Short answer
You cannot tell from the price, and you cannot tell from how soft it feels. You can tell from what happens the moment you wet it.
A good microfibre cloth soaks water up instead of pushing it around, leaves nothing behind on glass, and still does both after fifty washes. You can check all three yourself, with a cloth you already have at home. Here is how.
Why two cloths that look identical behave so differently
The difference is in the weave, not in the material. Both are polyester and polyamide. What counts is what was done with them.
Put a bargain cloth next to a pricier one and you will barely see a difference. They both feel soft. They are both microfibre. Yet one leaves your window clear and the other pulls streaks across it.
That is because “microfibre” only tells you how thin the fibre is, not what has been done to it. The fibre has to be split before it can hold on to dirt, and the weave has to be tight enough to take water in rather than push it ahead of itself. A cheap cloth usually skips one of those two steps.
Four things you can test yourself, in five minutes
You need nothing but a tap, a mirror and a window.
- 1
The absorption test. Wet the cloth and wring it out. Lay it flat on a wet smooth surface and pull it towards you. Does it take the water up, or does it shove it along in front? Shoving means the weave is too open, or there is still a layer of fabric softener wrapped around the fibre.
- 2
The glass test. Clean a mirror or a window with water only, using a barely damp cloth. Then look at it from an angle with the light on it. If you can see streaks or lint, the cloth is leaving something behind. That is the clearest quality difference there is, because glass hides nothing.
- 3
The edges. Give one corner a gentle tug. Loose threads and a scruffy edge mean the cloth will fray after a few washes, and fraying is exactly what you do not want on glass or paintwork.
- 4
The wash test. Wash it ten times the way you always do. Does it still take up water afterwards? This is the test most cheap cloths fail, and it is the only one that tells you what a cloth really costs you over a year.
What does GSM mean, and how much does it really tell you?
GSM is the weight per square metre. It tells you something about density, not about quality.
You see it everywhere now: 300 GSM, 500 GSM, 1200 GSM. It stands for grams per square metre, so how much material is packed into the cloth. More material usually means more room for water, and that is how the number became the first thing people ask about.
But it is one figure out of the three that matter. A heavy cloth made from poorly split fibre still absorbs badly. And a high GSM will not save you if the weave sheds lint on the first pane of glass you touch. So look at the whole picture instead of the one number on the label:
| What you see | What it tells you | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| GSM (grams per m²) | How much material is in it, so roughly how much water it can hold | Says nothing about whether the fibre is split. Heavy is not the same as good. |
| Split fibre | Whether the cloth holds dirt instead of moving it around | You cannot read it off the packet. The glass test gives it away. |
| Weave | A woven cloth absorbs evenly and does not shed lint; cheaper cloths are often not woven at all | Woven is more sensitive to sharp edges. Fair is fair. |
| What it does after ten washes | The only thing that counts in the end | This is where a one year cloth parts company with a five year cloth. |
Fabric softener is the number one reason people decide “this cloth is rubbish”. It leaves a coating around the fibre, and after that even an excellent cloth stops absorbing water. An awful lot of disappointing cloths are simply badly washed cloths.
The tumble dryer does the same thing, only for good. Heat damages the fibre, and that damage never comes back. Line drying costs you nothing and adds years to the life of the cloth.
What we have learnt from 15,000 reviews
We make our own cloths. That also means we hear about everything that goes wrong.
There are more than 15,000 reviews of iZi-Clean on Trustpilot, Judge.me and WebwinkelKeur, with an average of 4.8 out of 5 and 98 per cent satisfied customers. More than 300,000 households clean this way. That is a lot of people, but what they come back to us about is far more interesting.
reviews on three independent platforms
average score on Trustpilot
its own weight in moisture that the fibre holds
The complaints we get are almost never about the cloth itself. They are about fabric softener, about the tumble dryer, and about a cloth that has been dragged along a sharp edge. That is exactly why the washing advice is printed so clearly on the packaging and in the instructions for use: 40 degrees, no fabric softener, no liquid detergent, no capsules or scent beads, and never in the tumble dryer.
What you cannot see in the shop
No packet tells you what the cloth does after the tenth wash. That is where the whole difference sits.
One cheap cloth is not expensive. Four cheap cloths that you replace every three months are, especially if you are buying cleaning spray alongside them because they will not work with water alone. Work it out over a year rather than over one receipt, and you can see where the value for money actually is.
That is also why we would rather you tried one pack first than went straight for the big one. If it does not do what we promise, you send it back within 14 days.
Where most people start
Try it first, then move on to the value pack. Not the other way round.
- Dark Pack, 4 cloths · 60 x 40 cm, to put to the test yourself
- iZi-Clean Wonder Cloth, 12 pack · the value pack, 3 packs of 4
- iZi-Dry Towel M · 60 x 40 cm, up to 800 ml, for the drying jobs
Frequently asked questions
How do you spot a good microfibre cloth?
By three things you can test yourself: it takes water up instead of shoving it forward, it leaves no streaks or lint on glass, and it still does both after ten washes. What it says on the packet is far less useful, because “microfibre” is not a protected term.
What is the best GSM for a microfibre cloth?
There is no magic number. GSM is the weight per square metre, so it mainly tells you how much water the cloth can hold. A high GSM with poorly split fibre still performs badly, and a heavy cloth that sheds lint is useless on glass. Treat GSM as one clue, not as the verdict.
Is there a difference in microfibre cloths?
A big one. Every microfibre cloth is made of polyester and polyamide, but whether the fibre is split and whether the cloth is woven decides if it holds dirt or only moves it about. You will not see that difference in the shop. You will see it on your first window.
My microfibre cloth is not absorbing water any more. What now?
Almost always fabric softener has been used, or the cloth has been through the tumble dryer. Wash it a few times at 40 degrees with powder detergent and a splash of white vinegar in the softener compartment, then let it dry on the line. The absorption usually comes back. If it has been in the tumble dryer, the fibre damage is permanent.
Why is my microfibre cloth leaving lint?
Usually because it has been washed together with towels or cotton: those fibres stay caught in the weave. Wash microfibre separately. If it still sheds lint when you wash it on its own, the weave itself is the cause and that will not go away.
Are microfibre towels better than cotton?
For cleaning, yes. Cotton mostly pushes water and dirt ahead of it, while microfibre holds them in the fibre. That is why microfibre gives you a streak free finish with water alone, where cotton, kitchen roll or newspaper need a product to work at all, and that product is precisely what leaves the streaks behind.
How often should you wash microfibre cloths, and how?
Wash them after every proper cleaning round, and sooner if they have picked up grease. Use 40 degrees, powder detergent, no fabric softener, no liquid detergent, no capsules or scent beads, and dry them on the line rather than in the tumble dryer. Washed that way our cloths last for years. With fabric softener you will notice something is wrong within a few washes. How you look after a cloth decides its life span far more than what you paid for it.
Join the iZi-Clean community
Streak free with water alone, just like more than 300,000 households. Put it to the test first, we are more than happy with that.
Try a pack of 414 days to change your mind. Questions? You can simply reach us.
iZi-Clean is a registered trade mark. Exactly how to wash and store the cloths is explained in How do you use and wash your iZi-Clean cloths?