The micro revolution

Dan Verner
Published: June 8, 2008

Back when I was in school, we used to spend a lot of time sitting around.  Actually, that sentence could end right there since that is what literature majors do. They manage to read some of the time, but we devoted a lot of our time talking about what period of literature we were in at that time. The Modern Period ran from about 1910 until 1945 and the period which we were in then was the Post-Modern
Period, which started in 1945 and went until the present. I don’t know if we’ve moved on to the Post-Post Modern Period or what since I don’t spend a lot of time sitting around any more or talking to
people who do. Maybe someone can tell me.

It’s also interesting to think about what age we’re in at the present. My father is a product of the Mechanical Age, and while he can run or fix almost any machine, the controls on his satellite TV might as
well be alien technology. I am more comfortable with electronic devices, although not as conversant as my children are with computers. In my lifetime we have also gone through the Cold War, the Atomic
Age, the Space Age, the Age of Aquarius, the Microchip Age, and probably a few others I’m not aware of. Maybe someone will tell me about them.

I’d like to nominate one other phenomenon for its own age and that would be the microfiber. I hadn’t thought much about microfibers (I think most of us don’t) until I was reflecting on how much they show
up nowadays. I was looking to buy a light spring jacket several years ago and found one I liked that had a strange combination of lightness and warmth. When I looked at the label, it said it was made out
of microfibers. I’d never heard of microfibers before but my wife Becky, who knows about all things clothing-related and is a power shopper, said, “That material is awfully hot. I’m not sure you’ll like it.”
Well, warm is what I wanted in a jacket and my microfiber jacket and I have been through several springs together in good company. Now I also have microfiber shirts, microfiber pants and several
microfiber cleaning cloths which I am told have untold advantages over regular cleaning cloths.  I couldn’t tell you exactly what they are, having thrown away the packaging, but I’m sure the cloths are very
warm. The latest one is a bright yellow scrap of microfiber about six inches square that I got at a filling station after putting fifty dollars’ worth of gas into my tank. I felt a little better about having to spend
so much when I got the cloth. I use it to clean the interior of my car and it works very well. I could also use it as a very small emergency blanket.

I would like to join the ranks of those who don’t do research and simply make stuff up, but old habits die hard and I make up enough stuff as it is. Anyhow, Wikipedia says this about microfibers:

Microfiber is constructed in a blend of 80/20 ratio of polyester/polyamideams. They are made from a warp knitted thread, composed of wedge-shaped polyester filaments with a core of nylon. The fiber’s
wedge shaped filaments follow surfaces, lift up dirt, and then trap the particles inside the fibers. The capillary effect between the filaments and nylon core creates a high absorbency, which in turn enables
this cloth to clean and polish at the same time.

To clean a microfiber cloth, wash with warm soapy water and rinse well. The warm water opens up the fibers, allowing them to release the locked in dirt. Placing the cloths in a washing machine and then
drying them in a dryer on low heat is also effective. No fabric softeners of any kind should be used as the chemicals clog up the microfibers, making them less effective. Bleach should also be avoided as
it corrodes the fibers over time, making them less effective. Ironing is also potentially damaging.

There! Who says you can’t find useful information in columns? I’m also told that microfibers hold seven times their weight in water which means I don’t need my wet/dry vac anymore.  I’ll just get some big
old microfiber towels. They’re also used in athletic clothing and basketballs, of all things.

Apparently microfibers are not really green — they’re made from oil and can’t be recycled, although they use less petroleum to produce than cotton.

So, I guess the jury is still out on whether this is the Microfiber Age or not. If it does turn out to be, remember: you heard it here first.

Dan Verner is a Manassas resident. He will be contributing his thoughts and stories to the Perspective page on the second and last Sunday of every month.