How I Hand-Wash Clothing (and the style book that taught me how) - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

How I Hand-Wash Clothing (and the style book that taught me how)

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

(Let me preface this by saying, I receive no compensation of any sort, for this recommendation - I just found that there was a lot of useful stuff in this book...)

Awhile back, I bought this book: How to Get Dressed: A Costume Designer's Secrets for Making Your Clothes Look, Fit, and Feel Amazing. The writer, Alison Freer, does costuming for film and television.

There was a lot of great stuff in this book, but I thought the laundering tips were what really made it worth my time and money. I now hand-wash a lot of very delicate pieces (lingerie), expensive pieces (Wolford), pieces that will gradually stain and discolor (swimwear), and older machine-washable pieces that I want to stretch the life of, because I have not found replacements.

Anyway, let me walk you through my process, taken from Freer's tips...

1) I always wear close-fitting rubber gloves, because my hands and nails get very dry and look awful. It also keeps my cuticles or a rough nail from snagging the fabric

2) Depending on the garment, I fill the sink with cold or warm water, and immerse the garment. I use natural soaps, like Dr. Bronner's or Trader Joe's Tea Tree Soap, or Shea Moisture bar soap. These all seem to rinse well, and not leave residue, and my stuff always has a light, fresh smell.

3) I start with the parts of the garment that are in direct contact with my body: underarms, collar, straps on tops and bras, and the gusset + feet of undergarments and hosiery. I smooth the soap onto the area, and rub the material gently between my fingers. Then I gradually work the soap through the rest of the garment. I do this for five minutes (Freer's recommendation), and then I rinse 2-3 times, still rubbing the material very gently through my fingers, to make sure I'm getting any soap residue out of the garment.

(I try not to use too much soap, or overfill the sink. I use just enough water to cover the garment. The last batch of rinsewater, I usually re-use for the next item or items, if I'm washing multiple pieces.)

4) Then I roll the item up in a towel and press down on it or stand on it, to get all of the excess water out. I either put the garment on a sweater rack, or hang it up to dry.

This technique has worked for so many of my pieces - and surprisingly - has improved the appearance of clothes that I've previously washed in the machine, whether it was permanent press, delicate cycle, or the hand-wash cycle. I still wash items in the machine, but I wash my Wolford pieces, hosiery, undergarments, and anything I can't replace, in the sink. It's been especially helpful in getting sunscreen out of my swimsuits before it has a chance to really set in and stain the suits.

I love that I can get more frequent wear out of favorite pieces, because they usually are dry by morning, and it's really great to be able to wear the very pretty lingerie, and not be caught up in a backlog of waiting for a full load to run the wash.

General

26 replies

Latest reply was from Stagiaire Fash

Cardiff girl

Veteran

Well done you for caring for your clothes properly.It seems to be a sadly dying art.I handwash cashmere items pretty much in the way you describe because although a lot of cashmere says it’s machine washable these days it reall isn’t.

viva

Veteran

Thank you, LBD. I hope you can inspire me back to doing this. I have become a lazy woman, dependent on the care cycle of the washing machine and also the dry cleaner. But I grew up doing my hand washing very much like you describe. It sounds like a soothing ritual, actually. I'll have to try it again.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

What a great resource. You make it sound soothing and restorative! This is how I grew up handwashing and how I still wash certain items, and also what I do when travelling, although I've been known to rely on baby shampoo as my "soap" in that situation.

AviaMariah

Veteran

I used to hand wash a lot of items but I finally had to compromise and wash on delicate. Once life is a little less crazy I might go back to hand washing. I could definitely tell the difference.

Helena

Veteran

Great tips, thanks!

Anonymous

I remember when I would have hand washed sweaters laid out everywhere , along with new bras, panties etc. Now ? It's the wrinkling that comes out of hand washed stuff that stops me from doing it. I find my sweaters need to be pressed after hand washing - and who has time to iron a sweater?

Anonymous

This is great information. I will definitely be using it from now on. Thank you for taking the time to instruct me.

Thistle

Veteran

Great tips! Up until now, I have only ever hand washed bras.

I should really rethink this. But as lisa p said, it does lead to a lot of wrinkles. And I hate ironing.

The Cat

Veteran

Glad these tips work for some. Earlier in my life, I have hand-washed many items, but I very seldom do it nowadays. I am happy to have access to a machine that has a very gentle hand-wash cycle. I use Woolite and let the items airdry. Great, easy and quick solutions for me. (Decades ago, my hands were severely damaged, so my doctors have told me be to be careful and keep them out of chemicals as much as possible. And I am allergic to rubber gloves.)

rachylou

Veteran

Nice. I feel better now at my secret use of Dr Bronner’s for handwashing clothes... lol!

