How to Care for Cashmere? Make Your Cashmere Last a Lifetime

The expert advice we have for caring for cashmere is provided below. You will learn the best ways to wash, dry, and store your cashmere.

Cashmere sweaters are soft, warm, and beautiful. They are excellent winter wardrobe foundational pieces. Cashmere is such a plush, cozy material. In addition to being fashionable, cashmere sweaters are also comfortable and adaptable. They are adaptable enough to be dressed casually for a day of running errands or elegantly for a night out with the girls.

Cashmere doesn’t require any special care. This soft, luxurious fiber is simple to maintain in top condition with minimal effort. In fact, there’s no need to have cashmere clothing professionally cleaned.

If you follow these six recommendations, your cashmere should keep you warm for many years to come.

How to Care for Cashmere?

Cashmere sweaters need to be handled with care because they are expensive and delicate. Your cashmere sweater can last a very long time if you learn how to care for the natural fibers in it.

You can take care of your cashmere sweaters and keep them in excellent condition for many years by using these useful tips.

Shaving Them Regularly

Regular shaving will help give your sweaters a crisp, clean appearance. Nothing is worse than a sweater that has developed pilling, which, sadly, happens to cashmere over time.

To keep your cashmere looking new, try the Conair Fabric Remover. On both clothing and other fabrics in your home, like a couch, this fabric shaver works wonders. Purchase a cashmere comb made especially to prevent cashmere from pilling, or even better, both.

Airing Out After Each Use

Allow your cashmere to air out. Between washings, make sure to let your cashmere dry out. Before using your cashmere, make sure to keep it out of drawers and storage containers for a few days. This will ensure that your cashmere is fit to wear and hasn’t acquired an odd smell or shape.

How to Wash Cashmere?

A cashmere sweater’s care instructions may be on your mind. The majority of cashmere can be dry cleaned, machine washed, or hand washed. Because hand washing will make your cashmere softer over time and dry cleaning can be a little harsher on cashmere, it is actually advised.

For specifics regarding your cashmere sweater, check any tags and the washing instructions. Adding that cashmere does not require washing after every use is also beneficial.

As a result of the fabric’s breathability, multiple wears are possible before washing is required. If your cashmere sweater is machine-washable, use the gentle cycle, a mild detergent, and make sure the water temperature is no higher than 30 degrees.

You can wash cashmere by hand in a sink filled with cold water (no hotter than 30 degrees). Use a shampoo made specifically for cashmere. Cashmere shampoos with scents of cedar and lavender also keep moths away when kept in storage during the off-season.

Pour some soapy water into the sink and rinse your cashmere sweater in it. Squeeze out any extra water after washing your cashmere gently. Your sweater will lose its shape and stretch in unintended ways if you ring it out.

As long as the water is cold, it is perfectly safe to get cashmere wet, but be sure to watch the drying process closely!

How Often Should I Wash Cashmere?

Even though they hardly ever wash themselves, goats manage to maintain a clean coat. Wool’s ability to clean itself in some cases is just one of its many benefits. After wearing your clothes, hang them outside to air, preferably overnight.

You know it’s time to wash a garment when it’s dirty or has developed an odd odor despite having been air-dried. But only then!

Can You Wash Cashmere Sweaters in the Washing Machine?

A wool program or a hand wash program ought to be available on any contemporary washing machine you own. These are incredibly gentle programs that mimic hand washing.

In other words, the clothing won’t be twisted while it’s wet (heat and movement cause all wool to shrink), and it won’t be washed in hot and cold water alternately (both of which also cause wool to shrink).

Never machine wash wool other than with the Wool Program and at temperatures under 30°C. To remove excess water, choose a brief spin cycle with 800 RPM or less.

How to Deal With Stains on Cashmere?

Use Soak detergent or baby shampoo to remove stains from your cashmere. These shampoos work wonders at getting rid of stains! Utilizing a cotton swab, dab the stain with a small amount of the detergent or shampoo and rub it in. Then wash your cashmere as described above, after letting it sit for 30 minutes.

How to Dry Cashmere?

