Fabric Care Guide
Choose the material your garment is made of to see what it can and cannot take — each line traced to the manufacturer or standards body that states it. Your garment's own care label always wins.
The care label on your garment always wins. These are the fibre-level rules the manufacturers and standards bodies publish; an individual garment can be finished, blended or dyed in a way that changes them, and a crossed-out symbol is binding whatever this page says. Not sure what a symbol means? Decode your care label.
How to look up your fabric
The composition label and the care label are two different labels. This tool reads from the first; the second always has the last word.
- 1
Find the composition label
It is a separate label from the care symbols, and it lists the fibres the garment is made of by percentage.
- 2
Do not just take the biggest number
The care label already reflects the whole fibre mix, so it is what you follow. A small share of a fragile fibre can be the one that sets the limit — elastane is usually a minor percentage and is still the component that heat destroys first.
- 3
Pick that material below
Each material has its own card with the care decisions its manufacturer or standards body publishes.
- 4
Check it against your care label
The symbols on the garment override anything here: a crossed-out symbol is a prohibition, and a number in the wash tub is a maximum, not a target.
Your fabric
Every material, explained
The full reference the picker draws on — 18 materials, each care decision quoted from the source that states it.
Viscose / rayon
- Washing
- If you machine wash, do so only inside a wash bag, in cold water, on the slowest spin speed and a gentle cycle; UGA adds a short cycle because of rayon’s reduced wet strength.
- Temperature
- The viscose manufacturer recommends washing in cold water to maintain texture, strength and colour
- Tumble dryer
- No — dry flat or hang
- Drying
- Dry flat or hang in a well-ventilated area, avoid clothes-pegs, and turn the garment inside out when drying in the sun to protect the colour
- Ironing
- Iron viscose only when it is completely dry, at a low temperature setting or with a steamer, inside out to avoid shiny spots; rayon withstands ironing temperatures slightly less than cotton and the binding ceiling is the dot on the garment label.
- Bleach
- Avoid chlorine bleach on viscose: UGA notes it can yellow or weaken resin-treated rayon
- What ruins it
- Do not wring viscose — squeeze the excess water out gently, per the manufacturer — because it loses much of its strength when wet.
Linen
- Washing
- Machine wash linen at 30°C on a gentle/delicate program.
- Temperature
- Wash in lukewarm or cold water; hot water can cause linen to shrink.
- Tumble dryer
- a tumble dryer is not always recommended, because excessive heat can alter the quality
- Drying
- Lay linen flat to air-dry, or use a padded hanger to avoid wrinkles
- Ironing
- Iron linen while it is still slightly damp, at a temperature between medium and high, usually around 200°C — and the care-label iron dots still set the ceiling.
- What ruins it
- Avoid heavy wringing, which can cause marked folds and damage the fabric texture
Wool
- Washing
- many wool items can be machine washed on a genuine wool cycle when the garment label allows it
- Tumble dryer
- No — dry flat
- Drying
- Wool sweaters should be dried flat unless the care label explicitly permits tumble drying.
- Ironing
- Pressing should be done with a steam, NOT DRY, iron.
- Chlorine bleach
- No (Clorox)
- What ruins it
- Heat, moisture and agitation together can felt wool and make shrinkage effectively irreversible.
Silk
- Washing
- Washable silk should be washed gently in cold water, not wrung, and air-dried away from high heat.
- Tumble dryer
- No — air-dry away from heat
- Ironing
- Fabrics may turn yellow if the iron temperature is too high. Do not use dry heat.
- Chlorine bleach
- No (Clorox)
- What ruins it
- Silk can lose strength or lustre under harsh alkali, heat and rough handling.
Cashmere
- Washing
- Cashmere and wool washes should be enzyme-free, with machine washing only in a mesh bag on a cold low-spin route when allowed.
- Temperature
- cool or lukewarm washing
- Drying
- gentle handling and flat drying
- What ruins it
- Heat, moisture and agitation can make wool and cashmere fibres felt and shrink, and badly felted cashmere cannot be restored.
Spandex / elastane
- Washing
- Skip fabric softener on spandex
- Temperature
- The number inside the wash-tub symbol is the maximum washing temperature in degrees Celsius which must not be exceeded
- Tumble dryer
- Dryer heat permanently kills the stretch (RMIT)
- Drying
- Drip-dry or dryer-dry at low temperature for ten minutes.
- Ironing
- If the label permits ironing, the iron care symbol caps the sole-plate temperature — one dot 120°C, two dots 160°C, three dots 210°C — and a crossed-out iron means do not iron, per GINETEX.
- Bleach
- Chlorine bleach is not safe for spandex
- What ruins it
- heat makes fibres brittle and stretches the elastane components, which is why hot water, the tumble dryer and a hot iron cause permanent loss of recovery
Fleece
- Washing
- wash fleece in cold water with a mild detergent and to avoid fabric softeners
- Temperature
- The number inside the wash-tub symbol is the maximum washing temperature, a ceiling not a target
- Tumble dryer
- tumble dry fleece on low or hang dry, and to follow the garment's care instructions
- What ruins it
- Polyester fleece is a thermoplastic fibre, so high heat can distort or damage its surface and finishes
Cotton
- Washing
- Warm water and friction can increase colour bleeding or dye transfer, so new and bright cotton colours should be sorted.
