Cotton - How To Wash And Look After Cotton Garments
Everyone has at least one favourite piece of clothing made from cotton in their wardrobe and it's probably a shirt or a dress. After washing and pressing it several times has the colour faded or shrunk a bit?
Did you look at the wash care label or just assumed you could machine wash it with the rest of your washing?
Cotton is one of the most popular fabrics, being comfortable, breathable, affordable and durable, making it an ideal fabric for Summer clothes. Historians estimate that cotton originated in Egypt several thousand years ago.
Cotton is the most widely used natural fabric in the world. As always the quality of the cotton fabric depends on the quality of the fibres. Stiff, scratchy poor quality cotton does not hold to wear but good quality cotton feels smooth and durable often softening with time.
Cotton is a low maintenance fabric and proper care helps to retain the fabric quality. Some cotton garments have to be dry cleaned because of their structure, linings and interfacings, and some are hand-washed, the wash care label will determine this. Always treat stains before washing as washing and drying stains may ‘set’ the stain and make it impossible to remove. You can wash 100% cotton garments and textiles by hand or in a washing machine at 30 degrees C or less, turning the garment inside out. Give the garments a little stretch into shape when they come out of the wash. The best way to prevent shrinkage, fading and even creasing is cool water, gentle laundry detergent and air dry. Do not scrub or twist the garment as this could damage the fabric. Rinse well. When machine washing be mindful of the machine settings. You can tumble dry but take the items out whilst they are damp as heat causes cotton to shrink and excessive creasing.
Some cotton garments will need to be ironed. Use a medium-hot iron and always iron on the wrong side of the fabric. Extreme high heat can scorch the fibres. The scorching or yellowing occurs as the fibres began to burn. You can also use a clothes steamer or hang cotton garments in a steamy bathroom to help remove creases.
When storing 100% cotton clothing there is no worry about moths as moths prefer animal fibres not vegetable-based fibres, but you need to be careful of carpet beetles. Natural repellents are cedar balls and cedar oil. Store clothing in a cool, dark place.