A Guide to Washing and Caring for Your Clothes

Washing sounds easy, but our own (and our long-time customers’) experience with damaged clothes has taught us that how you wash your clothes make a big difference. It can impact the surface of the textiles, the colour, the thickness of the garment and its lifecycle.

     
1. Sorting:

Always wash light and dark colours separately to avoid colour running. If you can, wash like colours together.

2. Checking for accessories on the garment: 

Before placing your clothes in the washing machine, make sure that any additional items or accessories are removed. This goes for EW accessories as well, as they can get damaged in the wash cycle. Always check the clothing label for care instructions. Dry clean only those clothes that have a dry cleaning label (e.g. a wool coat).

• Wash at temperature indicated on the label, as elastic materials can shrink at higher temperatures.

• Choose the right washing power/liquid to make sure you prevent colour fading. You don’t necessarily have to use detergent if you prefer not to.
• Never mix whites with colour garments!
• Don’t overload your washing machine – load up to the maximum as indicated. Overloading your machine leaves no space for your clothes to move inside the drum. Always wash clothes zipped up or buttoned, and turn your clothes inside out.
• Use washing bags for delicate garments, such as bras.
• Set your washing machine at a lower spin, ideally no more than 800- 1000 rpm.

• Remove clothes immediately after washing, shake them out and place them on a hanger so they stretch from their own weight. This prevents shrinkage and you can avoid ironing.

• Avoid tumble drying. Dryers can shrink and damage clothes, especially those made with stretch fabric.
• After placing your clothes on hangers, smooth them out a bit to avoid ironing, especially cotton material.
• If you do need to iron, turn clothes inside out and iron at a low temperature to avoid damaging them.
• Never place the iron on zippers, buttons or plastic decorations, as they can melt and leave a coloured mark on your garment.

• If possible, store your clothes on hangers to ensure they last longer.
• Wait for freshly ironed clothes to cool before folding them neatly to avoid creasing.