Tips On How to Care for Your Winter Clothes

We took a good look at how to effectively prolong the life of your clothes and now we’ve compiled the wisdom into this handy guide. It includes how to wash wool, cashmere, down, and velvet, when you should be washing them, and how to fold or hang ‘em like a pro. Consider this your ultimate source for keeping your winter clothes looking perfect for seasons to come!

Cashmere

1. Despite what it says on the tag, cashmere is best washed by hand in cold water with baby shampoo or Woolite for optimal softness and protection from chemicals (and only about two times a season).

2. Never hold up a wet cashmere sweater by the shoulders, it’ll stretch it out. In fact, keep your cashmere in a lump when you go to pick it up when wet.

3. To dry it quickly, use a salad spinner, which releases excess water in seconds. Don’t have one? Lay it flat to dry, pressing it gently with a towel.

4. Always fold cashmere sweaters in thirds so you don’t get a fold line running down the front of the sweater.

5. Always clean cashmere before storing it for the winter, as moths are attracted to our everyday scents, such as perfume, food, deodorant, and smoke.

6. If you do dry-clean your cashmere, be sure to remove all garments from the protective plastic immediately. Wrap them in tissue paper and place in cedar-scented bags instead.

Wool Coats, Sweaters, and Pants

7. During the winter, treat wool coats with a lint or suede brush after wearing to remove surface soil and lint.

8. Hang wool overcoats on sturdy wood hangers so the weight of the coat doesn’t stretch the shoulder area.

9. Wool coats shouldn’t be hung in a packed-to capacity closet, as breathing helps the material stay crisp.

10. Remove light stains on wool by blotting (not rubbing!) with cold water or club soda using absorbent cloths or paper towel.

11. Wool coats should be dry cleaned at the beginning and at the end of the season. Why at the end? Because moths are attracted to everyday human scents like perfume, smoke, and food.

12. Empty wool coat and pants pockets after every wearing to keep them from sagging or losing shape.