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Hold a professional split microfiber cloth against a smudged phone screen and it lifts grease with almost no pressure. The reason is physical rather than chemical: a quality cloth packs roughly 200,000 filaments into every square inch, and each filament is finer than silk. That performance is decided entirely by raw material selection, so the first question any buyer or curious cleaner should ask is simple: what is microfiber made of? In standard commercial form, microfiber is made of two petroleum-based polymers, polyester and polyamide (nylon), which are melted, extruded and drawn into filaments below 1 denier. The blend ratio, the filament fineness and whether the fiber is later split determine everything from water uptake to abrasion resistance.
Core definition
Microfiber: a synthetic filament finer than 1 denier, which equals about 1 gram per 9,000 metres of yarn. Most commercial microfiber is produced from a polyester and polyamide blend and gains its cleaning power through a post-weave splitting process.
What Is Microfiber Made Of? The Two Core Polymers
Microfiber is made of polyester and polyamide (nylon), with polypropylene and acrylic appearing only in specialty grades; polyester-polyamide blends dominate commercial production. The two polymers divide the work. Polyester, chemically PET (polyethylene terephthalate), contributes tensile strength, shape retention, chemical resistance and cost control. Polyamide, usually nylon 6 or nylon 6,6, contributes water absorption, softness, elasticity and dye affinity. Neither polymer delivers the full performance profile alone, which is why the blend, not a single material, defines the category.
1 denier
Maximum filament size for true microfiber
80/20
Most common polyester to polyamide cleaning blend
1/100
Approximate split filament diameter vs a human hair
The polymer grade matters as much as the ratio. Filament-grade PET with consistent melt viscosity spins evenly and survives drawing without breaks, while off-grade chips cause weak spots and machine downtime. This is standard synthetic yarn economics: the polymer behind any extruded product, from a sewing thread to an industrial film, sets the ceiling on machine performance and finished-goods quality.
Polyester Sewing Thread A low-elongation, non-elastic polyester thread with soft texture and good color fastness. It illustrates how filament-grade polymer quality directly affects spinability, sewing performance, and finished-goods reliability. View Product → How Microfiber Is Made: From PET Chips to Split Filaments
Microfiber is produced through melt spinning: polymer chips are melted, pressed through a spinneret and drawn into continuous filaments, then split into ultra-fine segments during fabric finishing. The split step is what turns a fine synthetic yarn into true microfiber.
Melt and meter. Dried PET chips are heated to roughly 260 to 280 degrees Celsius, while polyamide chips are melted in their own temperature window so neither polymer degrades before extrusion.
Co-extrude. Both melts are fed through a single spinneret in a segmented pie-wedge or islands-in-the-sea arrangement, creating one bicomponent filament that runs on standard spinning machinery yet contains the seed of dozens of microfilaments.
Draw and form the fabric. Filaments are stretched to align the polymer chains and raise tenacity, then knitted or woven into a base cloth, commonly at 200 to 350 GSM for cleaning grades.
Split the filaments. A chemical bath, mechanical agitation or needle punching breaks each segmented filament into its polyester and polyamide halves. Splitting multiplies the filament count and opens capillary channels, letting quality cloths absorb five to seven times their weight in water.
Extrusion discipline explains why polymer purity is non-negotiable. The same PET pellet chemistry is extruded into film as well as fiber: in our own metallic yarn production, PET film is metallized, slit and combined with yarn cores, and any inconsistency in the polymer shows up immediately in the finished width, gloss and strength.
Metallized PET Film for Packaging and Decoration Made from the same PET chemistry as fiber, this film is metallized and slit for metallic yarn, flexible packaging, labels, and insulation uses, showing why consistent polymer purity matters in extrusion. View Product → How Fine Is a Microfiber Filament? Denier and Microns in Numbers
A filament qualifies as microfiber below 1 denier, and split microfiber commonly lands between 0.1 and 0.3 denier, far below silk at roughly 1.1 denier. Measured in diameter, a split filament sits near 2 microns against roughly 70 microns for a human hair.
Single-Fiber Diameter Comparison
Human hair 70 microns
Wool 25 microns
Cotton 16 microns
Silk 12 microns
Split microfiber 2 microns
Approximate single-fiber diameters; human hair at 70 microns is the baseline. Values vary by grade and source.
Fineness is not cosmetic. Absorbency, particle pickup and fabric hand all scale with filament count: at the same fabric weight, smaller diameters create more total fiber surface and more capillary space, which is exactly the mechanism a cleaning cloth exploits.
Buyer note
If a supplier cannot state a denier or decitex figure plus a GSM weight for the finished cloth, you are not looking at engineered microfiber. Real specification sheets list polymer ratio, filament count, fabric weight and split method. Ask for all four before comparing prices.
