Cotton items are good to wear in hot weather; they allow wind to pass through and absorb moisture. Over time, such material quickly deteriorates, it can shrink after the first wash and acquire a grayish tint if the item is white. Cotton clothes can last a long time, you just need to know some rules on how to wash them.
Cotton fabric - how to care for it
Young housewives often ask questions about how to handle cotton. All children's clothes, underwear, and sheets are made from this material. Washing machines have an additional function: a cotton washing mode. Snow-white items are allowed to be loaded at a temperature of 95 degrees, and colored items - 40 degrees, so that the items do not fade.
Cotton items may shrink or become excessively wrinkled, although the shape may remain the same. Therefore, it is recommended to dry cotton items outdoors rather than in a washing machine.
In order for cotton clothes to serve for a long time and make you happy, you need to follow simple recommendations for caring for them:
- Before washing an item, carefully read the label. If it is written that machine washing is prohibited, then use hand washing.
- Clothes are turned inside out and buttons and zippers are fastened.
- The water should not be too hot, 30-40 degrees will do, otherwise the thing will shrink.
- Dirty items are first soaked with hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.
- If you wash cotton by hand, do not rub it for more than 10 minutes.
- Washing machines have a special mode for washing cotton, so they use it.Wash cotton separately from other items and fabrics.
Cotton items can be white or colored, so when washing it is recommended to sort them and wash them separately from each other. The thickness of clothing matters; terry towels and sheets can be washed at different temperatures, but thin fabric and baby clothes can shrink and lose shape at high temperatures. At 40 degrees, dirt on cotton can be easily washed off. If you follow simple rules, cotton material will look like new and will last for a long time.
Some items are not recommended to be washed in a washing machine; this method leads to damage to the clothes, so they are washed by hand. The main thing here is to pre-soak the product before washing. Strong stains can be easily removed if you add a little turpentine with the powder. You just need to wash the item thoroughly so that no unpleasant odor remains.
How to hand wash cotton:
- A detergent intended for cotton products is dissolved in warm water.
- The item is soaked in it for 10-15 minutes.
- Wash carefully.
- Rinse in cool water, do not use ice water.
- Squeeze lightly, do not twist or squeeze with full force.
- Carefully hang, melting the fabric in the process.
- When drying, it is not recommended to over-dry clothes, so that later it will be easier to iron.
Washing highlights
Cotton should be sorted and washed separately. It all depends on the degree of pollution. If children's clothes are heavily soiled, they should be pre-soaked.
Items can be soaked in salt water for 2 hours before washing.White cotton socks get dirty very quickly, it can be difficult to wash off heavy stains, and the fabric almost always remains grayish on the soles. There is a little trick: soak the socks in a solution of boric acid. To do this, pour two spoons into 8 liters of water, mix, and place the contaminated items there for two hours. After a certain time, wash as usual. The socks become snow-white, like new.
It is difficult to wash cotton items with colored embroidery. Threads can fade and stain white fabric with their color. The secret to washing such clothes is simple: you need to wash them by hand in salt water. Add a little salt to 500 ml of water, mix well and soak for 20 minutes. You need to wash clothes by hand with the addition of detergent and a little salt. Then rinse well with cold water. Clothes with embroidery are not wrung out, but are wrapped in thick fabric to absorb excess moisture. Then hang it on the dryer to dry naturally. It is better to hang clothes outside if conditions permit.
How to remove yellowness and stains from products
After constant washing, white cotton clothes become grayish, sometimes yellowing appears. How to return such things to their original whiteness. Using bleach for this purpose is unsafe and may damage the fabric. There are folk recipes for removing such stains:
To do this, take the following components:
- Hydrogen peroxide – 30 grams;
- Ammonia – 15 grams;
- 10 liters of water.
Add hydrogen peroxide and ammonia to water at a temperature of 60 degrees, mix and leave clean clothes for half an hour. Then the clothes are thoroughly rinsed and hung out to dry. This method makes things pure white and the dirt disappears.
To remove chocolate, juice, coffee, fat, you need to wash with detergent or soap, then boil with bleach. Use enamel dishes, without cracks and rust, for half an hour from the moment of boiling over low heat. Rust stains are not removed.
What to do to prevent cotton items from shrinking
You need to put the clothes in a container with warm water for a while, then load them into the washing machine, setting the “gentle care” mode, set to a temperature of about 30 degrees. After finishing washing, the fabric must be carefully stretched to the desired size. Dry, periodically straightening it. The item will stretch after washing this way, but care must be taken that it does not lose its shape.
There are other tips:
- Shrunken cotton is stretched by ironing and steaming. To do this, cover the clothes with wet gauze and iron them, slightly stretching the edges.
- Rinse with hydrogen peroxide; for 10 liters you only need 2 tbsp. spoons. To obtain the effect, leave the product in the solution for 2 hours. Then rinse well and leave to dry horizontally.
- You can add 3% vinegar to the container, then moisten the damaged product with a sponge. Then wash in the washing machine as usual.
Additional care for cotton clothing
Clothes require not only proper washing, but also careful care so that the clothes look neat and clean in the future. Sometimes you can see marks from clothespins or rope that are difficult to remove; ironing does not help, and from the outside of the product it looks untidy and careless.
Therefore, they dry cotton items horizontally or vertically, throwing them over a rope, and do not pin them with clothespins so that marks do not remain. The fabric is ironed slightly damp. Clothes are sprayed with water before ironing or an iron with a steam function is used.
After purchasing the product, carefully study the label on the clothing and follow the appropriate recommendations for washing and caring for them. There are recommendations at what temperature to iron cotton items. By following the instructions, the clothes will not get damaged.
Caring for cotton clothes is not difficult if you know the washing and care rules. Then things will last a long time and look like new.
