The Deep End Of The Laundry Pool

Doing laundry is a trial and error kind of business. 'Dry clean only' is mostly optional.

It’s laundry day! I’ve been toying with this newsletter for the past few weeks, writing a lot, then editing it with a heavy hand because I want to focus on what’s essential. It turns out that laundry is a monster of a topic — who knew? There’s so much ground to cover, and it’s difficult to discuss this topic in absolute terms.

Vintage things from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s that have been recently washed by hand or in the washing machine. The two dresses on the left had no care tags, the two pieces on the right had a ‘dry clean only’ label.

Before we proceed, it probably goes without saying that this newsletter comes with a disclaimer: there are no laundry rules that always apply, in every single case. Learning to do laundry is trial and error to some extent. I’ve ruined my fair share of clothes over the years, thinking that I knew what I was doing, but I’ve learned a lot, and these days a vast majority of my laundry projects are successful. Doing laundry comes with so many variables: the materials and the construction of garments, your washing machine, water temperature, detergents you use… 100% foolproof advice is more or less impossible. 

For the purpose of this newsletter I am going to focus on the situations where garments you want to wash don’t have a care tag, or they carry the dreaded ‘dry clean only’ label. First I want to look at some laundry basics everyone should be familiar with before tackling more complicated laundry projects.

I’m going to assume that most of us know how to wash t-shirts, sweatpants, socks and those types of everyday garments. We know how to read the clothing care symbols, and we know how to operate our washing machine. If that’s not the case, stop what you’re doing and learn the basics!

The two tenets of doing laundry successfully are: 

• knowing your fibers, fabrics, laundry symbols and the functions of your washing machine, and

• choosing the correct water temperature, type of detergent and washing machine cycle for the clothes you want to wash. 

You should have a couple of different types of washing detergent: one for whites, one for colors, one for wools and silks, and a selection of stain removers, like baking soda, and my favorite, gall soap. (Removing stains is an artform of its own.) I never use fabric softeners, but prefer to use white vinegar instead. Vinegar is great for removing odors and it reduces your exposure to unnecessary chemicals.

It pays to get to know your washing machine: different cycles produce different results. Use the cotton cycle for cottons, the synthetics program for synthetics, delicates for delicates, wool for wool – it’s not rocket science. Use quick 30-minute or low temperature eco-cycles with caution: they don’t really clean your clothes properly, but provide a quick refresh instead. Keep in mind that 100% cotton doesn’t get clean if it’s washed in a low temperature.  

If the care tag has the hand wash symbol, you can typically use the hand washing cycle of your washing machine – it’s actually more gentle than literally hand washing your clothes in the sink. Put delicate items in a mesh bag when necessary, and make sure that the program has a low spin cycle. If I’ve never washed a garment before and it requires hand washing, I tend to wash it in the sink just to observe how the fabric behaves, and use a hand wash program of my washing machine next time. 

Like a lot of Europeans, I don’t own a drier, and I hang-dry most of my laundry. Personally I wouldn’t use a drier for anything else except sheets and towels, mostly because driers waste so much energy and make your clothes wear out faster. Never put vintage clothes in a dryer.

Generally speaking I would always advise to first consult the clothing care tag and to familiarize yourself with all of the symbols on the tag, not just the washing temperature. The care tag is your friend and it often comes with a lot of information about your garment. Most clothing that has been manufactured from the late 1960s onward comes with clothing care tags, and in theory, if you follow the symbols on the tags, you should be fine. 

Problems may arise if you’ve bought a piece of clothing where there is no care tag (perhaps it’s an old vintage piece, a sample, or it was made by a seamstress or a tailor) or the tag was cut off by the previous owner. In these situations it pays to know your fibers and fabrics and how they behave when they’re in contact with water (will they shrink, will the colors bleed etc), and what kind of temperature they can be washed in. If the piece of clothing is pretty basic in construction without too many bells or whistles, and it is made of just one material, you can most likely wash it at home if you recognize the material it’s made of.

As a rule of thumb:

• plant-based fibers (cotton, linen, hemp, ramie) require a warm/hot temperature. 

• Semi-synthetics (viscose, acetate, rayon, cupro) and synthetics (polyester, nylon, spandex) require a cool temperature. 

• Animal-based fibers (wools, silks) can typically be washed in cold water, and they require a special detergent. 

Complex, textured or embellished clothing often comes with a ‘dry clean only’ tag, and if the care tag is missing in these types of clothes, you can assume that ‘dry clean’ applies. Things to look out for include

• a complex mix of materials 

• full lining

• padding

• pleating (unless polyester)

• ruching

• ribbons

• coated buttons

• embroidery

• sequins, beading

• metallic threads

• tactile textures (like velvet)

• iridescent surfaces (like taffeta)

• tassels, tufts

• feathers, fur, leather or suede trimming

• any other embellishments.  

