Tag Archives: clothing care

Why Do The Bottom Of My T-Shirts Keep Stretching Out

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T-shirts are a great looking addition to any wardrobe. They come in so many different colors and styles that you can easily use them to your advantage in almost any outfit. You can dress them up or down and can get a lot of use from T-shirts. However, there are some people who are plagued with problems with their T-shirts. One of these problems is that the bottom of their T-shirts keep stretching out. While this seems like it might be a rather unusual problem for someone who has never experienced it, quite a few people consider it an issue.

Below are some of the reasons the bottom of your T-shirt might keep stretching out:

•    If you have wider than average hips, you may be pulling down the T-shirt to cover them, whether self-consciously or unconsciously. Constant pulling on your T-shirt and stretching it wider than it was meant to be will lead to the bottom of your T-shirt being stretched out.
•    If you have a nervous habit of pulling at the hem of your clothes or twisting it, the stress on the garment will inevitably lead to the T-shirt being stretched out at the bottom.
•    If you surf in your T-shirt or do any other activities in which your T-shirt will get wet, the bottom of the shirt will inevitably tend to stretch out because the T-shirt will hold the water and stay heavy at the bottom. .
•    If you happen to have a child who loves to hold tight to Mommy, you may find that the bottom of many of your T-shirts are getting very stretched out also from him or her pulling at them.
•    Certain fabric blends have very specific laundry instructions, like lay flat to dry. If you do not follow these instructions and hang your shirts to dry, you will find that the ends stretch out from the weight of the water.

Hard Vs. Soft Water And Impacts On Your Laundry

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Hard water is simply water that has positively charged minerals in it, such as magnesium, calcium and others. These minerals tend to create deposits on other things that they have regular contact with, like clothing, metals, ceramic and porcelain. They also interact with the different components in cleaning products to often lessen their effectiveness.

Soft water is usually water that has been treated to remove the mineral deposits, so that the only positively charged component remaining is sodium. Soft water also occurs naturally in some regions. This makes for water that works well for laundry and cleaning and is easy on the plumbing in your home.

Hard water creates a variety of problems with your laundry.
•    Mineral buildup means that colored clothes fade more quickly than they should.
•    White clothing tends to get yellow with repeated washing in hard water.
•    It requires more detergent to effectively be able to create enough suds to clean your clothes.
•    Buildup of deposits and extra work being demanded from the washing machine’s parts often shorten the life of the machine.
•    More water is used and wasted with the need to repeat washing and rinsing clothes more often.
•    In order to get hard water to clean effectively, it is necessary to use hotter water than if using soft water. This leads to higher energy costs and unnecessary energy use.
•    The extra washing and the buildup that results takes a toll on the fabric in your clothing, meaning that it doesn’t last as long.

Using soft water creates whiter, brighter clothing. There will be less soapy residue and build up on clothes from deposits than what is created by the interaction of hard water and detergent. Clothing can be washed in cold, soft water with less detergent, creating more savings for the consumer. Soft water is also easier on washing machines, meaning that they last longer, as do the clothes washed in it. Clothing looks better for much longer when cared for with soft water.

Soft water is naturally occurring in some places, although in reality hard water is much more common. Luckily it is relatively easy to soften hard water, although many of the machines to do so are relatively pricey. The savings you will make through the use of soft water will however, over the life of the unit, compensate for its cost.

Why Do T-Shirts Fade In Color?

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We all love new, vibrant colored T-shirts. In fact, when we first buy them, we often choose T-shirts because they are the perfect color we are looking for. However, the rather unfortunate thing about cotton T-shirts, in particular, is that they will inevitably fade. Some fade very quickly while others keep their color longer. Purchasing certain types of T-shirts and specific care techniques will help to ensure your T-shirts stay looking good longer. So, why do T-shirts fade in color at all?

There are multiple factors that play a part in T-shirts fading with time. Below is a list of the most common ones.

•    Certain fabrics tend to hold dye better than others. Cotton, the most common fabric of T-shirts, is not one of these fabrics. In fact cotton is notorious for fading quickly in color.
•    The laundry is a primary culprit in making T-shirts fade in color. Color cotton tees have a tendency to fade with washes and especially when dried in the dryer, because the T-shirt fibers break down over time.
•    Hanging color T-shirts to dry outside is also not a good idea. The sun has a natural bleaching effect on clothing, so it is advised to let colors dry inside, away from the sun’s rays, to preserve the intensity of the color.
•    The dye process used in the fabrication of the T-shirt material will also impact how quickly or slowly a T-shirt fades. Cottons that have been dyed using hot, longer processes will have more resistant color than other processes, as the chemical process needed to bind the dye to the cotton will be better activated.
•    The quality of the T-shirts is important for fading. Often T-shirts that are cheaper and of less quality will fade much faster than others. This is often because the production methods were not good quality and attention was not paid to the colorfastness of the item.

Tips to prevent T-shirt colors from fading:
•    Turn them inside out before washing them.
•    Use a mild detergent and warm or cool water, not hot.
•    Do not put them in the dryer but hang them inside to dry instead.
•    The first time you wash a new vividly colored T-shirt, add a cup of vinegar or some table salt to the water with the detergent. This will help the dye to set in better.
•    Use one of the new detergents that is specially formulated for dark colors.

