Proper Way of Taking Care of Your Clothes

Looking after your clothes isn’t always as easy as it sounds. You may think that just washing them after each use is sufficient enough to keep them clean and looking fresh. As long as you separate lights from darks you will avoid all possible washing catastrophes, right? Not true! There are many different ways in which you can care for your clothes. Avoid them fading, stretching or at worst even shrinking. Follow these tips below and you’ll not only lengthen the lifetime of your favourite shirt or jeans, but also find out how you can protect clothing name labels and iron on prints from being destroyed.

Never over wash your clothes 

You may think that washing your clothes regularly is a good thing. However, this is not always the case as you can actually damage your favourite threads if you wash them too often. Using a washing machine to clean dirty or smelly clothes is a great way to cleanse and remove odours. But most washing machines tend to fade the colour of our clothes and even can remove structure, putting clothes out of shape. Over-washing can also damage clothing name labels on clothing.

Try your best to avoid the dryer

Another very important tip is to, at all costs, avoid the dryer. With the extreme heat produced by clothes dryers, there is a high propensity that your clothes can shrink. Clothing name tags are also susceptible to getting ruined by strong heat. So ensure you read the warning labels carefully before just throwing it in the dryer for a quick spin.  The heat in the dryer can also ruin the elasticity and fabric of your clothes if over-used. It’s kind of just like microwaving your food after you have cooked it – all the good stuff gets taken out! Not overusing your dryer also saves significantly on your power bill. So, at every possible chance, line dry. Clothes dry and aerate better this way and small wrinkles are also avoided if dried outside.

Fold clothes along the seams

The best way to prevent wrinkles or creases in your favourite clothes is by folding them along the seams. This will ensure that your favourite items you love to wear never lose their shape. A common practice in clothing stores, this is a great way to avoid any nasty surprises, especially for new clothing.

Ensure wrinkles are taken out the right way

Time to iron out those annoying wrinkles! Before just whipping out the iron it’s always a good idea to ensure that you’re using the correct settings. Always look at the directions provided with your iron and tailor them to match the right item of clothing. This is paramount! If you have ever worn shirts or pants that are too stiff, this usually means they haven’t been ironed properly.

The best time to iron your washed clothes is when they are still slightly damp as moisture helps to draw out any creases. In any case a great substitute for the iron is a steamer. A steamer will not come into contact with clothing like a handheld iron does and can take out wrinkles with ease.

Protecting iron-on clothing labels

Iron-on clothing labels and iron on name labels are a great way to prevent kids’ clothes from going missing or being placed into the wrong hands. But what happens to these clothing name tags when they go into the wash and the dryer?  Due to glue that’s usually contained in most iron on labels it is very important to wait 24 hours before washing them. It’s also important to apply the correct amount of heat from the iron to ensure iron on clothing labels stick properly. Fabrics such as wool, merino and polyester warrant short times for applying heat and most cotton fabrics warrant a longer time. Both require a hard press to correctly affix clothing name labels.  

Keep your denim clothing in-shape

Most of us probably have at least one pair of jeans in our clothing collection. Denim, the fabric jeans are made of, is quite flexible, durable and easy to wash out stains. Great, except that denim can quickly start to lose its shape and durability if over washed. As a rule of thumb, try washing your denim clothing after every 4-5 wears and ensure a cold water cycle is used. This should prevent colour fading and protect your jeans from going out of shape.

Use a mesh bag when washing delicates

How many times have you put your precious delicates into the wash and they have come out snagged on the machine or spun around other clothes? This is easily avoidable. The simple solution is to use a mesh laundry bag to separate fabrics such as wool, cashmere and lace. Even with an accidental push of the ‘heavy cycle’ button, using a mesh bag to lock away your delicates will have you saved from potential disaster.

Organize your laundry into like categories

Separating your laundry items into different piles before washing can also help to avoid any nasty mix-ups. If you take a little extra time and read the warning labels and instruction tags you can’t go wrong. It’s not always just a case of keeping lights away from darks but also carefully dividing piles into categories such as:

• Delicates

• Line dry

• Heavy/gentle rinse cycle, and/or

• Hot/cold water rinse

These are just some examples. Always sort according to the specific tag or label instructions.

Repairing shrinkage from the wash

If you do happen to have one of your clothing items shrink in the wash, all may not be lost. Damp items that have just been pulled from the wash can be carefully stretched back into shape. If you’re careful enough you should be able to stretch the item and wear it whilst damp. This way the shrunken clothing has a better chance of re-shaping back to its original size.