Split vs. Non-Split Microfiber: What the Process Changes
The polyester and polyamide blend reaches full performance only after splitting; unsplit microfiber behaves like any fine synthetic filament, with modest absorbency and a smoother surface. The difference decides both product category and price.
Split microfiber
- Absorbs five to seven times its weight in water
- Capillary channels trap grease, dust and particles
- Standard for cleaning cloths, mops and polishing towels
- Costs more and needs careful laundering to avoid clogging
Non-split microfiber
- Smooth, dense and abrasion resistant
- Low absorbency with quick-dry behavior
- Used for bedding, upholstery and apparel linings
- Cheaper to produce and easier to care for
| Blend | Filament state | Typical products | Why buyers choose it |
| 100% polyester | Unsplit, flat weave | Bedding sets, linings | Lowest cost, quick drying, wrinkle resistant |
| 80% polyester / 20% polyamide | Split | General purpose cleaning cloths | Balanced durability and absorbency |
| 70% polyester / 30% polyamide | Split, high density | Glass and polishing towels | Higher water uptake, softer hand |
| 100% polyamide (nylon) | Unsplit | Hosiery, sportswear, brush bristles | Elasticity and abrasion resistance |
80/20
The default polyester to polyamide ratio for general-purpose split cleaning cloth: polyester carries strength and shape, polyamide carries absorbency and softness.
Where Microfiber Shows Up and What Buyers Should Check
Microfiber appears in cleaning textiles, bedding, apparel, upholstery and automotive care, and every end use leans on a different property of the same two polymers.
- Cleaning textiles: split cloths at 250 to 400 GSM for glass, electronics and healthcare surfaces
- Bedding: tightly woven sheet sets valued for softness, low cost and easy care
- Apparel: suede-finish microfiber for jackets, linings and sportswear layers
- Upholstery: dense short-pile knits that deliver a suede look at lower cost
The construction logic travels across yarn-based textiles: filament fineness, twist and knit density decide the surface long before any finish is applied. At JinDun Textile we work with that same logic daily across metallic, fancy and functional yarn production for garment and home-textile buyers, and you can read more about our plants, certifications and export markets in our company profile .
For upholstery buyers, knit density and pile height usually matter more than the microfiber label itself, which is why related fabrics are best specified by weight, pile and abrasion performance rather than by category name alone.
Polyester Upholstery Sofa Fabric A polyester sofa fabric that can imitate linen, cotton, or silk textures at low cost. For upholstery, knit density, pile height, and abrasion performance matter more than the microfiber label itself. View Product → What Microfiber Is Made Of Also Sets Its Environmental Footprint
Because microfiber is made of plastic polymers, its environmental pressure points are the fossil-based feedstock and the microplastic fibers released during laundering. Both are specification issues, not just reputational ones.
A 2017 IUCN report estimated that roughly 35 percent of primary microplastics reaching the oceans come from laundering synthetic textiles. Polyester-polyamide blends do not biodegrade on useful timescales, so responsible buyers now treat shedding behavior and feedstock origin as procurement criteria alongside price and GSM.
- Recycled polyester (rPET) from bottle flake cuts virgin polymer demand, and the quality gap with virgin fiber has narrowed sharply
- Tighter weave structures and laundry filtration reduce fiber release during the use phase
- Oeko-Tex Standard 100 and the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) let buyers verify claims through certificates instead of trusting marketing copy
For feedstock detail, see how recycled yarn is made and which raw materials go into it .
Ask before you order
What share of the polymer is certified recycled content, and can the supplier present a valid GRS or Oeko-Tex transaction certificate for the exact shipment? Two questions, and most vague sustainability claims collapse on the spot.
Frequently Asked Questions About What Microfiber Is Made Of
Is microfiber just plastic?
Yes. Polyester and polyamide are petroleum-derived plastics. Recycled PET versions replace part of the virgin polymer, but the filament chemistry stays fully synthetic.
Is microfiber the same as regular polyester fabric?
No. Conventional polyester textiles run 2 to 5 denier per filament. Microfiber stays under 1 denier and normally blends in polyamide, which changes absorbency, drape and hand feel.
Does microfiber contain cotton or other natural fibers?
Standard microfiber contains none. Bedding sold as a microfiber-cotton blend is a union fabric in which cotton yarn is woven alongside synthetic yarn, not a natural version of microfiber.
Which blend cleans better, 80/20 or 70/30?
A 70/30 split blend with more polyamide absorbs more water and feels softer, which suits glass and polishing work. An 80/20 blend offers the best durability-to-price balance for daily cleaning tasks.
