Old Faithful #1 - Cotton

Cotton. Old Faithful.  The one that everyone thinks they know all about.   The one that many people don't like anymore because "it shrinks".  Yes, It can. But so does everything else.  Yes, even Polyester will shrink eventually.  Let's take a closer look at Cotton.  Before we go any further- I got all of my info (unless otherwise noted) from the website www.thefabricofourlives.com. 

Cotton is soft, absorbent, and breathable. Clothing labels containing at least 60% cotton are considered cotton-rich, and are less likely to be itchy, irritating, stiff, or clingy. Cotton breathes better than oil-based synthetic fabrics like polyester*, so it keeps you cool while you’re working out. (Direct quote from the website) 

The website goes on to list the benefits of cotton. 

1) Cotton is a plant found in nature.  As it grows and matures, it gets a fluffy center that is harvested and spun into fabric. If you're curious about the Sustainability of your cotton garment, go to its brand website.  They will all have a section listing what they are doing to create a Sustainable Product.

2) Cotton breathes. As mentioned above, it is breathable, so it helps keep you cool.

3) Cotton doesn't stink.  Throughout your day, the odors that are around you naturally seep into your clothes.  Because of its breathable nature, cotton is better about releasing odors as it is washed (polyester retains these odors even after you wash them). 

Now let's look at some ways to maintain your cotton clothing so that it will have a long, beautiful life.  I'm going to skim some of the following information from the website because there is so much of it.  

Stain removal: I went to the website www.askteamclean.com for this.  They have Tips, Tricks & How-To's to remove lots of stains. They have a lot of other helpful articles, including one on How To Decypher Laundry Symbols.

Before laundering, check the label on EVERYTHING.  Sorry, didn't mean to yell, but some of you needed that. Now a days, so much of our clothing has %'s of things added that we don't know anything about.  Some of these things don't handle certain detergents well, or make the clothing not suitable for the dryer.  And that is before we even think about decoration.  So please, check your tag.  If you don't find a tag in the collar back, there will be one in the side seam on one side or the other down toward the bottom.  

Cotton can be laundered easier than just about any other fabric.  Here are some tips to help out. 

1) Make sure your washer is clean.  You do not want to see a picture of the inside of mine right now.  I haven't had the time to do a cleaning in a while.  Don't judge, it's on my list. For the recipe and how often to use it on your washer, go here.  

2) If your cottons are not dirty when you take them off, hang them to air out, then wear them again before washing.  This will prolong the life of the fabric and any decoration.

3) Sort your clothes.  Listen to your momma.  Don't wash your clothes all together.  I cringe.  At our house, we have always had sorting hampers.  Whites & very light colors, colored shirts & unders, handwash unders, dress clothes, poly & performance (athletic) clothes, jeans, towels, sheets/comforters. This is the LEAST sorting you should do.  Depending on your clothes, there is probably more sorting to be done.  Turn all clothing inside out. As clothing rubs together in the wash, it creates those fuzzy pill balls that leach the color right out of your clothes. If they are on the inside of your clothing, the color leaching won't be as noticeable. Please note that certain decorations require their own washing instructions.  (Rhinestones, some foils, and certain other embellishments require either delicate or handwashing because just rubbing against itself in the washer can make the decoration fall off.) 

4) Wash your clothes. This should be easy-peasy once you've read your tag, considered any decoration, and separated your clothes. One thing to be diligent about is not using too much detergent.  Using too much detergent is worse than not using enough.  Read your detergent label and use the correct amount for your load size.

5) Drying.  This one is the booger.  The one that everyone wants to use all the time, yet it should only be used about 1/3 of the time.  The one that most people want to crank as far as it will go as high as it will go and forget it.  Then they wonder why their clothes fit their niece and all of the decoration is cracking and falling off.  (Let's blame the screen-printer.  They obviously didn't do a good job printing.  And maybe they didn't. But maybe it was good ole Flame the Dryer that is to blame.) On a more serious, informative, note. If you are going to dry cotton or cotton-rich clothing, it will shrink if it gets too hot.  If you are going to dry cotton or cotton-rich clothing with decoration, the decoration has nowhere to go if the fibers it is adhered to shrink.  So it WILL crack, flake off, and disfigure your clothes so they don't fit correctly, need I go on? The best way to dry your cotton if you have to dry it is to dry it on low or no heat.  Remove the garment when it is still damp and hang up to finish drying.  This gives the clothing and decoration a chance to regain their shape and not shrink.  Or, even better, hang them to dry and don't use the dryer at all.  And before you ask, I very seldom put our shirts (and jeans) in the dryer. 

Now that you know the basics about how to properly wash cotton, I thought I'd leave you with a tip I found on the website.  I'm going to try this the next time something feels like it has shrunk (it couldn't be because I've gained weight). 

How to unshrink a t-shirt:

• In a sink, soak your shirt in warm water with three tablespoons of hair conditioner for five minutes.
• Stretch your wet shirt out on a flat surface to the desired size and keep it in place with household weights such as heavy jars or cans.
• Leave it out to air dry.

Thanks for staying with me for the long haul!  Next time, we'll talk about Polyester, the other Old Faithful.