When exposed to water, embellishments might get damaged. Sequins lose their shine or the surface gleam might chip. It’s quite common that when exposed to water, the fabric underneath beading or embroidery begins to pucker – this is most likely because the thread used in the beading or the embroidery has shrunk in the wash. The more complex a piece of clothing is in terms of mix of materials and embellishments, it might be worth it to just take it to the dry cleaner. 

How to deal with ‘dry clean only’

When the care tag says ‘dry clean only’, tread carefully. It doesn’t necessarily mean that taking the garment to the dry cleaner is your only option, but sometimes it’s best to do what the manufacturer tells you to. Most clothes can be washed in water, but to get them back into the pre-wash state in terms of structure and wearability is another question entirely.  ‘Dry clean only’ clothes are typically not the ones that come out of the washing machine looking impeccable. Be ready to steam, iron and press.

Before you wash a ‘dry clean only’ garment and if you’re unsure of what you’re doing, you can try to wet a small part of the garment, somewhere unnoticeable, to see how the fabric behaves in water. You can wet a q-tip and rub it gently on the garment to test if color runs (and if it does, consider washing the garment by itself). 

To recap: if a garment is simple in construction, or pretty basic, and made of materials I know how to wash like cotton, viscose, polyester or most silks, with no intricate details, textures or embellishments, I’d always try to wash it at home despite it having a ‘dry clean only’ symbol. 

Tailored clothes and coats

Almost all tailored and fully lined clothes have a ‘dry clean only’ symbol on them, for a couple of reasons. The outer material and the lining might behave differently when exposed to water, which might lead to the lining pulling, poofing or hanging over the outer material. Tailored clothes might have padding and other complicated structures in between the outer material and the lining, and washing these types of clothes might lead to lumpiness and misplaced padding. If fine tropical wool is washed in water, it can develop an undesirable layer of fuzziness on the surface, and it shrinks easily, too. I have, however, washed dozens of pairs of tailored trousers in a wool-polyester mix in the washing machine without any trouble.  

I have successfully washed a handful of polyester, wool-polyester and cotton-mix blazers, but they have all been affordable thrift finds and I was willing to take a chance. I once washed a thrifted 1980s Dior tropical wool blazer with a viscose lining in the washing machine. The lining dropped about an inch lower than the outer hemline, the seams puckered around the shoulder, and well, let’s just say that it was a pretty sad affair. To my amazement the dry cleaner was able to restore the blazer, so all was not lost. I learned my lesson though, and I rarely attempt to wash really nice structured blazers or coats at home. 

Yes, I washed this in the washing machine.

Having said that, sometimes I still like to take a crazy chance. Just this week I jumped into the deep end of the laundry pool and machine washed an Andrew Gn evening coat that ticked a lot of the boxes of ‘do not attempt to wash this at home’: sharp tailoring, full lining, complicated surface texture, lace detailing and intricate buttons. I initially attempted to apply gall soap to remove severe make-up stains on the coat’s collar, but the stain spread to the body of the coat, and at that point I figured that the garment was so peculiar that I honestly didn’t trust a dry cleaner to clean it anyway. I folded the coat nicely inside a tight mesh bag, used a hand wash cycle and hoped for the best. The coat came out of the wash undamaged, and to be honest, I was almost a little shocked how well it turned out.

Speaking of coats, I have washed many cotton and cotton-polyester trench coats in the washing machine, including some fancier Burberry ones that had the ‘dry clean only’ symbol on them. In general I find that simple, no-bells-or-whistles trench coats tend to survive a delicate washing cycle without too much trouble. Some coats and jackets might have leather trimmings or hardware details that would suffer in the wash, so always check for those before getting too carried away. The simpler the coat, the better its chances are. 

This padded poly-cotton trench coat had a ‘dry clean only’ label. I couldn’t tell why, so I washed it in the washing machine. The ‘dry clean only’ was because the hem wasn’t sewed on, but glued, and the glue came undone in the wash (bottom left). I had to stitch it afterwards.

If you’re tempted to wash wool overcoats in the washing machine, don’t. If you’re wondering what the end result might be, just swing by a bulk vintage shop and you’re bound to find some unfortunate vintage wool coats that met their fate in someone’s washing machine, lost their finesse, airiness and structure, and became nothing but a sad felted mess. 