Anonymous

I too have a hand wash cycle on my washing machine which has been greatly used. But for those couple of items (exercise gear) that I need and don't want to run the washer, I hand wash. One thing I found is that if you wrap the wet garment in a micro fiber towel, it will suck the water right out of the garment to dry much more quickly.

Scarlet

Veteran

Thanks!

Style Fan

Veteran

Thank you! I hand wash my cashmere sweaters and other delicate items. I just watched a YouTube video on how to do handwashing. She recommends using a professional steamer for wrinkles. I just walk around wrinkly.

binkle

Veteran

The one thing I've found that has consistently thrashed my clothes is the dryer. Maybe it is my dryer in particular - an old, very robust model. So I air dry my nicer tees and fancy jeans. And have always hand washed the bras.

Irina

Veteran

Well, good to know I’m not alone I hand wash my undergarments, silks, wool items. And iron them, even the sweaters I use mashing mostly for house and weekend clothes.

Windchime

Veteran

This seems very do-able and, moreover, relaxing. I’m glad to know about the soaps which are recommended; I’ve always used Woolite, and it can be kind of pricey if you wash a lot of things by hand.

Anonymous

I do a lot of hand washing of my clothes. It’s not always fun but things hold up so much nicer. I too have read the book. Great, i have also gone on “the laundress” website and used a couple of their products. Interesting site and you can get questions answered. But the
best for stains is “grandmas” spot remover- bar and liquid- both are spectacular on spots. You can get it on amazon although I buy it from a local store to support small local businesses

SarahD8

Veteran

I admire your commitment. My gosh, I am still having trouble managing to consistently hand wash my face, let alone my clothing!

Joy

Veteran

I hand wash almost everything this way, often using baby shampoo. I have a set of drying racks that fit in the bottom of the tub and hanging racks in the garage. If you gently shape each garment on the drying rack or towel when damp, you will not end up with wrinkles. if the garment is strong enough, it can be tumbled in a no-heat dryer for a few minutes with some clean dry towels to release wrinkles, then removed to air dry.

Katerina

Veteran

Great advice! Thank you!

cindysmith

Veteran

I used to take this much time with my clothes. Now that we've moved to a very rural area (and the accompanying lifestyle), I so rarely have the time and energy for it. I'm hoping that changes after we've finished building our house. I'm also going to have to try the rolled up towel thing, because that seems like it would help speed up the drying process and help stop some of the dreaded wrinkling I've always wound up with in the past.

kkards

Veteran

thanks for the book recommendation--putting it on my amazon wish list....and the handwashing tips....like the idea, but in real life...i'm a firm believer in the washing machine....

krishnidoux

Veteran

Thanks for these very good tips!

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

Sorry that I posted-n-ghosted this last week! Things got crazy...

I never realized the part about cashmere wrinkling - is it the hem rolling up? I've owned very few cashmere pieces, and I purged all of them this year, because my old holdouts are making itch now. I had either dry-cleaned them, or got lucky in the handwash (I always smoothed and reshaped them).

I have an old bottle of Grandma's, and I don't think I've ever used it! I'm going to give it a try. There is also the Fels-Naptha Bar (I usually see these at the grocery store, on the top shelf, kind of out of sight). I read that handwashing with these could help with underarm stains (you gotta really rub them), but didn't seem to work for me - probably because they were too set in by the time I tried the bar.

I don't use Woolite, although I LOVE Woolite Dark for the washing machine - because the BF has severe skin allergies to the fragrance and/or the coloring in both (he looks like a relief map of the world when he's exposed). If there's residue in the machine, or I accidentally wash something of his in it, it's disastrous for him.

Anonymous

An alternative to towel rolling, which can be annoying, is moving up your machine's delicate cycle to the final spin. Works great,more thorough water removal and no sopping towel to wash.
Some machines spray in water during this part which isn't helpful, my old machine didn't but the one I'm using now does, so I turn the spigots off to prevent any water flow.
If I shake and smooth things out immediately after I generally don't get wrinkles. Items that might stretch while drying get laid flat on towels, more stable things are hung to dry.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

How surprising to see that the soap i consider my lazy move (Dr B’s) is actually recommended! If you read the crazy label, you’ll see that it claims to be able to do a lot of things.

May I ask you an unrelated question? I picked up some fancy beaded headbands yesterday, and want to wear one to Easter Brunch. The way I put them on looks like I’m in the Thanksgiving pagent at preschool, or maybe a 70s era hippie. Off the top of your head, do you know tutorials on how to get a more 1920s kind of look? Thanks!

This post has 7 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.