How To Wash and Store Your High-Quality Robes

After you get your first luxury bathrobe, you’ll never want to take it off! As you wander around your home or take your robe with you when traveling, however, it could eventually look a little worse for wear—literally!

Preserving the fabrics, stitching, and embellishments requires time and energy. Luckily, you can follow at-home care tips and find professional services to wash and store your high-quality robes. Discover how these techniques will maintain your bathrobes and keep them feeling soft after every wash.

Read the Care Label

Before setting your washing machine to your usual cycle, check on the product website or within the stitching of your robe for the care label. Your robe’s care label provides all kinds of insights for maintaining its quality.

Your luxury robe is unique, and it could lose softness or the stitching could come apart when improperly washed. For example, cotton and terry cloth have different washing needs compared to silk or satin. Ignoring these instructions can lead to shrinking, discoloration, or damage.

Check for Special Icons

Care symbols can be tricky to decipher, but learning these symbols will save you time and prevent damage to your luxury garments when washing them. Look for icons indicating if your robe is machine-washable (a three-sided trapezoid with a curved line on top) or requires dry cleaning (an empty circle). Also, check for the “no bleach” symbol (a triangle with an X over it) to avoid destroying the garment with chemicals.

Pre-Treat Stains the Right Way

Accidents happen, but that doesn’t mean your robe has to bear it forever! Learning pre-treatment methods can save your robe from permanent blemishes.

Spot-Treat With Gentle Cleaners

Harsh chemicals, such as bleach, could damage the fabric in your robe. Instead, use a gentle stain remover or a small mix of water and white vinegar. Dab the stained area with a soft cloth soaked in this mixture, and rinse immediately with cold water.

Avoid Over-Scrubbing

Excessive scrubbing can damage delicate fabrics or loosen stitching. For tough stains, soak the spot in the water and vinegar solution rather than scrubbing. With these methods, you can bring your bathrobe back to its pristine condition.

Choose the Right Wash Cycle

With all the features and spin cycles on your washing machine and dryer, surely one of them is good for bathrobes. Set your laundry machine to a bathrobe-friendly mode, such as a delicate cycle, and let it take care of your cleaning needs. This setting uses less agitation, which means less scrubbing and movement in the drum.

Use Cold or Warm Water

Extreme temperatures can damage the fibers of a bathrobe. Stick to the water temperature as instructed on the care label. While many people believe that washing their clothes in hot water is the best way to kill bacteria, it can cause certain fabrics to shrink or lose their softness.

When you move your garment to the dryer, set it to a long, low-heat cycle to prevent overheating the fabric. Once the cycle ends, you’ll have a clean, fresh bathrobe to wear until it’s due for its next wash. You can also place it on a hanger or drying rack in a ventilated area to air-dry your robe instead of putting it in the dryer.

Pick Suitable Detergent

The type of detergent you use can either wash off lingering bacteria or deform your garment. Before using your regular detergent, look through the ingredients to see if anything could ruin your luxury bathrobe. Harsh chemicals and intense fragrances can degrade high-quality fabrics over time.

Go for Mild, Fragrance-Free Options

The safest way to wash and store your high-quality bathrobe is to use gentle, fragrance-free detergent. These detergents are ideal for protecting materials and preventing skin irritation.

Skip the Fabric Softener

Fabric softener on a bathrobe can leave an unsightly residue and make it less absorbent when you wear it out of the shower. Rather than using fabric softener, use dryer balls for softness.

Properly Store Your Robe

Storing your robe when you’re not wearing it prevents wrinkles and keeps it in good condition. Fold up your garment or leave it hanging in a ventilated area until you’re ready to wear it again.

Stuffing your robe into a drawer or a cramped closet can lead to wrinkles. If the fabric is damp, mildew could start growing on it. Let your bathrobe air dry before you store it in an enclosed space.

Avoid Direct Sunlight

While bright sunlight is great for drying clothes, prolonged exposure can fade your robe’s colors. Keep garments with vivid colors or bright stitching in a shaded area to maintain those vibrant hues.

When To Get Professional Help

Sometimes, your bathrobe may need more cleaning and care than you can offer at home. If you traveled with your robe, it could have all sorts of particles embedded in the seams. Certain fabrics or serious stains require the attention of a professional.

Dry Cleaning for Delicate Fabrics

Silk or cashmere bathrobes usually require dry cleaning to remove deep stains. Home remedies typically won’t work as well against these blemishes, and you could damage the garment. Send your luxury bathrobe to the dry cleaner to preserve its quality.

Professional Repairs for Stitching

If your robe sleeves get caught on a door handle and rip, or you notice a stitch pulled up in the body, you may need to resew. If you don’t have experience with sewing, send your robe to a professional tailor. These minor adjustments can make your bathrobe look new again.

Keep Your Robe Fresh Between Washes

You don’t need to wash your bathrobe after every use. In between washes, keep in mind the following cleaning methods to prevent buildup of moisture, dust, or odors.

Freshening With a Fabric Spray

Spritz on a light fabric or linen spray to keep your robe smelling amazing. First, make sure the spray is safe for your luxury fabric type. The bottle should list the chemical ingredients; use the garment care label as a reference to see if you can use the spray on your bathrobe.

Shake It Out

After every wear, give your robe a good shake to fluff it up and get rid of particles that settled into the fabric. You can do this in your bathroom or, better yet, outside. Once you remove all the debris, hang your bathrobe on a hook or hangar, and it’s ready for the next wear!

Add these bathrobe maintenance tips to your daily routine. While luxury robes have unique cleaning instructions, investing in high-quality bathrobes will give you the spa-like experience you want every time you put them on. To get your own luxury garment, browse our collection at Monarch Towel today!