As soon as the weather starts to cool off, it is time to take out those sweaters to keep warm, layer outfits and sink into a comfy chair with hot cup of tea or hot toddy (no judgement here!).
You have beautiful sweaters that you have invested money in and whether they are cashmere or a wool blend, they are made with a knit material. This means that your sweaters require a lot of care to maintain its shape, color and quality. Your goal during sweater-weather is to keep them from washing as little as possible.
Here are Five pro tips to help you accomplish this:
1. Store sweaters properly on and off season. During the off season keep sweaters, which are often bulky, in open cloth bins on top shelves (rather than the floor to minimize dust collection) or in canvas sealed bags or bins elsewhere like under your bed and include lavender and cedar satchels to keep stale air smell and moths away.
When sweaters are in season, they should be folded in bins or drawers or hung up, but only if done properly.
When hanging sweaters, do not slip a hanger like you would a blouse, it will stretch out the fabric at both shoulders and body—it will create indentations at the shoulders that may not come out. Instead, fold the sweater vertically in half and line up the sleeves. Lay it flat and place a hanger hook between the sleeves and body (the sweater will be upside down) and then slide them both through the hanger. Check out this video to watch how it is done.
2. Keep body odor away from permeating into the material. Wear a fitted short or long sleeve tee shirt underneath sweater (cotton stretch material is best as it’s breathable, but you can experiment with material that wicks sweat off the body or if you are looking for a warmer underlayer use thermal underwear). This method allows the shirt underneath to capture body odor sparing your sweater. The shirt should be fitted to create a smooth surface but not tight in case the day warms up and you need to take off your sweater.
You can also layer a sweater over a collared shirt instead of a t-shirt, but be mindful of shirts and blouses made of polyester, or other synthetics, which contains unbreathable fibers. If you get too hot, sweat will get trapped in the top and permeate odor, so strategize properly.
3. After a day’s wear, air out your sweater to get rid of odors and toxins. You know that chair in the corner of your room? It’s perfect for throwing your sweaters on the headrest and let them air out. I recommend spraying The Laundress Lady Scented Fabric Refresher Spray
all over while inside out, paying special attention to the under arms. You can also make your on DYI fabric deodorizer by mixing 1/3 water with 2/3 rubbing alcohol or (cheap) vodka with a few drops of your favorite essential oil—I’m a big fan of lavender. Let the sweater sit there overnight before placing back in your wardrobe.
Airing out sweaters. If you have been wearing a sweater without outerwear exposing fabric to environmental toxins and allergens or strong odors like vapor from cooking and smoke, then we recommend hanging the sweater on a hanger near a window, like in a bathroom or an outdoor area. If hanging outside, make sure the weather makes since to avoid it getting wet or damp and keep away from direct sunlight as it may fade the color.
We recommend treating all your outerwear in this manner. Let your cardigans, blazers, coats and jackets air out on a hanger outside of the closet door or an outdoor area (use deodorizing spray, if needed) for a few hours before placing them back into the closet. This method will keep odors and toxins out of your clothes and from contaminating other items in your closet.
4. Always perform a visual inspection and maintenance before placing sweater back in your wardrobe. You’ve deodorized your sweater and got rid of odors and toxins, so now you need to do a quick check for stains, dandruff, hair, random bits, fabric pilling and snags.
Spot treat any stains immediately! Our favorite product for most stains is the OxiClean MaxForce Gel Stick—then use a fabric brush to and gently rub to get into the knit fabric and release oil, dirt and food. Let sit overnight and then rinse the stained area only and lay flat to dry.
For hair, dandruff and any other small debris, use a fabric sticky roller to capture as much as of this debris as possible.
For pilling you can use a regular razer to shave the sweater or a special fabric electric razor--our favorite method is using a fabric comb or lint remover. These last two options are much more effective.
If you see a snag or pulled yarn, do not cut it or it will turn into a hole, use a crochet hook to pull it back in or our favorite tool, the “Snag Nab It.” It’s a needle with threating at the end that gently grabs the yarn and pulls through and it’s like magic! Check out this video.
5. Wash your sweaters properly. Most sweaters can be either washed by hand or in the delicate cycle of your washer machine. Many fabric labels in sweaters will say to “dry clean only” and if we’re being honest, we never take ours to the cleaners as dry-cleaning solvents and enzyme-containing detergents will degrade yarns—but you’ll have to make that call for yourself.
Whether washing by hand or in a washer machine, we recommend using cold water and mild detergent or special shampoo such as The Laundress Wool & Cashmere Shampoo.
Lastly, let’s talk a bit about “lay flat to dry”—you hear this often but what does this mean? If you are washing in the delicate cycle the machine will gently spin your clothes around releasing as much as water as possible. However, if you are hand washing, don’t wring your clothes by twisting them as it will stretch and wrinkle the fabric. Instead squeeze the sweater gently to get the excess water off and then place it on a towel and roll it over it giving a gentle squeeze. Unroll the sweater out and lay it out to dry on the same towel, a dry towel or over a mesh rack. If you are short on space and using a traditional drying rack or laundry line, ensure that the back of the sweater is hanging on the bar and not the front, otherwise it will dry with a white line on the front. If you are going to have a line, it’s better if it’s on the backside. LOL.
We hope that these pro tips help are easy to follow and help you maintain your knit wear in good condition. If you have any pro tips of your own, please include in comment section here.
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