How to Take Care of Your Linen Clothes

August 10, 2011, By Jeff Waddle 0 comments

Linen is a classic, warm-weather look. Incredibly light and breathable yet durable and versatile enough for both casual and business settings, linen is a perfect way to beat the heat while staying stylish.

But linen is a fairly finicky fabric, so it takes more care than you'd give an old cotton t-shirt. Here’s how to keep your linen suits, shirts and pants looking good summer after summer.

Washing

Linen often is blended with other fabrics like Rayon, which can affect how (and if) you can wash it yourself. Read the care instructions tag to be sure. For suits, find a good dry cleaner that knows how to clean linen.

For shirts and pants, expect to hand wash them in cold water or use the gentle cycle. Either way, use detergent designed for delicate clothes. For colored linens, avoid bleach. If you hand wash your linens, it’s not a good idea to twist or wring them out.

Approach stains with caution and follow directions carefully if using a stain remover. Test stain removers on an inconspicuous area first to ensure it won’t ruin the color. A good rule of thumb is to get on the stain immediately and don’t let it dry. Rinsing immediately with cold water usually removes the worst of most stains. Rinsing with club soda also helps on many dried stains.

Wrestling with Wrinkles

Linen has a naturally wrinkled appearance, and that’s part of what makes it distinctive. But, if you’re not careful, your linens can become a wrinkled mess that makes you look like you slept in your clothes.

There are several ways to dry linens—in the dryer on air dry or low, line dry or spreading out on a towel—but the key to fighting wrinkles is to press your articles before they dry completely. Use a steam iron on the cotton/linen setting to press your damp shirt or pants.

Once pressed, hang them promptly. For pants, use a pants hanger to avoid those annoying creases in the middle you get from pants folded across the bottom of a standard hanger. Avoid those equally unstylish points on the shoulders by using a padded hanger for shirts. Immediately do the same with your linen suit jacket and pants when you bring them home from the dry cleaners. Yes, linen requires a bit more time and trouble than the rest of your clothes, but for looking good in the heat of summer, nothing beats linen.