Laundry Tips to Keep Your Cotton Clothes Clean and Fresh

Who doesn’t love wearing soft and comfy cotton tees during summer? Cotton clothes are not only breathable and versatile, but they also help you survive even the warmest days thanks to their amazing absorbent qualities.

The tendency of cotton to shrink, fade, and pill can make it look dull and worn-out only after a few spins in the washing machine. Luckily, this can be avoided with proper fabric care. In this blog, we will share a cotton fabric care guide to keep your wardrobe clean and fresh for longer.

How to Care for Cotton Clothes

We all are guilty of throwing our cotton clothing recklessly into the washing machine. While cotton is one of the most common fabrics on the market, it still needs dedicated laundry care to stay in the best shape and form for longer.

For white cotton fabrics, a temperature of up to 95ºC can be used in laundry. But when it comes to coloured fabrics, going any higher than 60ºC is not recommended. That too, with shortest possible spin cycle and a quicker rinsing time.

Recent studies have shown that colour loss and colour transfer can get significantly high in summer cotton clothes when washed at a temperature higher than 40ºC for a cycle of 85 minutes.

As compared to that, clothes washed in a colder and quicker cycle (25ºC, 30 minutes) retain their colour and texture for much longer. Even the microfibre release (aka pilling) is shown to be much higher in clothing washed on higher temperatures.

This means that the first step in cotton clothing care is to switch to cold-water washing and shorter laundry cycles (whenever possible). This will extend the lifecycle of your summer clothes and keep them away from colour transfer and fabric pilling. The result? Vibrant, and radiant clothing, even after multiple wears and washes.

Cotton Clothes Washing Instructions

Before tossing your garments in the washing machine, take a quick look at the care label attached to it. When it comes to garments care, a care label is no less than a bible. This small piece of cloth/paper can give you all the information you need for washing your cotton clothing properly.

For those living in Europe or the UK, reading and interpreting the care label is pretty easy (Trust me, I once shopped in the USA, and I couldn’t get the dot system through my brain). The basin symbol shows the washing guidelines for the garment, and the maximum safe temperature is mentioned in degree Celsius within the basin.

Now, all you need to do is choose a temperature lower than the threshold mentioned at the care label. As long as your clothing is not heavily soiled, stick to the cold-water cycle (20ºC or lesser) with a quick rinsing time. For underwear or whites, using lukewarm water (30ºC-40ºC) for laundry is ideal.

Choose an eco-Friendly Laundry Powder 

How many times do we go through the ingredients of a detergent before adding it into our laundry routine? We know! No one has that much spare time on their hands. But, if you don’t want your clothes to fade out after only a couple of washes, then we strongly suggest that you start doing so.

While its common for summer clothes to get added soiling (due to sweat) or even sweat stains, there is still no need to use a heavy-duty detergent full of phosphates and surfactants to do your daily laundry. These washing powders can strip away the natural radiance and texture of your summer clothes, making them look and feel much more worn-out than they actually are.

There are great eco-friendly laundry powders available on the market, that are not only good for garment longevity but also sustainable for the planet. For instance, BIORESTORE cotton is a Re-Tergent to revive worn-out cotton clothing. The best part about this laundry powder is that it has no harmful bleaches, optical brighteners, or phosphates- making it safe for humans, aquatic life, and the environment.

• Say No to Laundry Softeners

Laundry softeners have become a part of our laundry regime. But are they really the best choice for cotton fabric care? We don’t think so!

Cotton garments with high absorbency such as towels and flannels rely on their capacity to soak up water effectively. When washed with softeners, these garments can get coated with a thin, waxy film that repels water and diminishes their absorbency.

Additionally, softeners contain a lot of chemicals (and in some cases, fragrances too!) which might be irritating for some people.

So, the best choice is to steer clear of softeners altogether and opt for bio laundry powders such as BIORESTORE cotton to revive the handfeel and texture of your cotton garments.

• Remove Fuzz and Pilling

You might have noticed pesky little balls of fabric or fuzz clinging to your cotton clothing and ruining its overall appearance? That’s pilling!

Pilling happens when the cotton fibres break and tangle, forming micro balls of fuzz that get stuck to the fabric. Abrasion from wearing, washing, rubbing against the body and other items are some of the primary causes of fabric pilling.

To remove pilling, lint, or fuzz from your cotton garments, consider using ecofriendly laundry powders like BIORESTORE cotton. This laundry powder effectively targets both lint and pilling and revives the prints and vibrancy of cotton and cotton blends. Plus, it is highly sustainable, which makes it a really great addition to your fabric care shelf.

• Drying & Ironing

Just like all the steps mentioned above, drying and ironing your cotton fabrics is no rocket science either. Once again, you have the care label to your rescue.

If you see a circle in a square next to the washing symbol (basin), it means that the fabric can be machine dried. And if there is a cross on the dryer symbol, it pretty obviously means that the garment cannot be thrown into a tumble drier.

For ironing, if the care label shows three dots on the iron, you can use a high temperature of up to 200ºC. Two dots mean a maximum of 150ºC, and one dot means that you need to use the lowest possible temperature setting.

In case the label is missing or is unclear, just use low heat setting on both the iron and the drier to stay on the safe side