Cotton is one of the most popular materials in clothing. With proper care and washing, you can use your cotton clothes for a long time. The below tips to take care of cotton clothing can help you keep them in great condition.
Avoiding Discoloration
Knitting mills and wholesale fabric dealers say that hand washing is the best way to prevent cotton clothing from losing their color. To get the best results, you need to hand wash cotton clothes in cold water. If you do not prefer hand washing, then make sure that you machine wash your cotton clothes separately and take care not to mix many colors. You may also use color catcher sheets to avoid colors spreading from one garment to the other.
Treating Stain
You can apply a color safe stain remover on the stained areas of your cotton clothing. It is also a wise idea to focus on the areas lime neckline and armpit areas that are much exposed to sweat. This can help you eradicate both stains and body odors. If you have accidentally spilled coffee on your cotton clothes, you need to keep the stained area under running water for about five minutes, rubbing the area gently every minute. If the stain persists, you can repeat the steps two or three times.
Avoiding Shrinkage and Stretching
You need to understand that cotton shrinks much on the first wash. It is important to read the wash care labels on the garments to understand the cleaning instructions and if you are unsure, use only cold water to wash. If you are using a tumble dryer to dry the clothing, never leave the garments until they are dried completely. Instead, remove them from the dryer while they are still damp and allow drying in shade. This will prevent color loss and shrinkage of the garments.
Ironing Tips
Cotton fabrics are tough and can be ironed at high temperatures. To have a neat and smooth look, you can iron the inside and outside areas of the clothing. You can start ironing the inside of the fabric as this can help avoid creases while ironing outside areas. If there are some preexisting marks or stains on the fabric, it is better to avoid ironing that area, as ironing over the stains can permanently set the stain into the fabric. Another idea is to place a damp cloth over the stained area and then iron it.