- Tumble dryer
- Yes — if the tumble symbol allows
- Bleach
- Chlorine bleach belongs only on label-safe whites; oxygen bleach is the safer default for many colourfast items.
- What ruins it
- Cotton can shrink from heat and drying, and dryer heat is a major shrink risk.
Polyester
- Washing
- Fabric softener and dryer-sheet residue can impair moisture-wicking, odour-control, spandex and DWR performance on technical synthetics.
- Tumble dryer (sturdy synthetics — yes if the symbol allows)
- Use the lower heat for lightweight or shape-fitted pieces
- Ironing
- If pressing is necessary, set iron on a low temperature and use steam.
- Bleach (whites)
- Yes — 'most synthetic whites' are safe (Clorox); test finishes
- What ruins it
- Polyester is a thermoplastic fibre, so high heat can distort or damage its surface and finishes.
Acrylic
- Washing
- Use lukewarm water for washing.
- Temperature
- Hot water may cause yellowing.
- Tumble dryer (wovens)
- wovens may be machine dried on low heat setting
- Drying (knits)
- For knits blot and drip-dry
- Ironing
- Use a low iron temperature and press on the wrong side of the fabric.
- What ruins it
- Melts, if too hot
Acetate
- Washing
- If washed, garments should be squeezed gently by hand in lukewarm water with mild suds.
- Ironing
- Press while damp, on the wrong side, with the iron at the lowest setting.
- Preferred route
- Dry cleaning is preferred
- What ruins it
- Melts at low heat
Ramie
- Washing
- Wet cleaning (washing) might cause pilling and fuzzing due to, low abrasion resistance.
- Storage
- Store flat or rolled without creases.
- Preferred route
- Dry cleaning preserves color.
- What ruins it
- Brittle, weakens with repeated creasing in same place.
Olefin / polypropylene
- Stains (carpets & upholstery)
- Stains on olefin carpets, rugs, and upholstery usually blot away.
- Tumble dryer
- Caution: Avoid commercial gas dryers.
- Ironing
- Never iron 100% olefin fabrics.
- What ruins it
- Melts at relatively low temperatures
No olefin / polypropylene guide yet — the closest published method
Modacrylic
- Washing
- Oil and grease stains need spot treatment before laundering.
- Ironing
- Generally, fabrics containing modacrylics cannot be pressed.
- Preferred route
- drycleaning or fur cleaning is recommended
- What ruins it
- Extremely heat sensitive.
Down
- Washing
- You can use a standard non-biological soap, but for extra benefits, we recommend using a technical down-specific detergent.
- Temperature
- Wash your down jacket on a cool setting and a long, gentle cycle.
- Tumble dryer
- Immediately tumble dry your down jacket on a mid to low heat setting.
- Restoring loft
- Every 20-30 minutes during the drying process, remove the down jacket from the dryer, give it a gentle shake and firmly pat the baffles.
- What ruins it
- Standard dry cleaning can reduce down loft or strip down oils
Denim
- Washing
- Turn your denim inside out before washing
- Temperature
- Use cold water to prevent shrinking and fading
- Tumble dryer
- Skip the dryer whenever possible
- Drying
- Hang your denim or lay it flat to air dry
- What ruins it
- New denim—especially darker washes—may release dye during the first wash, which can transfer to lighter items
Mohair
- Washing
- Soak in tepid water using mild detergent recommended for washing wool (like Woolite), or even hair shampoo.
- Temperature
- Important: Temperature must be no higher than 30 °
- Tumble dryer
- Do not tumble dry.
- Drying
- Hang or lay flat to dry (mohair dries quite quickly)
- Chlorine bleach
- No (Clorox)
Nylon
- Washing
- Water-borne stains wash out easily, but oil and grease stains need pre-treatment with a detergent solution or laundry pre-wash.
- Tumble dryer (sturdy synthetics)
- Yes — if the symbol allows
- Bleach
- Use a dry oxygen bleach for best results.
- What ruins it
- Melts and fuses in presence of heat
Where these rules come from
Every line on every card is quoted word-for-word — never reworded — from one of three places. Most come from a fact-checked claim in our own guide to that fabric, and each of those claims cites its source with a link and the date we checked it: the fibre manufacturer, a standards body such as GINETEX/ISO 3758, a textile authority, or the regulator. Some are rows of our published fibre references for tumble drying and bleaching, each row naming the publisher behind it. And where a fabric has no guide of its own yet, the lines are quoted straight from the primary publisher — a university textile extension, or the fibre's maker — recorded with its URL and the date we last checked it. A build check rejects this page if any line has been reworded rather than quoted, if a reference row names no publisher, or if a quoted source has no URL and date.
Where a rule only holds for part of a fabric — whites only, chlorine only, sturdy synthetics only — the heading above the line says so rather than quietly widening it. And where our sources say nothing specific, the card simply has fewer lines instead of repeating “check the label” to look complete.
What this tool deliberately does not do is restate the method. When the decision needs steps — how to actually hand wash the thing, how to block it back into shape — the card links to the full guide instead of summarizing it badly.