awesome for doing deep cleaning jobs, but it’s tightly woven texture means that tiny food particles can get super stuck in it. Try one of our kitchen specific cloths for every day food messes!

How To Use The Norwex Microfiber Cleaner Laundry Booster

(Say that 6 times fast!)

When it’s time for a deeper clean, try our Microfiber Cleaner Laundry Booster powder. It contains enzymes to help remove mineral deposits, sediments, and other build up without having to resort to bleach or other unhealthy laundry room products.

I use a scoop of the Norwex Microfiber “Booster” powder when soaking our workout clothing, swimsuits, and any other laundry that tends to take on a smell.

If you are ready to give your Norwex cloths a deep soak and extra heavy duty cleaning (otherwise lovingly referred to as a “Norwex Spa Treatment”) this is your time to prepare your ingredients. It’s gross, but it’s also oddly gratifying.

Deep Cleaning Your Norwex Cloths

4. Boil a large stockpot of water. The more cloths your have to clean, the more water you will need, or alternatively, you will do this process in shifts. I will use 20-26 cups of water in my large stainless pot.
5. Transfer hot water (carefully, friend!) to a stopped sink, or a large cleaning bucket. I am not one to use my soup pot for stewing my dirty Norwex. Just my personal taste.
6. Add 1.5 TB of Ultra Powder Plus Detergent, or 1 scoop of Norwex Microfiber Booster. Stir to dissolve.
7. Place your soiled Norwex cloths in the hot water. Make sure they have room to spread out and relax.
8. Every so often, give them a swirl with a spoon and get things moving around. At this point the water might look pretty disgusting and you could feel horrified. It’s normal. Your Norwex has been doing what you want for a long time. It’s designed to grab and trap dirt, and it hangs onto it for you REALLY tight. All this super hot, detergent water is loosening up the grip on that yuck and letting it go.
9. After about 30-45 minutes, pull the drain plug and rinse, rinse, rinse. Norwex cloths still feeling dirty, smelling dirty, or not cleaning effectively after this process? You can repeat steps 1-6 a second time, OR take your Norwex to the washing machine and wash them on warm or hot, add 1/2 tsp Ultra Power Plus Detergent for a HE washing machine, or 1/2 TB if you have a non- HE washer. If you have an “extra rinse” option on your washing machine, use it.
10. Dry your Norwex Cloths. For years, there was a goofy rumor going ‘round that you aren’t supposed to dry your Norwex. WRONG! You can totally dry it, it likes the dryer. Just remember to not use dryer sheets. Those are not good for your Norwex and they are just not good in general.

This should help squeeze some extra life out of your Norwex Cloths. Remember, your microfiber has a 2 year warranty, but that doesn’t take the place of good old regular care. Take a few extra minutes to treat your cloths well, and they will perform better and last longer!