Cotton Hoodie Care: Tips And Best Practices

Our cotton hoodies are made from 100% cotton, featuring pre-shrunk, ring-spun fabric that resists pilling and shrinking. They’re made from the highest possible quality materials and workmanship and intended to provide you with many seasons of comfort.

Even so, and despite their high level of quality, they are still made from natural materials that must be properly cared for. A little bit of the right knowledge and experience will go a long way, and by following these pointers (and eschewing bad habits) your favorite cotton hoodie will be just as bright and comfortable as the day you bought it!

Washing Tips

If you check out our product pages for any of our cotton hoodies, you’ll see that we recommend you wash your cotton clothing in warm or cool water that does not exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit. There are a few good reasons for this.

One is that, in most instances, you don’t really need exceptionally hot water to clean a fabric. It’s only necessary in instances of particularly heavy soil. Hot water is also directly damaging to cotton fibers.

Yes, our cotton hoodies are made from pre-shrunk fabric and resist shrinkage, but they are not immune to damage. The hotter the water, the more it damages the cotton fibers. Heat makes them shrink and makes them brittle and prone to breakage. It can also adversely affect the color fastness of a garment. Please, don’t use hot water when washing our cotton hoodies!

Drying Tips

A lot of people use a machine dryer to dry their cotton clothing, but just like hot water can damage cotton fibers, so can hot water. Aggressively drying out cotton clothing in a machine dryer is where most damage (and shrinkage) occurs.

We suggest that you air dry your cotton clothing in a warm, but not necessarily hot, and dry place with plenty of circulation. This will help them dry out faster while shielding them from the stress of machine drying - but we’d like to offer an additional caveat.

It may be common practice, but we advise against hanging your cotton clothing to dry. This is especially the case for heavyweight cotton clothing. These clothes can actually stretch themselves out and lose their shape from being hung to dry, and they are particularly vulnerable to stretching and malformation when the fibers are wet.

Instead, lay your clothing out flat to dry, instead of hanging it.

Ironing Tips

Ironing can help remove creases, but it can also stress out the cotton fibers. If you must iron your cotton hoodie (or any other cotton clothing), only iron them on a low setting, and do not expose them to temperatures in excess of 230 degrees Fahrenheit.

Exposure to high heat, such as that from an iron, can damage the fibers of the clothing and hasten their breakdown. Instead of ironing them, it’s best to prevent wrinkles from forming in the first place. Storing your favorite properly folded will go a long way towards preventing this. Don’t crumple up your favorite cotton hoodie, and you’ll never have to iron it in the first place.

What Not to Do

With these tips and good practices in mind, let’s get into what you shouldn’t do. The health and longevity of your favorite cotton hoodie hinges as much on what you don’t do wrong as on what you actually do right!

• If you can help it, don’t hang your cotton hoodies, especially heavyweight cotton hoodies

It might seem like a good idea to hang cotton clothing so that it keeps its shape, but it can actually be damaging for heavyweight cotton clothing. It’s better to keep them folded carefully, as hanging them up can stress them out under their own weight and stretch out the fibers, which actually will cause them to lose their shape over time.

• Don’t hang them to dry

The same maxim holds true with drying. Heavyweight cotton garments are at risk of stretching themselves out under their own weight, and the fibers are weaker and more pliable when wet, which puts them at greater risk. Instead, lay them out flat to dry, despite the fact that hanging them will allow them to dry more quickly.

• Do not use bleach

Bleach is a harsh, toxic, chemical that severely damages fibers with which it comes into contact. It also naturally destroys the color of garments, and our cotton clothing is not colorfast, so avoid bleach. It will damage your clothing. It might be alright for other, lesser cotton-polyester blends, but it’s not acceptable for our 100% cotton hoodies.

• Don’t let pests get at your cotton hoodie!

Cotton is a natural fiber and therefore it is subject to attach from pests like silverfish and moths. Store your clothing folding, ijn a clean, dry location away from any dirt and debris which can attract and harbor pests. Routinely vacuum and clean your closet to protect it against the risks associated with these vermin.

• If you spill a liquid on your favorite cotton hoodie, blot, don’t wipe!

Another important tip is to remember not to wipe if you ever spill a liquid on your favorite cotton hoodie. Wiping it across your cotton clothing is doing nothing but smearing it into the fibers and giving clean fibers an opportunity to soak up whatever it is. What you want to do is work against the clock to prevent any of the fibers from absorbing the liquid. To do this, lightly blot to remove as much liquid as possible.

• Zip the zippers up before you wash them

If you have a zip up hoodie, it’s a good idea to zip it up, or even zip it up and turn it inside out before you wash it. Loose zippers can abrade and damage the fabric of their own garment and others in the wash. It’s an easy and quick fix to make.

• Don’t wash them too much

Finally, it’s important to remember that while soil, dirt and oil can damage cotton clothing, so can washing clothing that doesn’t need it. If you only wear your cotton hoodie periodically, and as an outer garment, it’s important not to wash it too much. Only wash it as needed, or when it gets stained and dirty. This will preserve the life of the cotton fabric.

Have any other questions about caring for our 100% cotton hoodies? Get in touch with us directly and we’d be happy to answer them! Send us a message at customerservice@justsweatshirts.com or give us a call at 1-866-888-5878 and we’d be more than glad to offer advice, tips and suggestions!