Will I end up with a micro shirt?

December 29, 2021 11:27 AM

I was given this Pendleton shirt for Christmas. It feels like a nice cotton Oxford, but it is apparently 100% wool. It says dry clean only. Do I really have to follow that instruction?

It's a nice shirt, but it's hard for me to imagine having something in my clothing rotation that I have to dry clean. It feels very expensive, high maintenance, and potentially toxic. My spouse dry cleans some clothes about once a month, but I don't have anything that I dry clean regularly.

Will I ruin this shirt if I machine wash and dry it? Should I either resign myself to dry cleaning, or give the shirt to someone else?

posted by alms to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (18 answers total)

I would not machine wash and dry it. But you may be able to get away with hand washing and air drying, or even machine washing on the delicate cycle with a gentle detergent and air drying.
posted by potrzebie at 11:30 AM on December 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

You should be able to hand wash and hang dry 100% wool. The knitters I know (and myself) swear by Soak washing detergent.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 11:31 AM on December 29, 2021 [16 favorites]

You should be able to hand wash it.

You can probably get away with machine washing it on gentle/handwash setting, cold.

You absolutely must not put it in the tumble dryer.

If you wear an undershirt underneath you may find you do not need to wash it after every wear.

Source: I make and wear a lot of wool/other natural fiber clothes, and I don't always follow the care instructions.
posted by mskyle at 11:31 AM on December 29, 2021 [12 favorites]

It may shrink or felt if you wash it. You might risk machine washing on cold and lay flat to dry. I would definitely not put it in the dryer.

For my wool hand knits, including socks, I soak them in cool water with Soak (Amazon link, sorry) which is a detergent that doesn't need to be rinsed out. I roll them up in a towel and squeeze out the water, and lay flat to dry. Soak comes in pleasant scents or unscented.
posted by twelve cent archie at 11:34 AM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

Pendleton has a line of washable merino shirts, could you exchange it for something from that line?
posted by jacquilynne at 11:34 AM on December 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

I have basically the same Pendleton shirt. I hand wash it in the sink basin with cool water and a bit of woolite. Gentle agitation, no wringing or twisting it. To dry I lay it flat on a towel, roll that up to remove most of the water then lay it out on something to dry flat. Haven't had it shrink on me yet.
posted by Ferreous at 11:54 AM on December 29, 2021 [9 favorites]

+1 to the hand washers, and I'll also say that since it's wool, as long as you're wearing a shirt underneath it (and possibly even if not), you will not have to wash it that often unless you spill something on it.
posted by Special Agent Dale Cooper at 11:58 AM on December 29, 2021 [5 favorites]

Nthing the traditional approach of wearing something under it - I always have a neckerchief scarf to keep itch off my chin and skin oil off the wool. Brushing wool when you take it off helps a lot with tiny crumbs or spills. And if this and the soaking sound like too much hassle, exchange!

Side note - you’re right that traditional dry cleaning is toxic, but there are cleaners who essentially do the fussy cold water washing for you. I have seen them advertise as wet cleaners and eco cleaners, but some eco cleaners are advertising a higher standard of control of dry cleaning solvents.
posted by clew at 12:10 PM on December 29, 2021

Shouldn't you be able to put wool into a mesh bag and *then* machine wash it?
posted by juliaem at 12:12 PM on December 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

You should be able to hand wash and hang dry 100% wool.

Hand wash, yes. Hang dry, no. Hang drying will stretch the damp/wet shirt. You should lay it flat on a drying rack.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:16 PM on December 29, 2021 [8 favorites]

Shouldn't you be able to put wool into a mesh bag and *then* machine wash it?

I think mesh bags prevent hooking and tangling - that’s why they’re so useful for bras - but can increase agitation and rubbing the thing against itself. Some felting projects call for a mesh bag!

Wool that can be washed in a mesh bag could be washed without it, is my guess.
posted by clew at 1:16 PM on December 29, 2021 [4 favorites]

You might ask Pendleton if doing dry cleaning at home with Dryel is acceptable.
posted by TimHare at 1:28 PM on December 29, 2021

Does the tag say "Dry clean" or "Dry clean only"? I ask because the product listing on the website says "Dry clean," and as bonkers as it seems, this can be different from "Dry clean only." You can google around for this, but here's one explanation via Real Simple:
Most manufacturers are required to list just one way to clean a garment. If the tag says DRY-CLEAN ONLY, obey it. If it says DRY-CLEAN, that means that is the recommended method, not the only method.

I might still try washing at home even with dry clean only (for example, with something I've bought at a thrift store), but proceed with caution.

Here's how I'd approach wearing and washing this item:
1. I'd wear an undershirt underneath to make sure my armpits are covered and my pit sweat is being absorbed by something other than the shirt, and I'd probably try to be extra careful not to wear it when it could get dirty (like when frying something that might splatter)
2. After each wear, I'd hang it up to air out
3. When it did seem soiled or sweaty or ready for a wash, I'd do one of two things: use the "wool/handwash" cycle in my washing machine, take it out as soon as the wash cycle was done, and then lay it out to dry (I might briefly tumble it on gentle/no heat if it seemed very wrinkly, but this would be for just a few minutes at most); or, use a salad spinner to soak, wash, and spin it, and then lay out to dry
4. Maybe send it to the dry cleaner occasionally when I was taking other things

Do not put it in the dryer with any kind of heat.
posted by bluedaisy at 2:12 PM on December 29, 2021 [1 favorite]

Merino wool is a miracle material that doesn't stink except in the most extreme circumstances. I would be head to toe in the stuff every day if I could afford it. But you don't want to heavily agitate it in water and you don't want to stretch it when it's wet. My guess is if you wear an undershirt and give it a few days of hanging up (just as it is, no water) between wearings, you won't need to wash it except when it's stained.
posted by wnissen at 5:49 PM on December 29, 2021 [2 favorites]

What is your washing machine like? When I got a new fancy one it made my life much better, because so, so many "hand wash" or "dry clean only" things that I used to wear once and chuck in the corner of the closet can be done on delicate instead. I have occasionally accidentally sent a tissue in a pocket through on delicate, and it came out with the layers separated, but otherwise none the worse for wear. (In contrast, my previous ancient machine needed to have jeans done on delicate, because something was broken in it that caused it to try to beat everything to death.)
posted by LadyOscar at 6:51 PM on December 29, 2021

Heat and agitation will shrink it and felt it. Hand wash in room temp or cool water with just a little shampoo. Wool resists dirt and doesn't need frequent washing.
posted by theora55 at 9:51 AM on December 30, 2021

I own a number of Pendleton items; Nthing that you just wash it with cool water by hand with a bit of scentless shampoo, dry it on a rack. And as others have mentioned, you aren’t going to be wearing it next to your skin - they don’t need to be cleaned often.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:28 PM on December 30, 2021

Response by poster: Thank you for all of this great information. I got some Eucalan (similar to Soak) for when it needs a wash, but I'll wear it with an undershirt and hopefully it won't need to be washed that often.
posted by alms at 7:41 PM on January 9, 2022