How to wash a bamboo T-shirt

Short answer: Wash it inside out at 40 degrees with ordinary detergent, skip the fabric softener and hang the T-shirt up straight away. That keeps both colour and shape, and the fabric keeps the soft feel you bought it for.

Temperature and inside out

40 degrees is enough for a T-shirt that has been worn for a day. A higher temperature rarely gets it cleaner but wears fibres and colour more. Turn the T-shirt inside out before it goes in the machine. That protects the visible side from friction. This applies to every style in men's most popular.

Skip the fabric softener

Fabric softener leaves a thin film on the fibres. It can feel soft at first, but it makes the fabric worse at moving moisture away from the skin. That is exactly the quality people choose the most popular styles for. Bamboo viscose is soft on its own, so softener adds nothing.

Hang it up rather than tumble dry

The tumble dryer shrinks the fabric and can loosen the neckline over time. Hang the T-shirt up while it is still wet and the creases fall out by themselves. Take it out of the machine as soon as the programme ends. The same goes for a long sleeve bamboo T-shirt.

Choose a mild detergent

An ordinary colour detergent is fine. Avoid products with bleach, as they can strip the colour. Dose by the amount of laundry, not by eye, because too much detergent does not rinse out fully and can leave the fabric stiff. For lightly worn clothes, a bit less than the pack suggests often works.

Sort by colour

Wash dark T-shirts together and light ones together. A new dark T-shirt can release some colour in the first washes, so wash it alone or with similar colours. That keeps light pieces fresh and dark ones deep. Sorting takes a minute and saves a lot of trouble later.

A gentle programme

Many machines have a delicates programme or a colour programme with a low spin. Use it. A high spin twists the fabric hard and can cause more creases and wear. A half full drum gives the clothes room to move in the water, so they rub less against each other.

Stains before washing

Treat a stain quickly. Rinse with cold water from the inside so the stain is pushed out of the fabric, not into it. Do not rub hard, dab instead. A little stain remover or a drop of detergent directly on the spot before washing handles most everyday food and drink stains.

Storing it after washing

Once the T-shirt is dry, fold it and put it in the drawer rather than on a thin hanger. A hanger can leave bumps at the shoulders and stretch the neckline over time. Folded and stored flat, the T-shirt keeps its shape longest, and you can see the whole pile when you open the drawer.

Frequently asked questions

Can bamboo be washed at 60 degrees

The fabric can take it, but it shrinks more and the colour fades faster. For normal everyday wear, 40 degrees is enough and is much kinder to the T-shirt.

Should the T-shirt go on a hanger

Not while it is wet. Lay it flat or hang it over a washing line, so the weight of the water does not stretch the neckline while the fabric dries.

How often should a T-shirt be washed

After each day of wear if it was against the skin. If there was an undershirt underneath, it can often be worn twice before it needs a wash.