Keep your printed T-shirts in a good condition

Printed T-shirts are cool. You can find a lot of interesting or even unique tees on the market. You can also order highly customised ones, if you like. Funny texts, art prints or even your own photos. There are several options. Does it worth it? Do they last? Or will you have just another faded or/and unrecognizable shaped T-shirt after a few washings? Well, you can do some things to keep your printed tees in a good condition, for sure. I certainly cannot write about all the t-shirts in the market, because there are too many to try them all, but I can write about the ones I ordered online or bought in person for myself. I wore them and I washed them several times.

What I experienced with some T-shirts after just a few washings

  • The neck was getting loose
  • The shape got weird: the width got bigger than the length
  • The print got faded
  • The whole tee lost its colour and got pale
Three printed T-shirts

Keep your printed T-shirts in a good condition for longer.

What can you do the keep your printed t-shirts in a good condition?

  • Turn your T-shirts inside out when washing
  • Consider choosing a delicate program
  • Follow the instruction on the label regarding washing temperature
  • Don’t overfill your washing machine
  • Use gentle spinning
  • Choose soft detergent to keep colours vivid longer
  • Avoid dry cleaning
  • Do not bleach
  • Choose air dry, hang dry them
  • If you want to iron it, keep the t-shirt inside out
  • Separate your laundry and wash similar colours together
  • After washing and air drying, smooth your tees and fold them without cracking the printed area. Another option is rolling the t-shirt.
  • Whether printed or not, don’t store your clothes in direct sunlight
  • + consider using a colour-catcher sheet to protect other clothes. In case of colour bleeding.

Now, get back to the printed t-shirts, I ordered as samples

I ordered two different kinds. Both of them are 100% cotton. One is a soft, light tee, the other is heavy cotton. I washed them in the “wrong way” on purpose. I didn’t follow any advice from the care instructions, because I wanted to see, what happens if I just throw them into the washing machine a few times. There was a reason to do so. I had a lot of T-shirts loosing their shape after just a few washings. And those t-shirts were not from an online shop. Just walked into a shop, bought what I liked and I got shocked after a few careless washings. I hoped, the same would not happen to the printed T-shirts I ordered as a sample. I was happy, because both T-shirts kept their shape. The neck didn’t get loose and the colours are still fine. Nevertheless, the print seems to be more sensitive on the heavy cotton t-shirt. And they look a bit of crupmled, too. Definitely would not keep washing them in a careless way.

Here are the photos about the two printed t-shirts after several careless washings.

Two black T-shirt with a printed design.

I was careless with these T-shirts to see if they were better than the ones I just picked in a store, or not.

Nothing lasts forever, but you can have your favourite pieces longer, if you follow these tips.

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