How do you wash your shirts?

[Aquafortis]

I only wash mine every 5ish wears.

I hand wash wool pants, machine wash chinos etc

For those of you who wear multiple times between washing, are you ironing before each wear?

 

[DrewMill]

Why are pants lumped in with this? That's stupid.

I should have specified chinos, not wool trousers.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

Wash & iron at home, I noticed a while ago that my idiotic boomer father has taken to dry cleaning his button-ups (he's convinced that his PRL and Gant shirts are such delicate flowers that he can't let my mother wash them with the other laundry) The results of the constant dry cleaning are clearly noticable on them with the fabric looking thin and papery, I tried telling him that he's actually damaging his clothes this way, but fathe knows best.

 

[Aquafortis]

For those of you who wear multiple times between washing, are you ironing before each wear?

I still don't get the multiple wearing between washes. After a day, my shirts typically show some skin contact discoloration around the inside collar band, and even subtly in the sleeve cuff edges. I can imagine that after even a couple days wearing this kind of body oil and discoloration would get more "set" into fabric, and become permanent staining. In warmer climates/humid summer weather, I can imagine this issue is only exacerbated.

 

[smittycl]

We have laundry pick up and delivery in our building. Would rather spend time doing fun stuff and not ironing so I send everything out.

When white shirts get bad I use OxyClean or a little bleach (thanks @lordsuperb !) on the collars and let them air dry then send off for pressing.

 

[Rugger]

Who uses a spray on collar/cuffs before wash? What spray do you use, and then what detergent do you use?

 

[Sam H]

I separate my shirts between whites (and extremely close to white), colors (brights, stripes, etc), and darks (browns, blacks, navies). I also separate out any shirts that are wool, cashmere or silk (I have very few of these).

If there are any obvious stains I will use The Laundress stain bar or stain removal detergent with a small bristle laundry brush to scrub it out with some cool or warm water. I'll do this for cuffs and collars as well if they are looking a bit yellow. Sometimes I'll throw on some sodium percabonate powder (bleach alternative that breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, also from The Laundress).

In all instances, I throw these shirts in mesh bags, 2 or 3 per large bag. I try to group shirts by texture and weight when using the bags so that shirts of similar consistency are beating against one another versus a heavy shirt destroying a lighter one. Also, I assume that all these shirts are color fast and if I was worried I would have tested to make sure before laundering.

I also wash on cold and delicate. I will turn shirts inside out if the pattern or texture has a "wrong" side to it.

For the whites, I use The Laundress whites detergent.

For colors, I use The Laundress darks detergent. I also throw in a reusable Carbona color catcher terry cloth. This gets mixed reviews online but it gets very noticeably grayer and darker by the 30th use and so it must be doing something. I use this because when I started washing at home, I wondered about the whole "how will white base striped shirts not get dingy on the white part when washed with colors?" Maybe it's overkill but it works for me.

For darks, I use The Laundress darks detergent as well, but I don't think the Carbona thing is necessary (although depending on what's in there I'll use it).

I wash woolens and silks with my wool socks and other non-tailored wool things that need cleaning. I use The Laundress wool and cashmere shampoo for those, with white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.

I've considered adding white vinegar rinse aid to all the loads, but so far reserve it for the woolens and silks where I feel neutralizing the detergent and water minerals is pretty important for restoring liveliness and softness.

I hang dry everything, the rinse cycle leaves everything mostly dry anyway, just damp, but never dripping. For my dress shirts I've finally begun to iron them. I used to not bother because the wrinkles would mostly fall out and I don't have to have the super-clean-cut look at work, but with some new trousers I got, the contrast when the shirts aren't pressed is very apparent. For my casual shirts though, I will just let them hang dry unless they are some material that absolutely requires a pressing to look anywhere close to fresh.

I used to just send off my shirts to a corner dry cleaner and the woman who works there is very friendly and has done excellent alteration work for me, but when I moved somewhere with in building laundry, I couldn't justify sending my shirts off anymore. Plus, there is the convenience vs quality tradeoff where I was not doing one of those $10-20 a shirt services that hand presses because I can't afford that and so the industrial pressing would occasionally break buttons or ripple the unfused collars, which isn't a legitimate complaint if you are getting cheap laundry service but just a reality of what it is.

