How to Wash and Care for Olefin Clothes

Instructions

1. Check for Stains and Pretreat

   Olefin garments are durable and tough, but they do hold onto oily stains. These are easily removed if treated immediately. Use a stain remover or a dab of heavy-duty detergent. Work the stain remover into the area with your fingers, and allow it to work for at least 15 minutes before washing the garment.

   It's very important to check olefin garments for stains and treat for the specific stain before washing because the heat from a clothes dryer or iron will set the stain and make it almost impossible to remove.

2. Treat Dingy White Olefin Clothes

   While chlorine bleach can be used, the safest way to brighten and whiten olefin clothes is to use an oxygen bleach like OxiClean, Nellie's All Natural Oxygen Brightener, or OXO Brite. Follow the package directions as to how much product to add per gallon of water. Completely submerge the garment, and allow it to soak for at least eight hours. Check the color. If it's back to normal, wash as usual. If the item remains dull or stained, mix a fresh solution, and repeat. It may take several soakings to remove the dullness or stains like dye transfer, but they should improve.

3. Select a Detergent

   While you can use any laundry detergent to wash olefin, you'll get the best results from a heavy-duty detergent like Tide or Persil that contains enough stain-busting enzymes to break apart and lift stains and body soil from the fabric fibers.

4. Select Water Temperature

   Olefin can be washed in cold or warm water. Like most synthetic fibers, high temperatures in the washer can cause olefin fibers to melt and stick together, shrink, or deform. Excessively hot water can create permanent wrinkles during the spin cycle, which are impossible to remove.

5. Choose Cycle Setting

   Olefin should be washed using the permanent press cycle. This setting includes a cooling-down period and a reduced-speed spin cycle that will help reduce wrinkling.

6. Dry

   Olefin fabrics are lightweight and dry quickly. An outdoor clothesline or indoor drying rack are the best options. Excessively high heat in the dryer can permanently damage olefin fabrics. If you must use an automatic dryer, select the low-temperature, air-only setting, and remove the garments while still slightly damp.

7. Skip the Iron

   A clothes steamer can sometimes remove set-in wrinkles, but the high heat required can also cause melting and create holes or cause the garment to shrink—and that can't be reversed. If you use a clothes steamer, keep the nozzle at least 6 inches from the surface of the garment, and keep it moving to avoid overheating in one spot.

What is Olefin?

Olefin fibers were first produced in Italy in 1957. The olefin chemicals are melted and run through a spinneret to form a long fiber that solidifies during a cooling process. Additives are added during manufacturing to change the characteristics of the fibers, depending on how they will be used.

Olefin is less expensive to produce and more environmentally friendly than many other synthetic fabrics because there are little to no waste byproducts. According to a leading maker of chemical-free fabric, It's actually greener than wool, cotton, rayon, and silk. Plus, olefin can also be recycled to create new fabrics.

Olefin fabric can be found in activewear, thermal underwear, hoodies, socks, and lining fabrics for coats and boots. Olefin traps sweat and keeps it away from your skin, which means the fabric becomes damp from sweating, but it will dry very fast.

Treating Stains on Olefin

The biggest problem with olefin fabrics is that oil bonds with the fiber to create tough stains. Try removing oil-based stains by dabbing the item with lukewarm water and a mild detergent. As a last resort, use chlorine bleach or oxygenated bleach on stains to remove any type of problem.

Care and Repairs

Olefin is strong but lightweight and it may rip. Depending on the weave, you can use a needle and thread to repair a rip. Or use a self-adhesive patch or liquid fabric adhesive to repair the item, but do not choose any product that involves using an iron.

Ironing

Don't press olefin fabrics with an iron at any temperature setting.

Storing Olefin

Olefin fabric is more often used for outdoor cushions, upholstery, or indoor rugs, but you may encounter activewear clothing made from this durable fiber. Keep the items dry and clean, and store them in a drawer or closet where the fibers have a chance to breathe.

How Often to Wash Olefin

Since olefin is now usually used for sports and activewear garments, the fabric should be washed after each wearing.

Tips for Washing Olefin

• Do not overload the washer because that can cause excessive wrinkling.
• Reapply a waterproofing spray every six months to a year to keep your olefin item water-resistant.
• Dry-cleaning olefin is not recommended because solvent can damage the fibers.
• Olefin is slow to fade because it is solution-dyed (fibers are dyed through) so it is okay to soak the fabric if necessary to clean it.
• Pilling is a common occurrence with olefin; synthetics pill more often than natural fibers. Remove pills with a lint roller, tape, or a fabric shaver, but do not attempt to brush off the pills.