30 August 2020
5 min Read
Preserving the lifespan of a personalised garment like most clothes comes down to how best to wash it. And here we are going to outline the optimal ways of doing that to maximise the longevity of your item of clothing.
Direct to garment printed clothes are normally not only beautiful quality but easy to get clean. Before putting in the washing machine the best advice is to turn the garment inside out. This doesn’t just benefit t shirts but preserves the quality of any decorated garments be it personalised hoodies, custom sweatshirts or polos.
It’s easy to think that a high temperature is the way forward to get rid of stains & any accumulated dirt. In fact lower temperatures are advantageous so set the machine on a medium preferably cold cycle to preserve the quality of the fabric. Also this will mean less to pay on electricity bills as it will save on energy.
If you have access to the outdoors and preferably a washing line this is the way ahead to dry your printed garments. Fresh air gives them a lovely feel. This isn’t always possible though. The weather (especially if it’s in the UK) may be rainy! Also you may not have the space for a washing line in which case a clothes stand on a hard surface outdoors or likewise indoors are good alternatives. For many tumble dryers are a preferred route to drying clothes but if you need to use one, try to avoid putting it on a high temperature. That will pay dividends to enhance the long term quality of your clothes. Even better, resist using it.
A word of warning, never iron directly onto the printed areas of your clothes - the same goes for embroidered items. Instead iron around the personalised logo, photo, template or combination you have chosen as your design.
In addition treat your personalised garments kindly as far as your selection of detergent is concerned. Bleach & powerful washing powders or liquids are not advised. Far better to opt for a mild detergent and if you need to remove a stain then use a specialised stain remover which are easy to get from any major supermarket. Do compare prices though as they are one of those products which can either be reasonably priced or hiked out of all proportion.
Another top tip is to wash similar coloured items together. So whites in one wash & coloureds in another. This nurtures your garments. It helps to keep similarly textured items together & also limits the amount of friction that washing can cause helping to reduce pilling of the fabric. It also minimises the cracking or peeling of personalised printed garments. So, if you have lots of towels to put through the machine for example, wash them separately from your t-shirts thereby keeping the texture of that softer t-shirt type clothing soft to touch & smooth.
If all goes well bosses of personalised printing firm TShirtStudio know they get positive feedback. This review is from someone who’d just bought a plain personalised white budget t-shirt:
“I was pleased when the shirt arrived right on time and I have purposely delayed my review until after laundry day. Now, I'm even more pleased and will definitely be ordering more, Thank you.”
Over the past few months, many of us have been separated from loved ones for long periods of time when we would normally catch up in person.
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