How to Wash a Sweater (Without Ruining It).

Did you get a new sweater for Christmas? Lucky you! A nice sweater is as easy to wear as a sweatshirt, but can be both warmer and more handsome. 

Unfortunately, your new sweater isn’t as easy to clean as a sweatshirt. The particular properties of wool, from which sweaters are commonly made, coupled with their knitted nature, makes this garment prone to stretching, shrinking, catching, fraying, and pilling, and thus necessitates a little more TLC with its care.

Once your sweater becomes soiled, you don’t simply want to throw it in the washer and dryer as you do your other clothes. That kind of treatment can cause your sweater to become prematurely worn and warped. And you actually don’t want to send it to the dry cleaners, either; the chemicals they use are harsh on wool.

Instead, you want to follow a special home-washing protocol to keep your cardigan, v-neck, or pullover in tip-top condition and allow it to last as many sweater-weather seasons as possible. Here’s how.

Preliminary: Extend the Time Between Washes

Every time you wash any garment, it becomes a little more worn out. Fortunately, you don’t need to wash every piece of clothing after every time you wear it. That certainly includes your sweaters, as wool has inherent antimicrobial and odor-resistant properties. So after you wear a sweater and take it off for the night, give it a sniff. If it doesn’t smell in the pits, and hasn’t acquired stains or detritus in other areas, then simply let it air out for a day by draping it over a rack or chair (don’t put it on a hanger; that can stretch it out); then put it away for another wear.

If you’ve gotten splotches of something on your sweater, spot clean the stain (different kinds of stains require different treatments; Google the specifics of how to remove yours), let dry, and then put away. 

It’s only when your sweater starts to stink, or acquires significant soiling that you need to wash it. Consider wearing an undershirt under your sweater or layering it over a button-down to extend the time between these occasions.

How to Wash a Sweater

These instructions apply whether your sweater is made of merino, cashmere, some kind of wool blend, and even cotton as well. All types of sweaters should be handled with care.

Hand Washing

The care labels of some sweaters will indicate that they’re hand wash only. But even if the care label on yours says it’s machine washable, hand washing is still the ideal way to clean a sweater. It’s the most gentle, wearing the fabric the least and keeping it in the best possible shape. Here’s how to do it:

1. Fill a sink or plastic tub with cool water.

2. Add a small amount of detergent; you only need about a teaspoon. Ideally use a detergent made for delicate fabrics, like Woolite. 

3. Turn the sweater inside out and submerge in the sink/tub. 

4. Use your hands to swish the sweater back and forth in the water for a couple minutes.

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