Preparing Them to be Washed

The absolute worst thing you can do to your precious tees is to throw them in the wash without a thought. Believe it or not, it’s usually what you do before putting them into the machine that’ll make those shirts last for a long time.

Step 1: Sorting

To be clear, this isn’t just about sorting things by color, even though that’s always a good idea. What’s more critical is separating your apparel by fabric type, texture, and level of filthiness.

It’s essential to think about how the clothes in each load will interact with each other while tumbling around together for the next two hours. Separating anything rough textures, buttons, zippers, etc., from anything with a printed design or a fragile fabric is essential.

For example, throwing a pair of jeans in with a soft, screen printed tee will create substantial pilling and wears away at the design. And as for sorting the slightly soiled clothes from the ones that powered through a muddy game day—this is so any apparel that doesn’t actually need an ultra rigorous wash won’t have to bear the extra intensity.

Step 2: Flip Tees Inside Out

Even though you’ve sorted all of your printed tees together, friction against any apparel can be bad for longevity. To minimize the impact against the actual design, always flip your printed tees inside out before washing them. This is an excellent way to protect the artwork from washing-machine wear and tear.

Also, since most of your sweat and smells come in contact most closely with the inside of your shirts, this allows for the stinkier spots to get the most thorough, direct clean.

We recommend washing apparel inside out for all of our printed shirts.

Step 3: Regulate your Detergent

Overdoing the detergent causes its chemicals to wear away at apparel gradually and can make clothing smell worse. This is thanks to soaps essentially sealing odors into the tees. Your tee might smell great as soon as it comes out, but the scent will come back with even more intensity later.

Every load and every washing machine is different, making it hard to provide an exact perfect measurement. However, the chances are that half of the recommended size will work great. You can always add a little more next time if you don’t believe it’s enough.

Wash Those Clothes Right

As long as you follow a few essential guidelines and correctly sorted out your clothes, washing your shirt is likely the easiest step. The most important thing to remember is:

Always Wash with Cold Water!

The hotter the water, the faster it wears out your clothing. Unless your tee is seriously filth-ridden, there is no reason to use anything but cold water, even if the tag recommends otherwise. You can even purchase detergent specially made for cold water, like Tide Plus Coldwater Clean, to ensure peak cleanliness, no matter the temperature.

Use the Gentle Cycle

Again, like cold water, most clothes don’t need the highest wash setting to get a good clean. Higher intensity washes can significantly break down fabrics and designs much more quickly than necessary. Only go heavy-duty on the clothes that need it.

Drying Time

If you’re like many people, you don’t even think twice about throwing your freshly washed tees into the dryer and cranking it on high. However, this is one of the worst things you can do for the longevity of your apparel.

Use the Lowest Temperature Setting

Unless you’re in a massive rush, there’s never a reason to use the highest dryer heat settings. By causing cracking, fading, shrinking, fabric damage, and more, high heat is the worst culprit for damaging custom printed designs, and honestly, the overall quality of any apparel. Heat also intensifies odor, so any scents that managed to stick are more likely to reappear.

Instead, always use the lowest heat setting possible. This will prevent much of what causes all of those nasty problems due to heat. However, it won’t minimize the damage done due to tumbling, which is why we strongly recommend it.

Old Fashion Air Drying

We get this might not be the ideal option if you’re living in a tiny apartment, but if you have space, air drying is a fantastic option for several reasons. Not only is it the best choice for your clothes with no tumbling and no extra heat, but it’s also great for your energy bill and overall energy consumption.

It might take a little longer, but by purchasing a basic, affordable drying rack and placing your damp clothes in an airy room, expect everything to dry out much more quickly than you might think.

Aftercare Advice

So you’ve got the actual washing complete, but there are more ways to keep your shirts in peak condition. Here are a few bonus tips:

When Ironing

Always iron your printed tees inside out and place the heat level on the lowest setting possible. As mentioned above, heat destroys designs more than anything else. Sometimes we have to get those wrinkles out, but try to put as much distance between the art and the iron as possible.

Storage Your Tees

Folding shirts is better for the fabric than hanging them up. This is because gravity gradually pulls down on the shirts causing them to stretch out slowly. If you can’t wholly forgo hanging, rotate your folded shirts with your hung shirts every few months to give the hung shirts a break.

Preserve Optimum Quality

Now that you’ve accomplished every step to wash your shirts for longevity correctly don’t let little things like moths, light, and moisture ruin your favorite tees. Try to keep all of your apparel in a dark and dry place. Light causes colors to fade, and dampness can quickly turn into mold.