How to Wash and Care for Delicate Clothing

How to Wash and Care for Delicate Clothing

From lingerie to cashmere sweaters, the most delicate clothing in your wardrobe should be hand-washed, not machine-washed, to ensure that it keeps its shape, color, and overall look. Before you wash an item, double-check the care label.

Always obey any "dry clean only" tags; a professional cleaner must clean these garments since water or excessive agitation may damage the garment. Consider a structured suit: Even if the outer fabric is washable, like polyester, the inside structure of interfacings that give the garment its shape may not hold up in water. If unsure, bring the item to a reputable dry cleaner.

Here are step-by-step instructions for cleaning delicate items by hand, keeping your clothes lasting long and looking great.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools:

-Sink, tub, or large bucket

-Towels

-Drying rack (optional)

-Padded hangers (optional)

Materials:

-Mild liquid detergent

-Cool water

How to Hand-Wash Delicate Clothing

1. Clean the Sink

Wash the sink or basin you will use for hand-washing clothing thoroughly before cleaning your clothing item. Kitchen sinks can have traces of grease that will transfer to clothes. Bathroom sinks may have traces of skincare products that can bleach fabrics.

2. Fill the Sink With Water

Fill the sink or tub with water before adding items. The force of running water can stretch some fibers. If adding water while your clothes are in the sink, deflect the force of the water with your hand or a cup. When hand-washing clothes, the water should always be cold or tepid—never over 85 degrees. Hot water can cause color bleeding or shrinkage.

3. Add the Detergent

Add detergent to the water before adding the clothes. You don't need lots of bubbles to get a clean garment, and too much detergent means lots of rinsing or a garment with detergent residue left in the fibers.

When hand-washing, use 1 teaspoon of gentle liquid detergent.

Give the water a quick stir to be sure the detergent is dissolved and distributed well.

4. Soak and Swish the Garment

Add the garments. Do not overload the sink with items.

Submerge the fabric in the water. Be sure the garment is completely saturated.

Allow the garment to soak for at least five minutes.

Gently swish it through the water. Never twist or scrub the fabric, as it could stretch and warp.

5. Drain the Sink and Rinse the Garment

• Lift the garment from the sink. Don't wring out the garment.
• Drain the soapy water.
• Fill the sink with clean, tepid water, put the garment back into the sink, swishing and rinsing the garment to remove the soap.
• Repeat this step as many times as necessary until no suds remain.

6. Absorb Excess Water

Lightweight garments like lingerie: Hang to drip-dry immediately after rinsing. Always use a padded hanger that won't rust and stain the garment.

Heavier items like sweaters: Place the freshly rinsed garment flat on a thick white towel and roll it up to absorb the water. You may want to repeat this step with a second dry towel.

7. Air-Dry Heavier Items

Don't hang heavy items since they'll stretch or get marks on the shoulders from the hanger due to the weight. Reshape knitted items before drying.

Place the garment on a flat surface to dry in a well-ventilated room. Don't place in a hot clothes dryer or dry by direct heat.

Flip the garment twice when drying items on a flat surface to speed up drying time.

What Is Delicate Clothing?

Delicate clothing is typically made from fragile fabric that may be easily damaged by normal wear and tear or machine-washing and drying. Some delicate fabrics include silk, satin, lace, and any sheer fabric, like chiffon. Care labels for delicates usually indicate "hand-wash only" or similar language.

Lingerie is often considered delicate. Clothing embellished with beading, sequins, embroidery, or pleats is considered delicate, too. Delicate fabrics made from synthetic fibers should be given gentle treatment. Heavier knitted items, such as various types of wool, including cashmere, are fragile because they can shrink or become damaged if washed and dried by machine. Unstructured or soft items like sweaters that indicate "dry clean recommended" can be successfully hand-washed.

How Often to Wash Delicate Clothing

A general rule of thumb is to clean a delicate item, such as a blouse, after every three wearings. If you need to clean a delicate garment worn close to the skin, such as lingerie, consider washing it after every one or two wearings.

Treating Stains on Delicate Clothing

To treat stains on delicate clothing, such as lingerie, gently work a stain remover or mild liquid detergent into the stain with your fingers. Don't scrub it, or the delicate fabric can be damaged. Wait 10 minutes for the stain remover or detergent to soak into the fibers. Gently squeeze water throughout the item or the stained area multiple times until the stain is removed.

To remove stains and odors from the delicate linings of a suit or coat, you'll need to spot-clean the affected area. Turn the item inside out. Mix equal parts white vinegar and mild dish detergent. Dip a clean cloth into the mix, dab the stain until clean, rinse with another clean cloth, and air-dry the item.

Care and Repairs

Fibers can become weak and thin, and embellishments can loosen even after gentle hand-washing. Most repairs, such as reattaching lace or beading, require a needle, matching thread, and a steady hand. If you have a favorite item with a jagged tear or a thinned area of fabric, consider fixing it using fusible interfacing as a patch on the underside of the rip. Use either steam only or a pressing cloth when using fusible interfacing.

Ironing

For most items labeled delicate or hand-wash only, a clothes iron might be too much pressing and direct heat. Instead, remove wrinkles by steaming. Steaming does not stretch the fabric like hand ironing, and the moist steam will soften the fabric just enough to straighten out wrinkles.1

Storing Delicate Clothing

Creasing from folding is a concern when storing delicate clothing. Roll or fold delicate clothing around white acid-free paper to minimize creases. Delicate fabrics made of natural fibers must be kept in ventilated containers and placed in a dark, dry, dust-free, ventilated area. Don't crush stored delicate materials by piling heavier items on top of them because the fibers or embellishments may become damaged.

Tips for Washing Delicate Clothing

Always sort clothes by color and fabric type before hand-washing. Never hand-wash dark and light colors together, or you'll risk the color of the darker clothes bleeding and staining the lighter clothes.

Don't overcrowd the sink or tub with too many garments. Wash only one or two items at a time.

Do not oversoak. Leaving clothes to soak for an extended period can cause fading and harm embellishments like beads, sequins, or embroidery.

The gentle cycle on your washer is not the same thing as hand-washing. The cycle lasts longer and has more agitation, even in a front-load washer, which can harm the fabric. For the most delicate items, always hand-wash.

If you must machine-wash or the care label indicates machine washing is okay, use a special mesh delicates laundry bag for washing in a machine.

Never place delicate items in a dryer to speed the drying.