15 Common Sense Tips for Caring for Spring and Summer Fabrics: A Must-Know for Laundries (Part 1)

Spring and summer are the seasons when textile fabrics are most sensitive and the risks of care are most concentrated. For laundry shops, precisely identifying the microstructure of the fabrics and matching corresponding process is the core ability to reduce the accident rate and increase average transaction values.

• The following content will analyze physical and chemical properties, risks, and standardized care plans of 15 high-frequency spring and summer fabrics. This article first presents to you 8 types of fabrics.

Chiffon

Chiffon has a lightweight and transparent texture, with a soft, cool feel and elasticity. It has an elegant and clean appearance, with good breathability and drape. It is flowing and comfortable, has excellent wear resistance, resists pilling, and maintains its size stability.

• Washing

1. Soak and wash, and finally stretch and iron to prevent shrinkage.
2. Wash gently. Avoid scrubbing vigorously, twisting and turning, and straining.
3. Wash and soak immediately. The water temperature should not be over 45 degrees Celsius.
4. After washing, let it dry naturally. Do not wring it out forcefully.
5. It should be air-dried in the shade and avoid direct sunlight. This helps avoid fading. It is not advisable to dry it in a dryer.
6. Wash separately from other clothes.

• Maintenance

1. Thick chiffon should be laid flat in the closet so as to maintain its original shape.
2. Do not get wet. If it gets wet in some areas, simply soak and wash it. Finally, stretch and iron it to prevent shrinkage.
3. A chiffon dress that has been worn only once should not be placed in a plastic bag. It is best to put it in a fabric bag, which is breathable and will not accumulate dust.
4. Hang chiffon clothes with sleeves on hangers. Choose fabric hangers or wrap both ends of the hangers with small towels so that the sleeves are less likely to deform.
5. When spraying perfume, keep a distance to avoid leaving yellow spots on the clothes.

Cotton

Cotton has good moisture absorption and a soft hand feel. It is hygienic, comfortable, durable, and strong. It has good dyeing performance, soft luster, and natural beauty. It can resit Alkalinity and can be made into mercerized cotton after high-temperature alkali treatment. Poor anti-wrinkle property and high shrinkage rate.

• Washing

1. Clothes that are mainly made of cotton and linen should be washed by hand separately. If people choose machine washing, then gentle washing should be chosen, and the washing time should not be over 30 minutes.
2. It is not suitable to soak cotton, linen, and silk fabrics. Wash cotton with cold water. Directly wash the cotton clothes when they enter the water. It’s best to add a spoonful of salt to cold water for the first wash.
3. Use neutralized detergents or specialized detergents (silk and linen detergents). Never use chlorine and enzyme-containing detergents.
4. After washing, air dry in the shade and avoid direct sunlight to prevent dark-colored clothes from fading. When drying in the sun, keep the inside facing out.
5. Iron the cotton clothes at 160℃-180℃ to get better wearing results.
6. When the clothes aren’t worn, fold and stack the clothes or hang them and place them in a ventilated area.
7. Do not iron coated cotton, linen, silk fabrics, or laminated fabrics.
8. Washing separately from other clothes. The soaking time should not be too long so as to avoid fading.

• Maintenance

1. Avoid long exposure to direct sunlight to prevent a reduction in firmness and cause fading and yellowing.
2. Air-dry the clothes after washing. The dark clothes and light clothes should be placed separately.
3. Pay attention to the ventilation and avoid dampness to prevent mold.
4. Undergarments should not be soaked in hot water to avoid the appearance of yellow sweat spots.

Linen

The linen fabric is breathable and has a unique cool feeling. It doesn’t stick to the body when sweating, but it has a rough hand feel, poor drape, hard fibers, poor cohesion, and is prone to wrinkling.

• Washing

1. The washing requirements are basically the same as those for cotton.
2. When washing, be gentler than when washing cotton fabrics. Avoid scrubbing vigorously and twisting forcefully.

• Maintenance

The maintenance methods are basically the same as those for cotton

Organza

Organza is a kind of light gauze with transparent and semi-transparent textures, and is often used to cover satin or silk. There are common organza and silk organza. Silk organza is a type of silk series fabric. It has a degree of hardness and is easy to shape. It is widely used to make wedding dresses, dresses, and evening gowns in Europe, America, and other countries.

• Washing

1. It should not be soaked in cold water for a long time. 5 to 10 minutes is the best. Hand washing instead of machine washing should be chosen. The scrubbing should be gentle to protect the fibers of the fabrics.
2. It is best to air-dry the clothes in shade and avoid direct sunlight to protect the strength and color fastness of the fibers.
3. When drying, you can turn the clothes inside out and avoid direct sunlight. Take them off when they are about 80% dry. Clothes dried in this way will have a softer hand feel and be less likely to fadeMaintenance

1. Never spray perfume, air fresheners, deodorants, etc. When storing, camphor balls should not be used to avoid absorbing odors and discoloration.
2. It is suitable to use a hanger to hang the clothes when they clothes are placed in the closet. Avoid using metal hangers to prevent rust contamination. If you need to fold it for storage, it should also be placed on the upper layer of the wardrobe to prevent it from being deformed or wrinkled under pressure.

Polyester

Polyester is durable, wrinkle-resistant, and crisp, with good dimensional stability. However, it has poor water absorption. It is easy to wash, quick-drying, and non-iron. It tends to generate static electricity and pills easily, and is not very comfortable to wear.

• Washing

1. It can be washed with all kinds of laundry detergents and soaps.
2. Washing temperature should be below 45 degrees Celsius.
3. It can be water-washed, hand-washed, and dry cleaned.
4. A hair brush can be used to wash.

• Maintenance

1. Cannot be dried by excessive sunlight
2. Should not be dried by the dryers

Nylon

Nylon has good elasticity and wear resistance. It is not resistant to sunlight and ages easily.

• Washing

1. Choose general synthetic detergents. The water temperature should not exceed 45 degrees.
2. It can be gently twisted and wrung. Avoid exposure and drying;
3. Low-temperature steam ironing
4. After washing, air dry in the shade.

• Maintenance

1. The ironing temperature should not be over 110 degrees Celsius.
2. When ironing, steam must be used, and dry ironing is not allowed.

Lace

Lace fabrics have a soft hand feel. It is light, thin, and transparent, with an elegant and mysterious artistic effect.

• Washing

1. Put lace fabrics in the laundry bag for mild washing.
2. Use low-temperature iron to smooth out the lace, which can keep the pattern of the lace from twisting or deforming.
3. It is suggested to choose hand washing and neutral detergent.

• Maintenance

1. Slight scraping of the yarn is a normal phenomenon due to the characteristics of the fabric.
2. The lace should not be stored in wet and poorly ventilated places to avoid mold stains or fading.
3. When storing, avoid direct contact of desiccants, cosmetics, perfumes, and other chemical agents with lace. If it accidentally gets on, it should be washed off in time. Otherwise, it is easy to cause the lace to turn yellow or black.

Knitted fabric

The knitted fabrics are mainly made of natural cotton and an appropriate amount of spandex. They combine the breathability of cotton with the comfort and flexibility of spandex. Such clothes are easy to care for. They are not prone to deformation and are highly versatile in matching.

• Washing and maintenance

1. This kind of fabric has basically the same performance as cotton fabric. It has strong alkali resistance and can be hand-washed separately with neutral detergent. Wash the clothes on the reverse side. When washing, do not scrub vigorously or scrub only the affected area.
2. Sweaty clothes should not be placed or immersed for long, lest the protein in perspiration solidify and adhere to the clothing, which will cause yellow sweat stains.
3. Gently twist the drain water after washing. When drying clothes, make them smooth and flat, then turn them inside out and lay them flat to dry in the shade.
4. When wearing clothes or washing clothes, never pull the clothes with excessive strength.

The above are 8 key points for the care of spring and summer fabrics. Understanding this knowledge can help laundries handle clothes made of related fabrics more skillfully and reduce the risks of care. In the next article, we will continue to introduce the care tips for the remaining 7 high-frequency spring and summer fabrics.