Home Forums Heavens Best Forum Pads & Buffers Cleaning the pads

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  • #143786
    hbtest9
    Member

    I’ve noticed that my BBC pads won’t come entirely clean and look really dingy even after washing them the way most recommend it on the board. They’re still very new and work great, but they are just not presentable. I was wondering if there are any additional tricks to cleaning them a little bit more. Maybe spraying a little FAE on them before washing? I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

    #150226
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Dan,
    If you’ve reviewed old posts, then you may have already seen this. I have pretty good luck with Tide on warm wash. I also go very heavy on the clorox for the dirtier pads. One more thing you could try is to let the wash cycle run for about 10 minutes, then stop your machine and let the pads soak a while. I even double wash occasionally for really bad pads.

    Some of the operators have large industrial washers that may do a better job due to their size.

    Mike

    #150227
    hbtest9
    Member

    Thanks Mike. I’ve tried it according to the other operators’ suggestions and although it did make a difference from the way I had previously done them it wasn’t what I was expecting. I’m going to try to double wash them tomorrow and see if that makes a dent.

    #150228
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Dan,
    I hope it works out for you.

    I had a few pads today that were absolutely black! I started up my washer with Tide and plenty of Clorox with the lid open. My washer will not complete the wash cycle and drain the water with the lid open. It stops with about a minute of agitation time remaining. This lets me forget about it. The washer ran and then stopped letting the pads soak a while while I cleaned some area rugs outside. Later, I lowered the lid and let the washer complete its wash and rinse cycles. The pads came out looking great.

    I think it helps if you get the pads washed while still damp from their work. Coincidentally, I was able to do that today. I believe some operators head straight to a laundromat at the end of the work day and wash the day’s pads in a large commercial machine.

    Sometimes after I let the pads soak a while, I turn the knob back to the start for 10 – 15 minutes more agitation time. Sometimes I let the wash water drain, then stop the washer, reset the control knob back to the start of the wash cycle rather than rinsing first.

    I have experimented a lot and seem to have a feel for it now, depending on how bad the pads look.

    My wife bought a cheaper detergent a few months ago and I immediately saw the difference. I feel Tide is probably the best.

    Good luck!

    Mike

    #150229
    hbtest9
    Member

    Thanks Mike. I’ll give it a try.

    #150230
    pacheco
    Participant

    Mike is pretty much on the money…unless you have a front loading hi speed machine…you had better not use a lot of Clorox on a lot of loads like we did… the driving mechanism in the rear is made of plastic and it corroded until broke…fixed under warranty.

    Just switched to sodium tripolyphosphate about a week ago and my worst pads are brightening up…1/4 cup(STPP) + 1/3 cup Clorox. STPP for those too young to remember is what used to be in laundry soap…not very environmentally friendly, but is going to the POTW, not the environment…and when used occasionally really does work…

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