Squeegee blade? sponges? Microfibre wash mits? pure wool wash mits?

I have heard so many opinions as regards what you should and should not wash and dry your car with, things like, we do not use sponges to wash your car as they scratch or make swirl marks, we don`t use blades or silicon blades to dry your car as they scratch, we only use pure woolen mitts to wash your car or microfiber wash mitts, well am sorry but it's all not true, if you want to use a sponge to wash your car you can, or a blade to dry the car you can, they will not scratch your car, I know because I have been using them for 18 years and never scratched a car, and I have and still do wash some very expensive cars, it's all about common sense when it comes to washing your car with anything, of course, do not wash your car with a scourer pad BECAUSE YOU WILL SCRATCH YOUR CAR. That i do mean, lets just say their is a right and wrong way to use a sponge on your car, the right way is just use a bucket of clean water and car shampoo with nothing else in the bucket, first get rid of all the heavy dirt that is usually on the bottom of the car with a different bucket and sponge, its all the dirt at the bottom of the car that is likely to scratch your car buy getting caught on the sponge or on your wash mitts , i know some say, yes but i wash the car from the top down, and that is fine if you have got all day, as it would mean you have to wash your car like you were walking down a spiral stair case, its easier to just wash round the bottom first to avoid contamination, you can also contaminate your sponge or wash mitt if you drop your sponge or wash mitt on the floor by picking up grit or even stones, now think about it of which are you going to notice any kind of grit or contamination on easier, a sponge or a wash mitt, yes it would be easier to spot anything on the sponge than a wash mitt as the wash mitts are full of fibers or wool. so yes sponges are fine to wash cars with but as with anything just use common sense when using them, in fact, you have to use more caution when using wash mitts than sponges because the long fibers where dirt can get trapped without you noticing, if sponges scratched cars how many of these companies that make and sell sponges would go bust with all the lawsuits against them because their product kept scratching cars when people used them, so it's not the sponge that scratches cars, it's what you contaminate the sponge with if you are not careful. It's the same when it comes to taking excess water off your car with blades, there is a saying I have when using silicone blades to take the water off the cars, as you swipe you wipe, yes when using blades on cars just keep checking the blade as you use it, they're made of silicone they can not scratch a car if they are kept clean. I do use blades sometimes and sponges, but I do use microfiber wash mitts more, only because they pull dirt off the car better, but as I said it takes more caution to use wash mitts as it is not as easy to spot any contamination on them, so be aware and keep your sponges, wash mitts, and blades clean. Hope I have cleaned up any miss conceptions as regards what or what you should not clean your car with. Regards karl.