7 essential tips for taking care of your clothes

To take care of your clothes and increase their durability, in addition to choosing more sustainable and good quality pieces when purchasing, it is necessary to know how to wash each type of fabric.

80 billion pieces of clothing produced annually, 52 annual micro-collections and a 400% increase in clothing production compared to a few years ago. This is some data provided by Sustain your Style .

This environmental impact caused by the textile industry can be reduced by making more sustainable choices and taking care of the clothes we already have in our closets.

The main steps to take care of clothes

To take care of your clothes, it is not enough to wash them in the usual programs with the recommended products. It is important to follow various advice and adapt washing to the types of fabrics, always following the instructions on the labels of each item of clothing, and using the correct amount of detergent.

Don't wash as often

There is no need to constantly wash items of clothing as sometimes it is enough to air them out after wearing them. Therefore, in addition to ensuring greater conservation of clothes, you also save water and energy spent on washing.

Read the labels

All pieces of clothing contain labels that indicate some advice not only for washing but also for drying them. This care is one of the main ones to check.

Prefer the drying rack to the dryer

Let your clothes dry outdoors as this saves energy and prevents the fabrics from becoming more worn out.

Sort clothes by color

Before washing, it is important to separate the clothes by color: white, light and dark. In addition, there are also clothes that need to be washed separately not only to avoid damaging the type of fabric but also to avoid the proliferation of bacteria, such as bath towels and the like, jeans, cleaning cloths, carpets, lace, wool, satin, among others.

By separating the clothes you will get the expected result, which is clean clothes, increasing their durability and maintaining their original color.

Don't iron white clothes that you're going to save

White items of clothing may turn yellow if they are stored for a while after ironing. According to Ekonomista this happens due to the synthetic heat and the gum that is released.

Taking care of your clothes also means not hanging out woolen items

After washing woolen clothing, it is essential to place it horizontally to dry in a ventilated and shady place. You should not extend it because, as they are normally heavier, they can stretch and lose their original shape.

Washing clothes at low temperatures: advantages

Clean and refreshing clothes, greater durability of items, greater savings and reduced CO2 emissions are the advantages of washing clothes at low temperatures , namely 30ºC.

Taking care of your clothes also means taking care of each fabric.

After knowing all this general advice, you should also master the different ways of washing fabrics: linen, cotton, lyocell, wool and polyester.

Näz, a Portuguese company with several environmental concerns and which strives to create better fashion for a conscious tomorrow, provides some information on how to care for these various fabrics mentioned:

• Linen: can be washed up to 40ºC, but Näz recommends keeping this fabric always cool or at 30ºC. It is quick-drying and can be ironed;
• Cotton: cotton clothing items can also be washed at up to 40ºC and must be damp before ironing;
• Lyocell: this type of fabric is easy to maintain and can be washed at up to 40ºC and machine dried. The ideal is to dry outdoors and in the shade and if you iron, it is recommended to turn it inside out;
• Wool: this is one of the types of fabric that needs particular attention. According to Näz, avoid washing woolen items after each use but rather place them in the air or in your bathroom while they are damp. When washing, choose a special program for wool or wash the items by hand. It is not recommended to tumble dry this type of fabric;
• Polyester: when washing polyester, pieces of microfiber are released. In this case, choose to use a GuppyFriend bag when washing.

Have you already put any of this advice into practice? Tell us everything.

Author: Daniela Matos