Washing sweatpants: how often and how hot?

TALL TAILORS' sweatpants are made with 100% organic cotton. There is no difference between washing both types of pants. In this blog we will explain you everything about washing your sweatpants, which temperature to choose and how best to dry your pants.

At what temperature do you wash?

Cotton is a wonderful material to use for textile purposes. It is not for nothing that about 70% of all clothing worldwide contains cotton to a greater or lesser extent. Cotton is versatile, breathable, durable and comfortable to wear. However, when cotton is exposed to high temperatures, it shrinks. And that's exactly what you don't want with your nice long sweatpants. Washing your sweatpants is best done at 30 degrees. Make sure you choose a detergent that is also suitable for low temperatures. If your sweatpants are so dirty or soiled, you can wash them at up to 40 degrees. However, never choose a higher temperature, unless of course you have pants that are too long.

How often to wash?

For all clothing, the better you treat it when you're not wearing it, the less often you'll have to wash it. Are you someone who throws all your clothes in a pile in the corner or on a chair? We used to do it too, you'll be fine. Worn clothes that are in a pile don't get a chance to air out and therefore bad odors (bacteria) accumulate faster. Our first advice is to make sure you fold your clothes and put them on your chair, or hang them over the armrest, for example. In addition, putting your worn clothes away neatly ensures that there are not too many wrinkles, so your clothes will not be too wrinkled after washing. Believe us, it really does help. How often you should really wash your sweatpants depends entirely on how intensively you use them. Do you only wear your pants as a house suit in the evenings and lounge around on the couch? Or do you use them as training pants and regularly sweat in them? You understand that there is quite a difference between the two situations and then how often you wash your pants. Our rule of thumb would be: if your pants no longer smell fresh after you've given them a chance to air out for one or two days and if they feel a bit dirty, then it's time to wash them.

Which wash program to use?

If you are washing cotton jogging pants, pay particular attention to the temperature and RPM in the washing machine settings. In our experience, shrinking of clothes is very much determined by too high a rpm on your washing machine, in combination with a reasonably high temperature. Too high a rpm also causes your clothes to deform, so that your pants no longer fit as they should. In addition, it is also important that you do not fill your washing machine completely with laundry. Washing machines with a drum capacity of, say, 7 or 8 kilos should preferably only be filled with 4 or 5 kilos of laundry. In this way, both the water and the detergent can work properly and the laundry has room to "move" in the drum. If you do unload your washer, don't be surprised if it smells musty or comes out more wrinkled than it went in.

The "best" wash cycle for cotton doesn't really exist. It depends mainly on the status of your sweatpants (or other clothes), how they smell and whether they are actually dirty. Preferably choose 30 degrees and go somewhere between 800 and 1200 (rotations per minute) in terms of rpm. Whether you do this with a "cotton program" a "delicate wash program" or a "mild program," with the right settings it can all be done.

Ironing your sweatpants

If your sweatpants came out of the wash very wrinkled, you can choose to iron them for a while. Preferably not, unless there really is no other way. When ironing, make sure you set the iron to a temperature that is not too high. Not sure what temperature you need? Set it to its lowest (usually for wool) and go a little higher each time if you don't see results. Very stubborn creases can be taken out with steam or by spraying the crease a little wet. Watch out for logos, emblems or embroidery! These can come loose or deform, which of course is a waste of your garment.

Tips for washing organic cotton

If your sweatpants came out of the wash very wrinkled, you can choose to iron them for a while. Preferably not, unless there really is no other way. When ironing, make sure you set the iron to a temperature that is not too high. If you are not sure what temperat

Organic cotton is a more expensive material than regular cotton. Of course, you then want your pants to stay nice and comfortable for as long as possible. Therefore, really pay some extra attention to how you handle your clothing when you are not wearing it. You'll see that you won't have to wash as much. Then when you do wash you will find that the pants smell and feel nice and fresh again, allowing you to enjoy them for as long as possible. Organic cotton is grown and processed in a sustainable way. So let's all work together to make sure we don't have to use the washing machine unnecessarily (a washing machine uses about 60 liters of water per turn) by keeping your clothes fresher for longer by airing them and not throwing them in a pile.