The winter season is over and now you need to store and clean your winter jackets, coats and ski clothes. Hold on and spend a few minutes reading before you start washing and drying these types of clothes. Thanks to this, you can save yourself some unpleasant surprises and a lot of money.
It is not entirely easy to know what you can safely put into the washing machine and what would not necessarily survive the laundry. Therefore, you always have to follow the information on the label, which will advise you how to handle clothes as gently as possible.
Ski clothing
There are a lot of myths about washing ski pants and jackets out there. The most common one is that such clothes should not be washed at all, because washing destroys its membranes. However, the opposite is true - it is the sweat and dirt that clog the membranes, therefore the breathability of waterproof clothing is being reduced.So how are you supposed to wash a jacket or pants made of hollow fiber and other functional materials? You can easily do so in the washing machine, just forget about fabric softener as it would really destroy the membranes. It is ideal to wash on a gentle program at a maximum temperature of 40° C using special products. Also, do not turn on a squeezing program that could harm the fibers. Simply remove the clothes from the washing machine and let them dry on a hanger at room temperature.
Do not forget to wash functional clothing in special washing products that can restore the materials' water resistance features. If you take good care of your winter sportswear, it will last you much longer in its functionality. When their feature of water resistance decreases, it is time to apply impregnation. There are also products on the market that allow applying impregnation in the washing machine.
Cleaning a feather jacket
The special category includes feather jackets. When you get into cleaning your feather jacket at home, wash it by hand. Put the jacket in a bathtub with lukewarm water and add a special detergent and let it soak. After a while, gently wash and rinse the jacket. Clean visible and deep stains with a toothbrush before washing. Be very careful when drying the feather jacket. Gently squeeze and get rid of water. Then place the jacket on a towel and place another towel over it to get the remaining water away. Then place it on a horizontal surface and let it dry for three days to avoid breaking the internal structures. Shake the jacket often so that there are no tufts of feathers inside that may start to mold.You can also use an electrical dryer for drying, just set it to a low level and dry for about 15 minutes. Add tennis balls to the dryer to break any feather tufts.
Coats are also needed to be cleaned
In winter, however, not only sportswear is worn. Even the urban clothing needs proper care before storing it for the summer. Here, too, you should first look at the label of your favorite coat. If your winter coat is woolen or leather, you better not start cleaning it at home and send it straight to a dry cleaner's, where it is chemically cleaned with a special machine. The same goes for cleaning leather jackets and coats - home cleaning does not do any good for the leather. The professionals in the dry cleaners will take care of the gentle cleaning of stains and odors.Coats are often made of cotton, which would be damaged during regular washing. Not to mention the lining, which could easily shrink. In that case you could throw the coat away straight after washing, which is more than unpleasant considering the purchase price of such pieces. At home, limit yourself to removing only small dry stains. You can do it with self-adhesive rollers.
If there is less cotton included in the material, you can try to wash the coat at home in the bathtub. When washing, use cold or lukewarm water and a gentle cotton product for washing. Dry the coat with a towel and let it dry on the hanger.
When your coats and jackets are clean and fragrant, it's time to put them to a summer rest. For these purposes, special covers for clothes come handy as you can close the clothes together with the pest repellent inside. Lavender, cinnamon or rosemary are perfect for this purpose. You can prevent the reproduction of moles in wardrobes by regularly ventilating them. Ideally, let fresh air, coolness and daily light get into the closet every two months.
