Getting the best from your clothing
How do you get the best from your clothing?
Well if your like me you'll wear it loads because you like what you've purchased so much (or your making sure you get your monies worth). That does also mean though that you have got to wash it a lot more. Or at least I hope it does. So le me tell you the best way of getting the best from your clothing.
So what does that mean for the print that's been applied?
Well if you take care of your garment and follow our top tips then you should get plenty wear and it should continue to wash up great. There are three things to consider or give attention to when caring for your clothing.
ONE: Lower temperature wash
Now the reason we advise this as a general rule is a lower temperature wash, 40 degrees is compatible with all the heat sealed vinyl we apply. There are vinyls that can be washed up to 80 degrees but these tend only to be used on specialist clothing (boiler suits, coveralls, football strips) things that get really tested and need a good scrub in the machine.
So as a general rule to get the best wear out of your clothing wash at a low temperature. We will tell you if you can wash it higher.
Also nowadays most washing machine manufacturers and detergent producers advise low temp washing. It's greener and better for the environment. So it's a double bonus, your clothes last longer and your doing your bit to save the world.
TWO: Do not tumble dry
Right you've washed your new T-shirt, what next? Through it in the dryer? Wrong! Through it over the radiator or hang it on the line. We advise not to tumble dry your clothing.
Fair enough these days a lot of things can be tumble dried and most clothing is preshrunk. This means the manufacturer has already put it through a process to avoid it shrinking through excessive heat (washing and drying).
However as much as this is the case clothing does still shrink or change shape a wee bit in the dryer. Now that is something you may be happy to accept. But if the vinyl that is applied doesn't shrink or change shape in the exact same way that your clothing item does... Well then it's gonna look odd, a bit misshaped and potentially come away from the clothing material.
Again, this is an advisory but to get the best out of your clothing we advise no tumble drying.
THREE: Do not iron
So pretty much most people will have encountered this at some point. You're ironing your T-shirt, hit the design and the iron sticks. I've done it and if you haven't already at some point in your life you will. Usually a loud expletive follows.
Vinyl is, well vinyl. It's a plasticy rubber compound and if you put a hot iron on it then it will melt. This won't only mess up your design but it will leave a black sticky mess on the bottom of your iron. And yes you might be thinking "but don't you use heat to stick the vinyl on?" Yes we do however it has a protective coating over it when we do this to stop it melting.
Again as was with the washing and drying tips, there are vinyls that can be ironed but we advise just not to do it. Sublimated tops can be ironed no problem. This is not to say you go about like a scruff you can still iron your t-shirt and here is how. Iron around the design or turn it inside out. Just don't put the iron directly on the vinyl.
A quick summary
- Wash at low temp
- Don't tumble dry
- Don't iron the design
I hope this helps and keeps you looking great for longer. In questions get in touch.
