By the LaundryMax team · Updated September 30, 2026
A care label tells you what a specific garment can take. Knowing how the fiber itself behaves tells you why, and lets you make a sensible call when a label is missing, faded or in a language you don't read. The label always wins when it's there; this is the reasoning behind it.
Hardy and heat-tolerant, which is why towels and bedding are cotton. It shrinks on its first wash if it wasn't pre-shrunk, mostly in hot water and a hot dryer, so wash new cotton cool the first time. Labels usually allow warm or hot water for whites and a medium dryer setting. Cotton creases easily and irons well at a hot setting with steam.
Strong and cool to wear, and it gets softer with every wash. Wash cool or warm on a gentle cycle, don't overload, and expect creases — they're part of the fabric. Tumble on low and remove while damp, or line dry, and iron while still slightly damp at a hot setting.
Wool's surface is scaly, and heat, water and agitation together lock the scales into each other: that's felting, and it's permanent. Wash cold on a wool or hand-wash cycle with a wool detergent, never tumble unless the label explicitly allows it, and dry flat. Superwash-treated wool is more forgiving but still prefers cool water. Our guide to washing wool and delicates goes through the method step by step.
Everything that applies to wool, more so. Hand wash in cool water, squeeze rather than wring, dry flat and reshaped. Pilling is normal and combs off.
A protein fiber like wool, weaker when wet and easily marked by water spots and sunlight. Many silks are labeled dry clean only because their dyes aren't stable in water. Washable silk wants cold water, a silk detergent, a mesh bag on the delicate cycle or a gentle hand wash, no wringing, drying away from direct sun, and a cool iron on the reverse while slightly damp.
Tough, quick-drying and shrink-resistant, but it holds onto body odor and oils, and high heat can set creases permanently or glaze the surface. Wash warm or cool on the synthetics cycle, add an extra rinse if sportswear smells after washing, and tumble on low or line dry. Iron cool if at all.
Similar to polyester: wash cool, tumble low, iron cool. It builds static in the dryer and can yellow with chlorine bleach or high heat.
Used as a wool substitute in knitwear. It pills readily and can stretch or go stiff with heat, so wash cool on a gentle cycle, turn inside out, and dry flat or on low.
Made from plant cellulose, and much weaker wet than dry: viscose in particular can shrink, stretch or lose its shape in a machine, which is why so much of it is labeled dry clean only. When the label allows washing, use cold water on the delicate cycle, don't wring, and dry flat, reshaping while damp. Lyocell and modal are more stable than viscose but deserve the same gentleness.
Heat destroys stretch. Anything with elastane — leggings, swimwear, stretch jeans, sportswear — wants cold water, a gentle cycle and no hot dryer. Fabric softener coats the fibers and can reduce both stretch and moisture-wicking.
Cotton, but with indigo dye that sits on the surface and rubs off. Wash inside out, cold, on its own or with other darks, as rarely as you can stand, and hang to dry — a hot dryer is what shrinks and fades jeans fastest. See how often to wash your clothes for the case against weekly jeans washing.
Treat a blend by its most delicate component. A cotton-elastane T-shirt is an elastane garment as far as heat is concerned; a wool-polyester suit is a wool garment. The label will already reflect that — it's why a mostly-cotton garment can carry a cold-wash symbol.
The sections above treat each fiber on its own, but a real basket is mixed. Apply the blend rule to the whole drum: the most delicate item sets the cycle, the temperature and the dryer decision for everything in with it. Weight matters as much as fiber — jeans and towels batter finer things at the seams, so keep heavy, coarse items in their own load, and give knits and delicates a mesh bag when they must share one. Fasten zips and hooks; an open zipper snags everything it tumbles with. Sorting by color and choosing a cycle each have their own guide.
Most standard detergents contain enzymes that break down protein stains — food, sweat, grass. That makes them effective on cotton and synthetics, and wrong for wool, silk and cashmere, which are protein fibers themselves: the enzymes attack the fabric as readily as the stain. Wool and silk detergents exist because they are enzyme-free.
Chlorine bleach deserves its own caution: it yellows nylon, destroys wool and silk, and weakens elastane. Keep it for white cotton and linen.
Vintage pieces, gifts and garments with the label cut out still need washing. Look for a fiber-content tag at a side seam first — many brands split care and content across separate labels. If there is truly nothing, treat the garment as the most delicate thing it could plausibly be: cold water, a hand wash or the wool cycle, a mild detergent, drying flat. That is the safest guess, not a guarantee — agitation alone can felt unlabeled wool, and some silks and dyes don't tolerate water. Before the first wash, press a damp white cloth against a hidden seam — dye that transfers will run, and a fabric that water-spots there wants dry cleaning.
Can I machine wash something labeled hand wash?
Often — a wool or hand-wash cycle with a mesh bag comes close, and many labels are conservative. But the label is the maker's only promise; if the garment would be hard to replace, hand wash it.
Why did my sweater shrink even though I washed it cold?
Felting needs agitation more than heat. A normal cycle's tumbling — or the dryer — can lock wool's scales together even in cold water. Use the wool cycle and dry flat.
Does dry clean only always mean it?
Not always — it often protects a dye or a lining rather than the fiber. Some pieces survive a careful cold hand wash, but it's a gamble; test a hidden seam first, and read what dry clean only really means before deciding.
How do I stop knitwear from pilling?
Pills are loose fiber ends rubbed into little knots, so anything that reduces rubbing helps: turn knits inside out, use a mesh bag and a gentle cycle, and wash less often. The pills that form anyway comb off harmlessly.
Which fabrics should never see fabric softener?
Anything with elastane, sportswear and towels. Softener coats fibers, dulling stretch, wicking and absorbency — the properties those garments are bought for. On everyday cotton and linen it's a matter of taste.
Every symbol you'll find on any of these labels is explained in the laundry symbol guide. LaundryMax reads them for you and keeps each garment's instructions in your closet. See how it works.