Knitwear

A lot of wool knits have a ‘dry clean only’ symbol on the care tag. This is because of lanolin, a type of grease that sheep naturally secrete from their sebaceous glands, that waterproofs wool. Lanolin makes wool naturally repel dirt and water, so at least in theory, washing of wool garments is unnecessary – and so is taking them to the dry cleaner. Air out wool knits instead, or put them in the freezer in a plastic bag for a few days to refresh them. 

However, wool knits can be washed in water if needed, but you should avoid washing them too often. When washing wool knits, use cold water, liquid detergent specific to wool and silk, and a handwashing or a wool cycle in your washing machine. Choose the lowest spin option. If the knit feels really heavy and wet after a gentle spin, place the knit on top of a spread-out towel, roll it inside the towel like you’re making a swiss roll, and knead the rolled up towel gently to get rid of excess water. Always air dry all knits horizontally. They will lose their shape and stretch if dried on a hanger.

Cashmere sweaters don’t have lanolin, but the same rules apply. Avoid excessive washing, wash in cold water if necessary, and always dry flat. In my experience cashmere sweaters will need a light ironing or steaming and a thorough brushing with a good clothing brush after washing. 

Silk

Silk clothes often come with a ‘dry clean only’ symbol. There are several reasons for this: washing silk in water can remove the luster and the softness of the fabric. Silk is often over-dyed so the dyes might run and bleed when washed in water. Almost all silk garments can be washed in water though. (The exception is most raw silks, which will turn crispy and stiff if washed in water.) I have successfully washed a numerous amount of solid color silk blouses, printed ones, silk scarves, silk knits and even silk trousers. I washed a 1980s heavily printed Ungaro silk dress and just recently a 1990s emerald green silk blouson jacket that came out of the wash looking just fine. When I wash silks, I follow the same procedure as with lambs wool: cold water, liquid detergent specific to wool and silk, a handwashing or a silk program in the washing machine, use a mesh bag and the lowest spin option. Dry on a wide hanger. Silk knits should always be dried flat. 

However, when silk is washed in water, be prepared to have to jump through some hoops to make it look presentable afterward. Silks require intense ironing and/or steaming after washing. Some silk crepes can look pretty good when dried on a hanger and might not need ironing, but they’re few and far between. If you wash a pleated silk skirt, the pleats will have to be pressed again, and pressing silk is a real b*tch. Save yourself the trouble and take it to the dry cleaner. 

When ‘dry clean only’ makes no sense…

… and when it does, but you just don’t know it

Every now and then I come across a completely nonsensical ‘dry clean only’ tag. Case in point: a navy blue Yohji Yamamoto shirt in a cotton-rayon mix. The buttons are not delicate, there’s no ornamentation on this shirt. There’s nothing that would indicate a need for dry cleaning, so I took a calculated risk and washed it in a regular cotton cycle. Nothing happened, it came out looking just fine. 

Another example: Dries Van Noten’s mesh nylon-blend turtlenecks: it makes no sense at all to take them to the dry cleaner. I’ve washed mine inside a mesh bag in the washing machine.

This MaxMara blouse was really easy to wash. The cotton and silk mix fabric came out of the washing machine looking pretty wrinkled (top right), but the relatively simple pleating detail in the front survived, and it took me maybe 10 minutes of ironing to make it look as good as new again.

I recently washed a 1990s viscose crepe blouse in the washing machine. It didn’t have care tags, but I figured since it had a simple enough structure, what was the worst that could happen. It survived the wash, but it was a complete nightmare to get it back into shape afterward. Not only was the fabric completely wrinkled in the wash, I had failed to notice that the lapels had interfacing, and reversed pleats on the shoulder needed to be pressed. It was no easy feat. It took me 45 minutes to get the blouse looking even half-presentable. You win some, you lose some.

The wrinkled mess after washing — the interfacing on the lapels and the pleats on the shoulder were a nightmare.

I hope this newsletter has been somewhat helpful. I’m painfully aware that I’ve barely scratched the surface of this wide-ranging topic, but hey, you’ve got to start somewhere! If your head is spinning at this moment, I’ll leave you with a quick recap of what’s essential:

• Learn about fibers and fabrics. It really pays off. 

• Washing machines are great – learn how to use them.

• The care tag is important but it’s not always the whole truth. Think critically.

• Most clothes can be washed in the washing machine, but it might take a little or a lot of effort to make them look great afterward.

• Laundry is a trial and error business. You will make mistakes and learn from them.

• Doing ‘dry clean only’ laundry yourself requires commitment and time. Even though having your laundry done by a professional can be expensive, sometimes it’s worth it to pay someone else to do it. But if you enjoy clothing care (yes, some of us do!), learning to tackle complicated laundry projects is a great introduction to forming a deeper bond with your clothing. I encourage you to go for it. Jump in!