Clothing care tips
6 tips to keep your clothes looking their best for longer
Let the laundry breathe! Gets rid of light odors even without washing.
© Pau Cardellach Lliso / Picture Alliance
How nice it would be if our favorite jumpers could look like new forever: bright colors and supple fabrics that make us shine, too. In fact, they can. The secret lies in proper care.
Preserve your own wardrobe for generations? A romantic wishful thinking. In fact, clothes can look beautiful for much longer if they are properly cared for. Seeing your clothes as companions for many years and not as goods that can be quickly replaced helps you to think about the value of individual items again — and thus automatically wants to care for them properly.
1. Prevent and treat pilling properly
With many textiles, especially those made of wool, sooner or later the situation will arise: the fabric pills and its fibers lie on top of it as small balls. Unfortunately, as natural as it is, the clothes look ugly, rough and worn out. But before that happens, this process can be deliberately slowed down. Simply put the selected knitted parts in the freezer and enjoy the firmer fibers after 24 hours. And the detergent also plays a role. When dosed correctly, liquid detergents usually do not leave any residue on the laundry or dry out the fibres.
When it’s already too late: No problem, the fabric parts do not have to be thrown away immediately. The loosened fibers are simply removed with a cloth razor. An electronic pilling razor and a special comb remove small fluffs in no time.
2. If washing machine, then …
… not too hot, not too cold. The right washing temperature makes all the difference. The heat can often be turned down quite a bit without the cleanliness suffering as a result. It is worth choosing 30 degrees as the standard setting for sweaters, shirts and pants. 40 or 60 degrees are not necessary here and may even shrink the garments. In contrast to towels, bed linen and underwear, which should definitely be boiled at 60 degrees or even.
3. Air garments between washes
After wearing it straight into the wash? This puts a strain on every piece of clothing. Instead, they can also be hung on the balcony for airing. The clothes look noticeably refreshed the next morning and are freed from slight odors. Natural materials are particularly suitable because they are more breathable. For synthetic fibers, light steaming will help.
4. Hand wash: gentle and economical
Washing too hot often leads directly to material and color wear and tear. Sensitive materials in particular appreciate gentler treatment. These include wool, silk or lace. Gentle cleaning not only gives the clothes a longer lifespan, but also makes your wallet happy. Tip: Sort the laundry as usual and put it in lukewarm water. If the temperature is too high, woolen fabrics in particular will be damaged.
5. Steaming: the new washing?
A crease and wash-free pleasure. Light steaming is a wonderful alternative to washing to give worn clothing a quick boost of freshness. The hot steam also counteracts odors. Also as an alternative to ironing, the mist is gentler and smoothes without direct contact with the hot iron. burn in? Not possible.
6. Focus on spots and sweaty areas
Of course it sometimes happens faster than you think that the hot coffee lands on your favorite blouse. So instead of sending the entire blouse to the dry cleaner, only the stain is treated. Home remedies are usually gentler than chemical products from the drugstore. Baking soda, lemon and also vinegar are common ways to remove the stains. Submerge the spot in lukewarm water and then air it out!
