Washing instructions for different fabrics
- Please make sure you follow these instructions fully. If you have any problems with carrying out this maintenance, please contact us.
Although a lot of fabrics could go through your laundry process (washing, drying and and ironing) at quite high temperatures, the Laundry Care label on some clothes may indicate otherwise.
A lot of the time, this is because the clothes may have other materials used in fittings (like buttons, sequins or insert panels) that could get damaged if they are subject to frequent high temperatures or high-speed spin drying. Or, the problem might be the coloured dyes used in certain fabric printing. Higher temperatures can make colours bleed into other items and over time the fabrics can fade or get discoloured.
There are such a lot of laundry care symbols in use (see the “Laundry Care symbols” topic for further information), it can be quite confusing and sometimes difficult to judge what the symbol actually means for your own washing.
Different clothing manufacturers may make slightly different washing-care recommendations, so you should always check the laundry care labels, along with any printed instructions provided on clothes and take note of any specific details noted in your user manual, but the points below will help give you some general guidance. - 1. Jeans are normally made from a hard-wearing cotton fabric using a specific weave, but itʼs best for them not to be washed in the same way as other cotton garments. This is mostly due to the fact that many jeans are dark-coloured items and can easily fade if theyʼre not cared for correctly in your laundry. To help reduce how much dye washes out, aim to use a lower temperature and select a gentle programme on your washing machine. Do not overload the machines drum as having the drum too full (or spinning at a high speed) can cause the material to crease and lose some of its colour as it gets pushed against the inside of the washing machine.
Some good general recommendations for laundry care are:- Machine wash at 30°C with permanent press.
- Use a non-chlorine bleach.
- Iron at a lower temperature.
- Do not tumble dry.
Always wear protective gloves when working with bleach. - 2. Viscose is a type of semi synthetic fabric popular in the manufacture of soft and flowing dresses and summer clothes. Although formed from natural raw materials, it is processed into fibres using a chemical process.It creates a material which is not very strong and it can very easily shrink and crease (and can be further weakened when it gets damp). This means that you should always wash viscose on a very gentle washing machine setting and ensure that a low-speed spin is used.
Some good general recommendations for laundry care are:- Machine wash at 30°C.
- Do not use any bleach.
- Iron at a lower temperature.
- Do not tumble dry.
- 3. Wool is a natural fibre made from animal hairs. Although sheepʼs wool is the most commonly thought-of version, woollen-type garments can also be made from the hair of other animals such as goats (to make cashmere wool), rabbits (to make angora wool) or camels and alpaca. The wool fibres have scales (similar to human hair) and these can easily get caught when washing, this then makes the woollen garment get matted. So woollen items should always be washed with very little drum movement by using a very gentle program setting on your washing machine. Although wool can absorb a lot of moisture without actually feeling very wet, dirt does not easily get in to it and can normally be washed out quite easily. The spin-drying process will generally not damage wool because the single fibres donʼt rub against each other. Most washing machines will have a specific ‘wool’ programme, so always make sure you select that for your woollen items.
Some good general recommendations for laundry care are:- Machine wash at 40°C.
- Do not use any bleach.
- Do not dry clean.
- Iron at a medium temperature.
- Do not tumble dry.
- Always try to dry flat.
- 4. Many synthetic fibres are made from a range of polymer compounds, used to make the material, polyester. The fibres are very hard-wearing and can be long-lasting and through the processing into garments, a selection of synthetic-fibre qualities are achieved such as minimal water absorption which helps to prevent dirt getting embedded in the material. This is why garments made from synthetic material are often referred to as ‘easy-care’. But some synthetic material can become permanently damaged if it gets too hot, so make sure you donʼt use a wash setting at a high temperature (although polyester is normally safe here, always check the care labels) and donʼt use a high-speed spin when the material is still warm from the washing because it can cause permanent creasing.
Some good general recommendations for laundry care are:- Machine wash at 30°C.
- Do not use any bleach.
- Do not dry clean.
- Iron at a lower temperature.
- Tumble dry at a lower temperature.
- 5. Silk is made from the thread of the mulberry silkworm. Being the finest of the natural fibres, it tends to be the most delicate. It can very easily be damaged by cleaning chemicals, so make sure you only use special detergents made for silk or wool. You should always make sure you select a very gentle wash programme on your washing machine with a very slow spin-speed (you may prefer to hand wash silk clothes if your washing machine does not have a very gentle cycle aimed at this type of garment). Reduce the spin speed if you need to, but donʼt miss out the spin part of the wash cycle completely as hanging silk up when it is still very wet can easily damage it because the wet fabric gets too heavy for the very fine weave. Silk garments can easily lose their colour in the washing machine, so always wash them with other similar colours.
Some good general recommendations for laundry care are:- Ideally hand wash unless your appliance has a very gentle wash for silk.
- Do not use any bleach.
- Do not wring-dry
- Dry on the line in the shade.
- Iron at a lower temperature.