Hand-washing your clothes or other home textiles can seem like a lot of extra work—so you may be tempted to try to put those delicate items in the washing machine. But washing by hand is essential for certain items, in order to help them look their best for as long as possible and avoid damaging them irreparably.
So before you drag out a mesh bag and try to put that silk shirt through a delicates cycle, get some expert advice on why you should make hand-washing a thing.
Items You Should Always Hand-Wash
Sweaters—Especially With Natural Fibers
You probably already know that you shouldn’t be washing your sweaters in the washing machine—but it’s about more than just some nasty sweater pilling. “Sweaters, especially those made from wool, cashmere, or other natural fiber, can stretch or shrink in a machine,” says Alicia Sokolowski, president and CEO of AspenClean.
Items With Lace
Lace is delicate, and it can become snagged, torn, or stretched if it’s subjected to agitation in a washing machine. (That goes for your lace-trimmed bras, too.)
Items With Structured Details Like Pleats
You’ll always want to be gentle with items that have pleats, ruffles, or padded sections, as they can all become misshapen with the rougher handling in a washing machine. “They’ll lose their defined shape,” Sokolowski says.
Silk Clothing and Fabric
Whether you have a silk blouse or (lucky you!) silk sheets, washing them by hand will help ensure that the delicate fibers don’t snag or become damaged, and it helps prevent the colors from fading.
Rayon or Viscose Clothes
Rayon and viscose fabrics are made of cellulose (aka, wood pulp), and machine washing them can cause shrinkage or weakening. “These fibers absorb water easily and lose their structure when wet,” Sokolowski says.
Garments With Embellishments
The agitation that comes with machine washing can do damage to garments with beads, sequins, and embroidery. “These are often attached with delicate stitching that can loosen in the wash, and some designs use adhesives that may weaken in water or heat,” Sokolowski says. And hard elements like crystals or sequins can rub up against other fabrics in the wash cycle, causing damage.
Tips for Hand-Washing Your Clothes
Hand-washing doesn’t have to involve a lot of scrubbing and twisting—and in fact, it should be a gentle and relatively hands-off process. Here’s how Sokolowski recommends caring for your delicate items.
Use cold or lukewarm water for washing
In general, hot water is mostly recommended for dirty towels or items that need to be sanitized—and that’s especially the case for the kinds of fabrics that require hand-washing. “Hot water can often cause shrinking or damage to delicate fibers,” Sokolowski says.
Wash with mild detergent
Skip the heavy-duty detergents and choose something that’s gentle and made for delicate fabrics.
Soak instead of scrubbing
When you think hand-washing, you’re probably thinking of those old-timey pictures of someone scrubbing clothes against a washboard. But really, you want to clean the items as gently as possible. “Let items soak for a few minutes, then gently agitate the water rather than rubbing the fabric,” Sokolowski recommends.
Rinse thoroughly
Detergent that’s left on your clothes can irritate your skin and make your clothes feel stiff or uncomfortable, so make sure that you rinse each garment thoroughly in cool water.
Dry flat
Hanging the clothes can make them lose their shape, especially if they’re heavy or stretchy—so lay delicate items flat on a clean towel instead.
What Could Happen if You Put Hand-Wash-Only Fabrics in the Washing Machine?
You’re taking a gamble when you run hand-wash-only items through even a gentle cycle, says Sokolowski. Your clothing or fabric item may make it through okay—or you could end up with one of the following issues:
- Shrinkage Natural fibers like wool and silk are prone to shrinking when exposed to agitation and heat.
- Fabric damage Delicate weaves may break down or stretch out of shape.
- Color bleeding Dyes in delicate fabrics may run, especially if the water temperature isn’t controlled.
- Embellishment loss Beads, sequins, or embroidery may loosen or fall off due to machine agitation.
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