This probably looks like an add for The Laundress lol, but I just buy a ton of their products as needed over the years and now have a ridiculous collection in my laundry drawer.

 

[Aquafortis]

I've found this White Paper by Stu Bloom/Rave Fabricare to be the most detailed guide on the subject.
https://ravefabricare.com/definitive-guide-laundering-fine-cotton-shirt-home/

 

[DrewMill]

I separate my shirts between whites (and extremely close to white), colors (brights, stripes, etc), and darks (browns, blacks, navies). I also separate out any shirts that are wool, cashmere or silk (I have very few of these).

If there are any obvious stains I will use The Laundress stain bar or stain removal detergent with a small bristle laundry brush to scrub it out with some cool or warm water. I'll do this for cuffs and collars as well if they are looking a bit yellow. Sometimes I'll throw on some sodium percabonate powder (bleach alternative that breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, also from The Laundress).

In all instances, I throw these shirts in mesh bags, 2 or 3 per large bag. I try to group shirts by texture and weight when using the bags so that shirts of similar consistency are beating against one another versus a heavy shirt destroying a lighter one. Also, I assume that all these shirts are color fast and if I was worried I would have tested to make sure before laundering.

I also wash on cold and delicate. I will turn shirts inside out if the pattern or texture has a "wrong" side to it.

For the whites, I use The Laundress whites detergent.

For colors, I use The Laundress darks detergent. I also throw in a reusable Carbona color catcher terry cloth. This gets mixed reviews online but it gets very noticeably grayer and darker by the 30th use and so it must be doing something. I use this because when I started washing at home, I wondered about the whole "how will white base striped shirts not get dingy on the white part when washed with colors?" Maybe it's overkill but it works for me.

For darks, I use The Laundress darks detergent as well, but I don't think the Carbona thing is necessary (although depending on what's in there I'll use it).

I wash woolens and silks with my wool socks and other non-tailored wool things that need cleaning. I use The Laundress wool and cashmere shampoo for those, with white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.

I've considered adding white vinegar rinse aid to all the loads, but so far reserve it for the woolens and silks where I feel neutralizing the detergent and water minerals is pretty important for restoring liveliness and softness.

I hang dry everything, the rinse cycle leaves everything mostly dry anyway, just damp, but never dripping. For my dress shirts I've finally begun to iron them. I used to not bother because the wrinkles would mostly fall out and I don't have to have the super-clean-cut look at work, but with some new trousers I got, the contrast when the shirts aren't pressed is very apparent. For my casual shirts though, I will just let them hang dry unless they are some material that absolutely requires a pressing to look anywhere close to fresh.

I used to just send off my shirts to a corner dry cleaner and the woman who works there is very friendly and has done excellent alteration work for me, but when I moved somewhere with in building laundry, I couldn't justify sending my shirts off anymore. Plus, there is the convenience vs quality tradeoff where I was not doing one of those $10-20 a shirt services that hand presses because I can't afford that and so the industrial pressing would occasionally break buttons or ripple the unfused collars, which isn't a legitimate complaint if you are getting cheap laundry service but just a reality of what it is.

This probably looks like an add for The Laundress lol, but I just buy a ton of their products as needed over the years and now have a ridiculous collection in my laundry drawer.

I'll second the Laundress products. They really are fantastic. It's all we use too.

 

[lordsuperb]

I separate my shirts between whites (and extremely close to white), colors (brights, stripes, etc), and darks (browns, blacks, navies). I also separate out any shirts that are wool, cashmere or silk (I have very few of these).

If there are any obvious stains I will use The Laundress stain bar or stain removal detergent with a small bristle laundry brush to scrub it out with some cool or warm water. I'll do this for cuffs and collars as well if they are looking a bit yellow. Sometimes I'll throw on some sodium percabonate powder (bleach alternative that breaks down into hydrogen peroxide and washing soda, also from The Laundress).

In all instances, I throw these shirts in mesh bags, 2 or 3 per large bag. I try to group shirts by texture and weight when using the bags so that shirts of similar consistency are beating against one another versus a heavy shirt destroying a lighter one. Also, I assume that all these shirts are color fast and if I was worried I would have tested to make sure before laundering.

I also wash on cold and delicate. I will turn shirts inside out if the pattern or texture has a "wrong" side to it.

