Best wash mitts 2025
Which of our 10 mitts were handed top honours?
You can apply as much pre-wash and snow foam as you like, but as a DIY car cleaner, you’re going to have to touch the paintwork at some point. And when you do, it has to be with a wash mitt if you are going to keep the risk of creating scratches and swirls in your car’s clear coat to a minimum.
A mitt can hold huge amounts of soapy water to lubricate and lift grit off the paintwork, while microfibre strands hold it ready to be released when rinsed. Keep the mitt loaded with soap and rinsed frequently in clean water – or use a grit grille in your bucket – and your clear coat has the best chance of retaining its shine.
So which is the one to keep your car gleaming? We slipped on 10, filled our bucket and got busy with a grimy car to find out.
How we tested
To assess how well they held water, we weighed each mitt when dry and after being soaked, and left to drain for 30 seconds. However, the test focus was on how good each was to use both on large panels and in smaller spaces such as grilles and wheels. We also looked for good finger protection, washing machine-compatibility, and took price into account.
Halfords Wash Mitt
- Price: around £5.48
- Absorption: 675g
- Rating: 5.0 stars
- Contact: halfords.com
Used - available now
2024 Land Rover
Defender 110
16,468 milesAutomaticPetrol5.0L
Cash £81,950
2022 Nissan
Qashqai
21,671 milesAutomaticPetrol1.3L
Cash £17,300
2023 Kia
Sportage
30,230 milesAutomaticPetrol1.6L
Cash £23,476
2023 Audi
Q3
50,861 milesAutomaticPetrol2.0L
Cash £20,697Armor All and stablemate Kent have finally been topped, but only by a design that beats it at its own game. At first glance, the two orange mitts look identical – they have the same noodle microfibre on one side with a non-damaging bug mesh on the other. The pouch is tight, with stitching between the middle fingers for extra control. Closer inspection shows the Halfords has a slightly longer pouch, which helped it absorb more water than our serial winner. Add in a lower price and we have a new champion.
Dodo Juice Captain Crevice
- Price: around £12
- Absorption: 547g
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: dodojuice.net
Captain Crevice repeats its runner-up spot from our 2021 test. The fingered mitt/glove might be aimed at cleaning wheels but we like it for elsewhere on the car, too. The snug fit means control is never in doubt and is akin to washing with your bare hand, albeit one that can absorb as much water as a conventional mitt. Finger protection is good and nothing gets in small grille gaps and wheel bolt holes like the Captain. It is not the cheapest but it is well made and it wouldn’t break the bank to buy a second for wheel cleaning.
Armor All 2-in-1 Microfibre Mitt
- Price: around £6.09
- Absorption: 568g
- Rating: 4.5 stars
- Contact: armorall.eu
Its run of success may be over, but this remains a top mitt. The elements we’ve appreciated from the start when it was a Kent mitt before the Armor All buy-out are still there: tight pouch, prodigious thirst, and stitches between the centre fingers, plus that bug mesh. But it was outgunned in the soak test, and zero washing instructions (which the washable Halfords mitt has) lost it points.
Autoglym Microfibre Mitt
- Price: around £10.99
- Absorption: 823g
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Contact: autoglym.com
Following our mini test of Autoglym’s Polar range mitt in January, we opted to include the firm’s alternative design this time. There may be no fancy wash and storage bag, but this is a top performer and at a more achievable price. It was only beaten by the Amazon offering in the soak test, but despite the extra weight there’s no need to grab the pouch when wiping. The only real downside is it can’t be machine-washed.
Gyeon Q2M Smoothie EVO
- Price: around £19.50
- Absorption: 669g
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Contact: cleanyourcar.co.uk
No fewer than three types of microfibre are used in this mitt, which helped it put in one of the top performances in the soak test. It was also among the best to use, with a snug pouch that easily stays in the right place when wiping and working into tight spaces, thanks in large part to the centre ‘Mr Spock’-style stitching. Another top performance from Gyeon as we’ve come to expect, but the accompanying premium price lost it a few points.
Amazon Basics Deluxe Mitts
- Price: around £7.60
- Absorption: 905g
- Rating: 4.0 stars
- Contact: amazon.co.uk
Yes, you get two mitts in this bargain package, which makes it ideal if you like to keep one for bodywork and another for wheels. We got it for £7.60 but even at its usual £8.99 price, it’s easy on the wallet. It topped our soak test if not quite the seven times its own weight claimed, but still impressive. Less good was the loose pouch, which was hard to control and needed to be grabbed, although it was well padded for protecting the fingers.
Simply Xtreme Mitt and Pad
- Price: around £19.95
- Absorption: 602g
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: jrpdistribution.co.uk
Another mitt with a high price, but this time you get a microfibre-covered foam wash pad. Our test focused on the latter, which finished middle of the pack in the tests. The split microfibre ensured a smooth glide across panels, but the pouch was on the loose side and needed to be gripped to stay in place. The packaging has more information than many, but there’s nothing on how the mitt and pad should be washed.
Temu Chenille Microfibre Mitt
- Price: around £1.64
- Absorption: 562g
- Rating: 3.5 stars
- Contact: temu.com/uk
As we’ve seen before with products from Temu, there’s no brand or product name in evidence and it arrives in packaging that’s no more helpful. There’s no doubt this noodle and chenille mitt (product code PA1208282) is easy on the pocket, but none of the mitts here are horrendously pricey. This one performed adequately but hand protection could be better on the edges, and the short pile side added little to the cleaning power.
Hilka Pro-Craft Soft Fibre Wash Mitt
- Price: around £4.99
- Absorption: 447g
- Rating: 3.0 stars
- Contact: screwfix.com
Hilka goes its own way with this nylon soft-fibre mitt, which failed to match microfibre rivals.
Meguiar’s Microfibre Wash Mitt
- Price: around £12.50
- Absorption: 319g
- Rating: 2.5 stars
- Contact: meguiars.co.uk
The world of microfibre and mitts has moved on some distance from when this mitt was launched, and it shows.
Verdict
Armor All finally loses its crown here, but still secures a podium place because it’s very similar to the test-winning Halfords. Splitting the two is Dodo Juice’s Captain Crevice, which is one of the easiest designs to use.
Looking to make your car shine like new? Then look at our best power car polishers page...
