I've got a crap ton of microfiber towels laying around from last summer... thinking about washing them to save a few $$. Some of them were used to clean windows, some were used to take wax off, and some were general use. What do each of you do with these when you are done... do you wash them or pitch them and get new ones? If you wash them, how do you get them clean?

I would wash them but I wouldn't use my own washing machine if they are really dirty. So it depends on how much it would cost you to wash them at a laundry mat vs. how much it would cost for new ones. Washing is still probably cheaper.

I buy the 12 pack at autozone. i wash them like 3 or 4 times and then they get turned into dirty rags. Then the new 12 pack is like $6.

Same here. When they get dirt I wash them at home along with the microfiber mit.
Don't use fabric softener.

I wash mine after every use. If they get grease on them they turn into general purpose rags. Most of mine are a year old and still work fine for waxing.

Would the typical laundry detergent work, or is it too oily/greasy?

My Laundry Technician just throws them in the machine with my work jeans. When I asked her about this she says the jeans are Wranglers, the towels are from a Jeep, so it's all good. She further stated that I complained about the quality of her work when she washed greasy/waxy/tire cleaner/insecticide saturated rags with my underwear. I have decided that I don't want any more detailed explanations on how she washes microfiber towels. Ya'll are on your own....

Wash the microfiber towels on thier own with nothing else. The cotton fibers and other materials will get trapped in the microfiber towels. Fluff dry them separately since any heat from the dryer will melt the fibers causing the towels to become very abrasive.

I wash them by themselves nothing else, and i do not detergent i used it once and it leaves white streaks on your paint.

From Wikipedia:

Cleaning textiles made of microfiber must only be washed in regular washing detergent, not oily, self-softening, soap-based detergents. Fabric softener must not be used. The oils in the softener and self-softening detergents will clog up the fibers and make them less effective until the oils are washed out.

Since I dont use very many of them, dont want a pile of them sitting around for 2 years until I have enough to wash a load seperately, am NOT allowed to operate the Laundry Technicians specialized (and new) equipment (it's an issue with training, I'm told), I will continue to utilize the laundry program already in place. I use Turtle Wax Ice anyway, which requires very little buffing. I dry my Jeep with a chamois. I have never noted a problem with scratching or swirls, and it's a Jeep. After a couple years of branches rubbing on the sides a micro-swirl or two from a towel that was washed with my jeans will be the least of my concerns. I used terrycloth towels to wipe off pastewax for decades and never lost any sleep over it. What is the world coming to when we have to worry about how we wash a high-tech towel? Feel free to jump in here anytime, Jepster67...

I keep mine in a rotation that uses only new towels for exterior cleaning. Once used for one waxing session, the towels morph into general purpose house cleanup towels or interior detailing towels. When they're dirty, they get washed with my hockey gear or pretty much anything else my wife doesn't want me washing with the regular clothes...

An entirely reasonable scenario. As long as she doesn't wash them with my skivvies, I'm good.

I wash em, but only once or twice before tossing them. Once they start "feeling" different, then it's over.

And they're cheap enough to replace anyway.

All pretty good points.

I washed a batch of microfiber towels before, once with detergent, and if I recall correctly they came out kinda oily.

Second time I washed them, no detergent, no machine dry (air dry only) there was still lots of dirt on them.

That was all back when I had a black car. I have silver now, my perspective is changing, I'm getting lazier, I'm a little less picky on what touches my paint.

All pretty good points.

I washed a batch of microfiber towels before, once with detergent, and if I recall correctly they came out kinda oily.

Second time I washed them, no detergent, no machine dry (air dry only) there was still lots of dirt on them.

That was all back when I had a black car. I have silver now, my perspective is changing, I'm getting lazier, I'm a little less picky on what touches my paint.

x2
Yeah, silver RULES! Dark colors show everything. Silver was the cure for my OCD...

I wash my microfibers after every use with dedicated detergent. In lieu of that, I would reach for dye- and fragrance-free detergents. Make sure to wash them on the hot cycle (It will not hurt them) and you can dry them in the dryer on low.