What is microfiber?

Microfiber is a type of synthetic fiber that is extremely thin and fine. Microfiber is about finer than one or 1.3 denier or decitex/thread or has a denier of 0.01 to 0.02 i.e they are thinner than a strand of silk or 100 times finer than a human hair. Usually, the common types of microfibers are made from polyester, but nylon and other types of polyamides such as nylon, Kevlar, Nomex, trogamide, etc are also used depending on the end uses of different fabrics. Depending on the raw material, shape, size, and other characteristics, such as softness, toughness, absorption, water repellency, electrostatics, and filtering ability are different for different microfibers.

The two basic types of fiber are polyester and polyamide- a nylon by-product is used to manufacture microfiber. The fibers are first split and then are woven into fabrics. The fabric containing 80% polyester is used as scrubbing and cleaning fiber while the fabric containing 20% polyamide is used as absorbing and quick drying fiber. Microfibers are tougher as bull-dogs but they are soft as silk.

Microfibers can absorb up to 7 to 8 times their weight in liquid, this is because of the increased surface area of the fibers and their star shape. When microfibers are moved across a surface, a static charge is built up which attracts dust and contains it, rather than spreading it around or releasing it into the air.