How do I hand wash clothes properly?

Most damage in hand washing happens outside the water: a heavy wet jumper lifted by one sleeve stretches permanently in seconds, and wringing felts wool irreversibly. The washing part is almost entirely passive — the detergent and the soak do the work while you leave it alone.

What you'll need

• A clean sink or bowl
• A gentle or wool detergent
• Two clean towels
• A flat drying space

Step by step

1. Check the label and test the colour.A hand-wash symbol means a hand in a tub. Dab a hidden seam with a damp white cloth first — anything that transfers colour needs washing alone.
2. Fill with cool water before adding detergent.Around thirty degrees, no warmer for wool and silk. Adding detergent to running water disperses it evenly; adding it to the garment leaves concentrated patches.
3. Use much less detergent than you think.A teaspoon for a basin. Excess is very hard to rinse out of a hand wash and leaves the garment stiff and dull.
4. Submerge and leave it alone.Ten to fifteen minutes. This is where the cleaning actually happens. Agitation adds very little and adds risk.
5. Squeeze gently rather than rubbing.Press the garment against the side of the bowl a few times to move water through it. Rubbing wool against itself under warm water is exactly how felting happens.
6. Spot-treat marks separately.A little detergent on a fingertip, worked in with the pad of the finger. Do not scrub with a brush on delicate fabric.
7. Rinse twice in clean cool water.Refill rather than running the tap over the garment. Two changes of still water rinse better than a minute under a tap and use less water.
8. Support the whole garment when lifting it.Both hands underneath, gathered into a bundle. A wet jumper can weigh several kilos, and lifting by the shoulders stretches it permanently.
9. Press the water out in a towel.Lay it flat on a dry towel, roll the two together and press. Repeat with a second towel. Never wring, never twist.
10. Dry flat and reshape while damp.On a fresh towel or a mesh airer, patted back into shape. Hanging a wet knit stretches it out of shape as it dries.

Tips

• A bath or a large plastic tub is easier than a sink for anything bigger than a jumper — you need room for the garment to move freely.
• Cold water hand washing works better than people expect, provided you extend the soak. Time replaces temperature.
• A short low spin in the machine, at 400, is gentler than hand wringing and removes far more water. It is allowed on most hand-wash items.

Common mistakes

• Wringing the garment out — Twisting distorts the knit structure permanently and, on wool, the combination of pressure, movement and moisture is precisely what causes felting.
• Lifting a wet jumper by the shoulders — The weight of the water pulls the whole garment downwards and stretches the shoulders and neckline out of shape in a few seconds. It rarely recovers.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask