Cotton fabrics are used in the manufacture of many daily clothes. Including jackets, pants, shirts or underwear, they are all basic clothes that make us feel comfortable and self-confident, and who among us does not care about keeping his precious clothes new and in bright colors?
But such soft fabrics need special care in washing and drying, in order to maintain the integrity of the fabric and the freshness of its colors, in terms of the type of detergent, temperature and frequency of washing, all of which are important details to manage.
Washing cotton clothes in the washing machine:
In the beginning, cotton clothes (slippers, shawls, men’s underwear, women’s underwear...) must be separated from other clothes, and then we sort them according to color into white clothes, dark clothes, and colored clothes, in order to avoid dyeing the pieces other than their original color.
If there are stubborn stains on a particular piece of clothing, such as oil, paint, blood, or other things, these stains must be eliminated first before putting them in the washing machine, in order to avoid the stain setting and becoming impossible to remove.
If the piece of clothing is very dirty and needs bleach, it is recommended to soak it first for thirty minutes in warm water, adding one tablespoon of bleach, before putting it in the washing machine. Avoid using bleach on cotton clothes as much as possible, as it leads to damage to the cotton fabric over time.
Another useful tip is to turn cotton clothes inside out, especially underwear. This ensures that they are cleaned well and protects them from fading.
Also, most people tend to believe that the higher the water temperature, the stronger the cleaning, but that is not necessarily true, as some experts suggest. Hot water can damage cotton fabrics or make some stains permanent that will not go away, so it is preferable to wash cotton clothes with the lowest setting. possible temperature.
If the clothes are delicate, such as women's and men's pants and undershirts, they can be placed in an inner pillow case before washing them. It is known that pouring a spoonful of vinegar maintains the fresh scent of clothes and protects their colors. Also, some cotton clothes cannot tolerate mechanical drying, so you must first verify their ability to do so through the label on the edges of the clothes.
To maintain the softness and freshness of cotton towels, half the amount of detergent normally used in washing must be used, in addition to running an additional rinse cycle to ensure that traces of detergent have been completely eliminated.
Washing cotton clothes by hand:
For expensive cotton clothes, it is preferable to wash them by hand, and caution must be taken in this process due to the possibility of damaging the fabric as a result of the intense rubbing process when washing by hand.
First, we fill a basin with cold water, then add one tablespoon of mild detergent to each piece of clothing, and stir the water until the detergent is completely dissolved. Then we immerse the pieces of clothing in water and move them gently with our hands, avoiding rubbing them too hard so as not to damage the fabric. After that, we get rid of the washing water, immerse the clothes again in clean cold water, rinse them carefully until we get rid of the detergent, then spread them on the clothesline to dry.
Getting rid of tough stains on cotton clothes:
Once cotton clothes are exposed to a stain, they must be soaked directly in water, as the water in the stain prevents the stain from penetrating into the fabric fibres. It is preferable to use hot water to remove different types of stains, especially dye and makeup stains, with the exception of blood stains, so ice water must be used to remove them.
However, in many cases, using water alone is not enough to get rid of stains completely. Then other materials can be added depending on the type of stain:
1- Salt is used to get rid of sweat, blood, and red juice stains by placing a layer of salt on the stain after soaking the clothes in water, leaving it for at least two hours, and then rinsing the clothes with cold water.
2- Lemon juice or vinegar is used to get rid of coffee, tea, or green grass stains. This is done by soaking dirty clothes in water, then adding a teaspoon of lemon juice, or a teaspoon of white vinegar to the stain, and leaving it for thirty days. At least a minute, then wash the clothes well.
3- White vinegar can also be used on mold stains in the same way.