This article is for you if you’ve ever shrunk a wool sweater or ended up with a wrinkled, shrunken cotton shirt.
It’s hard to know how to clean each type of fabric because there are so many of them. Some fabrics don’t need much care, while others are so fragile that the slightest mistake can ruin them.
The answer is simple: if you know how to take care of the most common fabrics, you can keep your wardrobe in good shape. Print this list and keep it by your washer so you’ll remember how to take care of all your clothes next time.
HOW TO WASH DIFFERENT FABRICS
Here are some useful tips for caring for different kinds of fabrics.
COTTON: WASH IN WARM OR COOL WATER
You can wash cotton clothes in warm or cool water. In this way, the fabric won’t shrink or get ruined. Use a detergent that doesn’t contain harmful chemicals, and treat any spots or stains as soon as you see them.
Unless the label says otherwise, dry with warm air in the dryer. Please take off your clothes right away to keep them from getting wrinkled.
Bonus tip: If a cotton item gets wrinkled in the closet, put it in the dryer with a damp rag and let it tumble until it is dry and the wrinkles are gone.
LINEN: WASH IN COLD WATER | AIR DRY
Clothes made of linen should be washed in cold water and dried by hanging. Please don’t tumble dry linen because it can shrink.
Before you wash, make sure there are no stains. Stains tend to stick to linen fabric. When a stain is seen, wash and treat it immediately. If your sheets get wrinkled, iron them on low heat.
ACETATE: HAND WASH OR USE DELICATE WASH
Acetate is a delicate fabric. Even though it’s easy to wrinkle and might melt in high heat, you can wash it in cold water on a delicate cycle in your washing machine.
Lay the item flat on a towel or hang it on a hanger in a well-ventilated area to dry it.
POLYESTER:
Wash in cool water and tumble dry or air dry.
Polyester is one of the easy-to-clean fabrics. Use cool water to wash, and dry in the dryer. Use a detergent and stain remover without toxins if you need to.
Polyester fabrics can be dried by air or in a dryer set to low or medium heat.
Polyester is a non-polar fiber, which means that it repels water. This is why it dries quickly, but it also naturally attracts oil from our skin, which can cause the fabric to smell after a while.
SILK:
WASH BY HAND IN COOL WATER, TUMBLE DRY IN COOL WATER, OR AIR DRY
Silk is one of the softest materials you can buy. You can wash silk by hand in cool water, or you can use a delicate setting on your washing machine.
Silk can be air-dried or dried in a dryer in a cool setting. Hang it up immediately after taking it out of the dryer to keep it from wrinkling.
WOOL: HAND WASH COLD WATER
Wool is a fiber that shrinks when it gets wet. It is a very reactive fiber. The best way to clean wool is by hand in cold water. Dry by hanging or laying flat on a towel. The fabric could shrink or lose its shape if it got too hot.
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