Does anyone know what, if any, laundry practices might extend the wrinkle-free performance of such shirts? For example, washing time, water temperature, detergent type, drying temperature?
Wrinkle-free shirts good for 30 washes
- Thread starter suburbanmd
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Longevity
Well, I’m gonna guess wash time and agitation speed will play a role in this. There is a potential case for washing in cold to keep the fibers tight, but that defeats the purpose of wrinkle free items that need a warm wash to relax wrinkles. I have a few shirts that are ‘wrinkle-free’ or permanent press items from 15 years ago that look like new. They have all been washed in hot, some on the Sanitize cycle, fried in the dryer, and numerous detergents. It largely comes down to item quality, IMHO.
Well, I’m gonna guess wash time and agitation speed will play a role in this. There is a potential case for washing in cold to keep the fibers tight, but that defeats the purpose of wrinkle free items that need a warm wash to relax wrinkles. I have a few shirts that are ‘wrinkle-free’ or permanent press items from 15 years ago that look like new. They have all been washed in hot, some on the Sanitize cycle, fried in the dryer, and numerous detergents. It largely comes down to item quality, IMHO.
I`m surprised your shirts wrinkle-free finishing is only supposed to be good for 30 washes.
We`ve had a brand name called "Cottonova" in the 60`s and 70`s which according to the ad was the finest boil-proof no-iron cotton.
Some washers even had Cottonova cycles which were more or less just easy care cycles at 95° C.
The British HLCC care labels used #9 for those garments.
If you take into account how much more aggressive powdered detergents were back then compared to today`s liquid detergents combined with lower wash temperatures I wouldn`t worry about the wrinkle-free finishing to wash out that fast.
Might also be worth to mention that those "plastic coatings" never really give the same results as ironing does, means if you want a perfect shirt a quick touch up with an iron might still be necessary.
We`ve had a brand name called "Cottonova" in the 60`s and 70`s which according to the ad was the finest boil-proof no-iron cotton.
Some washers even had Cottonova cycles which were more or less just easy care cycles at 95° C.
The British HLCC care labels used #9 for those garments.
If you take into account how much more aggressive powdered detergents were back then compared to today`s liquid detergents combined with lower wash temperatures I wouldn`t worry about the wrinkle-free finishing to wash out that fast.
Might also be worth to mention that those "plastic coatings" never really give the same results as ironing does, means if you want a perfect shirt a quick touch up with an iron might still be necessary.
michaelman2
Well-known member
No Iron Shirts - Longevity and Stain Removal
I first learned about these shirts years ago at Brooks Brothers. I hang most everything to dry and these shirts always line dried fairly wrinkle free, I would iron them and they stay nice all day. I never noticed the no iron process decreasing significantly and some of these shirts are 20 plus yeas old.
What I have noticed in the collar area and the cuff areas ended to fray more quickly than the standard all cotton shirts. I still have several that even after home laundering them for years and hand drying are still in very good shape.
The one major, and I mean major, problem I have encountered with the no iron shirts is stain removal. I have always been decent at stain removal, however, apparently the process “ holds on to stains and they are VERY difficult to release. Especially stains which contain oil, sebum, acid based. I had a friend hug me one time and her facial makeup rubbed off on my shoulder. I never got that stain to release. Exactly the same thing happened on another white shirt that did not have the no iron treatment and the stain removal was easy.
I actually called Brooks Brothers asking for advice and they did advise they had heard about the stain problem, however they didn’t have an answer back then. Believe me I tried every damn thing I could conjure to remove stains, to no avail.
I first learned about these shirts years ago at Brooks Brothers. I hang most everything to dry and these shirts always line dried fairly wrinkle free, I would iron them and they stay nice all day. I never noticed the no iron process decreasing significantly and some of these shirts are 20 plus yeas old.
What I have noticed in the collar area and the cuff areas ended to fray more quickly than the standard all cotton shirts. I still have several that even after home laundering them for years and hand drying are still in very good shape.
The one major, and I mean major, problem I have encountered with the no iron shirts is stain removal. I have always been decent at stain removal, however, apparently the process “ holds on to stains and they are VERY difficult to release. Especially stains which contain oil, sebum, acid based. I had a friend hug me one time and her facial makeup rubbed off on my shoulder. I never got that stain to release. Exactly the same thing happened on another white shirt that did not have the no iron treatment and the stain removal was easy.
I actually called Brooks Brothers asking for advice and they did advise they had heard about the stain problem, however they didn’t have an answer back then. Believe me I tried every damn thing I could conjure to remove stains, to no avail.
These treatments are hydrophobic by their nature which in turn makes oil based stains harder to shift.
Same thing as with synthetics like polyester.[this post was last edited: 2/26/2023-10:12]
Same thing as with synthetics like polyester.[this post was last edited: 2/26/2023-10:12]
No irons shirts are loaded with formaldehyde, best avoided.
I remember how stinky permanent press clothes were in the 70s. We put Borateam in when washing them. After time, the stinky smell went away.