For the whites, I use The Laundress whites detergent.

For colors, I use The Laundress darks detergent. I also throw in a reusable Carbona color catcher terry cloth. This gets mixed reviews online but it gets very noticeably grayer and darker by the 30th use and so it must be doing something. I use this because when I started washing at home, I wondered about the whole "how will white base striped shirts not get dingy on the white part when washed with colors?" Maybe it's overkill but it works for me.

For darks, I use The Laundress darks detergent as well, but I don't think the Carbona thing is necessary (although depending on what's in there I'll use it).

I wash woolens and silks with my wool socks and other non-tailored wool things that need cleaning. I use The Laundress wool and cashmere shampoo for those, with white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser.

I've considered adding white vinegar rinse aid to all the loads, but so far reserve it for the woolens and silks where I feel neutralizing the detergent and water minerals is pretty important for restoring liveliness and softness.

I hang dry everything, the rinse cycle leaves everything mostly dry anyway, just damp, but never dripping. For my dress shirts I've finally begun to iron them. I used to not bother because the wrinkles would mostly fall out and I don't have to have the super-clean-cut look at work, but with some new trousers I got, the contrast when the shirts aren't pressed is very apparent. For my casual shirts though, I will just let them hang dry unless they are some material that absolutely requires a pressing to look anywhere close to fresh.

I used to just send off my shirts to a corner dry cleaner and the woman who works there is very friendly and has done excellent alteration work for me, but when I moved somewhere with in building laundry, I couldn't justify sending my shirts off anymore. Plus, there is the convenience vs quality tradeoff where I was not doing one of those $10-20 a shirt services that hand presses because I can't afford that and so the industrial pressing would occasionally break buttons or ripple the unfused collars, which isn't a legitimate complaint if you are getting cheap laundry service but just a reality of what it is.

This probably looks like an add for The Laundress lol, but I just buy a ton of their products as needed over the years and now have a ridiculous collection in my laundry drawer.

Good grief, how long does this take?

 

[Sam H]

Good grief, how long does this take?

It sounds a lot longer than it really is. I have a lot of shirts in rotation so I don't need to really do laundry too often. Sometimes I'll say "oh I should wash my white shirts" and they'll be laundered. Other times, I'll wash colors.

The one thing that actually takes a long time is ironing because I'm still not very good at it.

 

[Thin White Duke]

This thread is useless without a contribution from @Reevolving and his advice using adhesive tape!

(One for the oldies there!)

Who uses a spray on collar/cuffs before wash? What spray do you use, and then what detergent do you use?

I always wash whites separately. I spray some Shout on the inner collar (and fold area of French cuff shirts) and scrub lightly with an old toothbrush. Wash hot (whites) or warm (colours) in the regular cycle using Tide liquid or whatever, hang up and then iron when slightly damp.

 

[Gus]

I take most of my shirts to the cleaners to be washed and pressed, even my handsewn ones (with the exception of the most casual shirts which look best after simply being hung on a hanger to dry and sometimes just touched up with an iron). Before I take my white shirts to the laundry, I will occasionally spot clean the collars and then wash with some soap and bleach. I get plenty of long-life out of my shirts.

As an aside, one of the wealthiest men I know irons his own shirts. Always has. Is he thrifty? Yes. But, he also likes to say that "no laundry presses shirts like I can".

 

[dazedstate]

I separate light and dark shirts and wash on delicate in my top loader. Good detergent and a scoop of Oxyclean for the lights does a great job. I'll probably be shot for saying so but I throw in my cotton and wool blend dress socks with the darks. Everything is hung dry. While still slightly damp, I iron the dress shirts and just the placket and hem of the çasual shirts.

Works well for me and haven't had a broken button or any other adverse effects that I could see. It does take a awhile to iron everything but that's usually because procrastinate and don't start until I'm completely out of shirts.

 

[in stitches]

I always wished I had the interest and time to launder and iron my shirts, but I’m lazy and I have a great cleaner that launders (not dry cleans) and folds my shirts wonderfully. They scrub cuffs and collar, and even wrap them individually in little thin plastic bags and use cardboard in the body and collar. It’s like they are brand new again. So I stick with that.

Like @Gus, though, I do wash, hang, and fold my more delicate casual shirts and spot clean some shirts before having them laundered.