Care & handing down

Care & handing down

Making things last

Almost everything we sell is cotton, and almost all of it will be worn by more than one child. None of what follows is complicated. It is mostly about washing colder, washing less, and dealing with things the day they happen.

The short version

• Wash cold, inside out, gentle cycle.
• Dry in the shade. Not in the dryer.
• Use about half the detergent the packet tells you to.
• Wash less often. Air things overnight instead.

The five stains you will actually get

• Sunscreen. The orange one. It is oil and zinc, not dirt, so detergent alone will not shift it. Work a drop of dishwashing liquid into the mark, leave it ten minutes, then wash cold. Keep it out of the dryer until the mark has gone — heat sets it for good.
• Grass. Soak in cold water with an enzyme detergent for an hour before washing. White vinegar, one part to two parts water, works on fresh marks. Do not scrub; scrubbing pushes the green further into the fibres.
• Mango, berries, beetroot. Hold the fabric stain-side down and run cold water through the back of it, so the stain leaves the way it came in. Do it straight away. Once it has dried and been through a warm wash, it stays.
• Sand and red dirt. Let it dry completely, then shake and brush it off outside. Wet sand in the machine grinds the fibres and blocks the pump.
• Milk, blood, anything from a body. Cold water only, and soak before you wash. Hot water cooks the protein into the cloth.

Salt water, chlorine and wool

Rinse swimmers and anything worn to the beach in fresh water the same day. Salt left to dry is abrasive, and chlorine keeps working on elastic long after you have left the pool.

Wool needs washing far less than you think. Air it overnight and spot clean instead. When it does need a wash, use a wool wash in cool water with no agitation, then press the water out and dry it flat — never on a hanger, and never in the sun.

Putting things away between children

• Wash before you store. It is the milk and body oils you cannot see that insects find.
• Make sure everything is bone dry. Damp cotton in a sealed box comes out spotted, and those marks do not wash out.
• Store in a cotton bag, a pillowcase or an open box. Not a sealed plastic tub.
• Keep it out of the light. Direct sun fades folded edges into permanent lines.
• Label the box by size, not by child. You will thank yourself later.

Knowing when it is done

A jumper that has been through two children is not worn out. Seams and elastic go first, so check those. Pilling at the cuffs and knees is surface, and a fabric shaver takes it off in a minute. If the fabric itself is sound, there is another child in it.

What we use

A plant-based enzyme detergent at about half the recommended dose, and a bar of laundry soap for spot treating. That is the whole cupboard. We skip fabric softener altogether — it coats the fibres, which makes cotton less absorbent and towels almost useless.