Wonder how to wash striped clothes? Clean them gently and shine out with these splendid shirts and dresses!
Striped clothes are those, which have lines or bands that deviate distinctively in pattern from an adjacent area. Typical ones are with black and white stripes, but there are a lot of other cool looking varieties as red with white, light blue with dark gray… there are no limits to the combinations. Striped clothes are trendy, but when you buy them, you should consider that if you clean them in ordinary way, these favorite clothing items will lose their pattern brightness. To avoid that, they require some special care when cleaning. We are here today to tell you how to wash striped clothes easily, without loosing their colors, and keep them look like new.
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Check whether the colors are not bleeding
Find a little hidden area on your striped piece of clothing and dip it in hot water. For clothes that cannot be dipped, do a spot test, moistening the test place with a wet towel. If you notice that the color leaks into the water or in the towel, it should be cleaned with great attention. If there is a dye release, wash it alone.
How to wash black and white striped clothes?
The black and white color combinations on clothes are lovely, should they be stripes, bands or flowers. So the mastery in washing is how to clean them without fading the black and white pattern. We should choose carefully the cleaning detergents, the temperature and the drying method when washing black and white or other high-contrast striped clothes.
Recommendations on how to wash colored striped clothes
When deciding to wash your colored striped clothes, the main question is: what colors can be washed together? You should separate your striped clothing items depending on the prevalent type of color. For instance, it’s good to place a striped shirt in one heap with your light-colored clothes if it has more light stripes than dark ones.
How to wash striped clothes: Handwashing method
The clothes with strongly contrasting stripes should not be machine washed, in order not to distort the colors. It’s preferable to wash them by hand with cold water. This approach will prevent bleeding of the dark-colored areas into the lighter ones. Wash carefully, and if you notice that one piece of clothing is bleeding, separate it for cleaning alone.
How to wash striped clothes: Machine washing
Though in many cases handwashing is preferable when talking about striped clothes, machine wash is also possible, especially for the cotton striped fabrics. This is acceptable if the spot test shows there is no bleeding of colors. Set the washing machine to cool, and at the same time, the spin cycle should be set for delicate clothing.
Add vinegar
Vinegar helps to remove some stains from the striped clothes, as well as the odors. It also brightens the light stripes. Vinegar causes no damage to the clothes and is used to strengthen the power of the washing detergent. The scheme of its usage is simple: add ½ cup (120 ml) of vinegar to the washing machine before the last rinse cycle, or 1 cup (250 ml) of vinegar if the clothes are dirtier than usual.
Add borax and baking soda
Borax and baking soda clean the clothes from some stains and grease, and in addition to this, make the light stripes brighter. Used together, they successfully remove yellowing from your fabrics.
Set the washing machine and choose detergent properly
Set your washing machine for delicate clothing. Be sure you wash thoroughly. Use a gentle detergent that will not damage your striped clothes. Consider also the texture of the striped clothes. When washing items made from delicate fabrics like rayon and silk, pour milder detergent and wash with cool water. While striped clothes from cotton may be washed with not so gentle detergent and with warmer water.
Drying outside or in a dryer?
It’s preferable to air dry the striped clothing made from fine materials, rather than in a dryer. Because the drying machine may cause the colors to blur and the texture to weaken. But you may decide to use a dryer for the cotton striped clothes, and if so, dry quickly to avoid blurring the colors. The dryer should be set on lower temperature and on a short time cycle, thus preventing damage to the stripes. Avoid over-drying the clothes as they may lose their shape.
Do not use harsh chemicals and bleach
The striped clothes should be washed with higher attention to the chemicals you treat them with. For instance, it’s essential to avoid harsh chemicals like chlorine bleach and hard washing machine detergents because they may ruin the color of stripes, and the use of bleach may also leave an unpleasant smell. For whiting the clothes, you may choose vinegar, oxygen bleach, hydrogen peroxide or lemon juice.
Fabric conditioner is not recommended
People often think that striped clothes can be washed regularly, adding conditioner. But it’s not the case with this kind of clothing. Conditioner can take the color out of the stripes, and leave them yellowish.