If you happen to have some faded out T-shirts, the absolute best way to replace them is with custom-made tees. You can have a shirt completely replicated through custom printing so that it perfectly matches the one that no longer looks good enough to wear.  When you are making the choices required when ordering a custom-made T-shirt, be sure to order the highest quality one you can, especially if you are getting one in a dark or vivid color. They will hold the color best and stay looking good much longer.

How To Make White T-Shirts Whiter

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It seems that white T-shirts are always the ones that get stained, dirty and discolored the quickest and easiest. Inevitably, our favorite ones are always amongst those that don’t look their best. However, you can relax by knowing that there are multiple things that you can do to make your white T-shirts even whiter.

•    Use bleach in your wash cycle with detergent if the T-shirts washing instructions do not warn against chlorine bleach. You may also soak the T-shirt in a mixture of bleach and water for a short period of time before washing it. Be sure to check instructions and do not leave the T-shirt soaking for too long in bleach or you will have a shirt with holes in it.
•    If your T-shirt’s instructions indicate no chlorine bleach, you can opt for color-safe bleach. Pre-treat stains by applying it undiluted to the spot and then soak the T-shirt overnight in a mixture of water and the same color-safe bleach. Wash as usual.
•    Adding bluing to the rinse cycles of your wash will also help to add some of the whiteness back to your favorite white T-shirt. Be careful to dilute it in water first to avoid blue stains on your tee.
•    Hang your favorite white T-shirt outside to dry it. The sun has a natural bleaching effect. Even in winter, white T-shirts will whiten up outside.
•    Vinegar also works as a bleaching agent for clothes. Add it to your wash cycle or soak your clothes in it. It is also very effective in getting rid of odors in T-shirts. Just be sure to not mix vinegar with bleach.
•    Baking soda added to your laundry will also help to whiten your T-shirts. A half-cup with your regular detergent will boost the detergent’s whitening power.
•    A half-cup of hydrogen peroxide added to your washing machine, along with your laundry detergent will also effectively whiten your tees.

Sometimes no matter what you do, your T-shirts will remain looking less than pristine. If you have neglected them for too long, they are too old or have been stained by certain things, there is no going back. If this is the case, you may want to simply replace the T-shirts in question and start off taking better care of the new ones. If you have a T-shirt that is unique, full of memories or a favorite for some other reason, you can get it recreated perfectly by opting for a custom-made T-shirt.

When investing in new white T-shirts, ordering custom-made ones ensures that they say exactly what you want them to. You get to choose the style, fit and quality of the T-shirts too , which means they will inevitably be amongst the more favored shirts in your wardrobe, earning them more attention and care. Keep your new white T-shirts clean and super white by using the above tips regularly and they will stay looking their best much longer.

New clothes

How to Keep T-Shirts and Clothes Looking New

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New clothes

Most articles of clothing including t-shirts look their best when they are brand new. Keeping the look of new clothing is one of the biggest struggles of clothing care. There are some washing and drying techniques that make clothing wear out far quicker than if the clothing is treated with other washing and drying techniques.

One of the harshest things that can be done to laundry is to use an electric drier. These age clothing faster than just about anything else that can be done to it. To keep clothing looking newer for far longer, use other drying techniques if possible. Using a dryer does make clothing feel softer but it strips it of many of the fibers of the clothing. If you’ve ever noticed the lint that comes out of a dryer lint trap, you’ve seen where those fibers end up. That lint is largely small particles of the clothing that was dried in the machine.

If you want to bypass the dryer, using an old-fashioned drying line can dry clothing quickly and without wearing out the fabric. If you have bright colors drying, be sure to put the line in the shade. Bright sunlight can cause colors to fade more quickly. This will make the drying process take longer, but the clothing will eventually dry in the fresh air.

Another way to keep t-shirts and clothing looking newer longer is to use cold water to wash the clothes. Hot water is a harsh way to wash clothes and can lead to fading of the colors and for the fabric to ball up into the pills that can form on cotton. Use cold water whenever possible to wash your clothing. There are times when clothing is so dirty or has so many odors that washing it in cold water won’t solve the problems. In those cases, try warm water instead of hot. You might also try alternating between using cold water and hot water on each load of laundry. This cuts in half the number of times that the clothing is washed in hot water while still giving it a deep cleaning every other time.

Harsh detergents are another problem with keeping clothing looking new. The detergents that we use may be effective, but they can also cause some damage to clothing and fade the colors. Using the gentlest detergents possible, that still get out the dirt and odor, will keep the clothing looking better. If the clothing is not getting clean by using a gentler detergent, try a pre-treatment regimen first before using the gentler detergent.

If possible, don’t use bleach to clean the clothes. There are of course times when only bleach will remove a stain. But, on everyday loads, don’t include bleach in the wash. It causes fabric to wear thin far more quickly than a regular detergent. After just a few washes in bleach, a thin fabric may develop holes. If you do use bleach, use it as a spot-treatment if possible instead of adding it to the wash.