It’s crucial to learn how to properly dry cashmere clothing if you don’t already so that it doesn’t shrink or lose its shape. To ensure that all the water has been removed after washing, roll your cashmere in a dry towel. Once dry, spread your cashmere sweater out flat. Your cashmere will be better able to resist wrinkling and loss of shape if you lay it flat.

Furthermore, we advise that you reshape the garment while it is still damp and dry on a hard, flat surface. Never dry in front of a fire, radiator, or intense direct sunlight. Dry somewhere away from direct heat. You should not tumble-dry a cashmere sweater! To avoid damaging your knit, iron it in a cool setting.

How to Store Your Cashmere?

Ideally, cashmere clothing should be stored inside out in a place that is free of dust, well-ventilated, and out of direct sunlight. Make sure your clothing is thoroughly cleaned before storing it for an extended period of time because dirt, dead skin, or dust can draw insects like moths.

Give it a thorough cleaning, de-crease, de-pill, and gently tuck it away for hibernation if you’re putting it away for the summer. The same goes for where you plan to store it; make sure you’ve cleaned up any dust and that the area isn’t damp.

In a resealable bag, we advise you to keep your cashmere sweater folded. Use natural pest deterrents like lavender, cloves, rosemary, thyme, dried oranges, and peel cedar to ward off moths and insects. Wrap these objects in a handkerchief or a plain cloth sachet to prevent stains from spreading to your clothing.

Protect Cashmere from Moths and Other Vermin

Cashmere, like any other wool, can draw pests like moths. Make your closet unpleasant for all uninvited guests by:

• putting every item of clothing into a cotton bag. As a result, any pests will be unable to access them.
• Spray cedarwood oil on your clothing, or store it with cedar wood bricks, balls, or rings. The strong cedar scent is repulsive to moths and fur beetles. To prevent the smells from spreading if you’re using cedar wood, give them a periodic scrape.
• Wash soiled clothing frequently. Vermin are more drawn to filthy and odorous cashmere than clean cashmere.

How to Stop Cashmere Sweaters from Piling?

We conduct tests at every stage of production to guarantee that every John Smedley garment meets the highest performance standards. To help avoid pilling several things can be done:

• Allow the garment to rest between wears
• Wash and press as per the care instruction, inside out to avoid friction with other fabrics
• Brush down to remove unwanted debris
• Wash with specific detergents designed for cashmere
• The garment may also be dry-cleaned by a specialist dry cleaner

How Can I Tell High-quality Cashmere from Low?

Greater supply results from greater demand, but before making a purchase, please consider the fabric quality. The wool in many manufactured garments can be mixed with other fibers, or the undercoat may not be completely separated from the rest of the coat, making it impossible to compare their quality to that of traditional cashmere.

These details can tell you about the quality:

• Softness – high-quality cashmere never itches
• Pilling, finer cashmere is shinier and produces less pilling
• Fiber length: Fine cashmere has a minimum fiber length of 36 mm and a maximum fiber length of 40 mm. You could put it simply by saying that clothing made of short-fiber cashmere will attract more lint.
• How many weaving threads were used to create the yarn used to knit the garment? The yarn becomes warmer, stronger, and more sustainably made as it has more threads.

Low-quality cashmere will:

• Create more pilling (even if all weaves will create some pilling)
• Rip more easily
• Not keep you as warm and cozy as fine quality cashmere

It’s uncommon to discover a relationship between quality and price in the world of fashion. However, when it comes to cashmere, the price frequently reflects the quality. Too cheap means you shouldn’t have high expectations.

Further Reading: Is Cashmere Warmer Than Merino Wool? Cashmere Vs Merino Wool

Conclusion: Care for Cashmere

You bought a cashmere item, bagged it, and wore it. It’s actually much simpler than you might think to maintain your cashmere clothing. Respect the advice given above.

Your best bet for caring for your cashmere clothing is to hand wash it. Although some cashmere experts recommend soaks lasting up to two or three hours to achieve the aforementioned fluffiness, anywhere in the neighborhood of 20 minutes will do.

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