How to Make a T-Shirt Feel Worn
A t-shirt is an article of clothing that is unlike many other garments. The more worn it feels, the more comfortable the t-shirt will be. Like a worn pair of jeans, there are few things that are quite as comfortable as a t-shirt that feels nice and worn. The t-shirt can be made to feel more worn than it is in a number of ways. It can also be made to feel less stiff by avoiding some types of garment care.
If a t-shirt feels stiff, it might be getting the type of care that makes clothing feel less worn. This may include spray starch and ironing. If you want the t-shirt to feel more worn, don’t iron it and throw away the starch. Starch has never made anything feel more comfortable.
And as far ironing: don’t. Most t-shirts don’t wrinkle anyway. If they do happen to have a few wrinkles, they will smooth out as the t-shirt is worn. Ironing a shirt makes it feel a little stiffer and not as if it was well worn. Washing and drying is all the care that a t-shirt really needs most of the time.
For a little extra comfort, always use fabric softener when you wash your t-shirt. This gives it an overall softer feeling and makes it feel as if it has been worn many times. Some washers have an area where a liquid fabric softener can be added and released slowly over time. There are also liquid fabric softeners that can be poured directly into the washer along with the detergent.
For the dryer, use a fabric softener sheet. These are placed in the dryer with the wet clothes and thrown away after the clothes are dry. A dryer sheet will leave the t-shirt feeling soft and comfortable every time you use it.
To keep the t-shirt feeling soft, also be sure to use the correct amount of detergent. Using too much can leave a heavy film on the clothes that will make them feel a little heavier and not as soft. A shirt that is clean but not full of soap has a much nicer feel.
Some people like to stone wash their t-shirts. This can be done by actually washing it with a rough stone, but more often it’s actually done with sandpaper. Rubbing the t-shirt with large-grain sandpaper will very quickly make it feel worn. Simply lay the t-shirt flat and rub it in an up-and-down motion all over the t-shirt.
Perhaps the most effective way to make a t-shirt feel worn is to wear it. Wearing it often, even under other clothing, will make it worn and comfortable in no time. Wear it, wash it and throw it in the dryer and it will become more worn than if it were worn rarely and kept in a drawer. And, the great thing about a t-shirt is that the more you wear it, the more comfortable it is. So don’t leave it in a drawer- get out there are wear it.
How to Avoid Stretching Your T-Shirt
How do you find that perfect fit? You know a t-shirt that flatters your body in all the right places and just makes you more confident when you’re wearing it. Finding the perfect fit can be difficult and may take many hours of trying on one t-shirt after another until, by what you may believe is a miracle, you find it! Now that you’ve found your perfect fitting shirt, you have a new problem, how to keep it fitting just like the day you bought it. We’ve all had the experience of buying a clothing item that fits perfectly the first time you wear it. But after you wash it once, it’s never the same again. So what are you to do? How do you avoid stretching your perfect fitting t-shirt?
Proper clothing care is the first step in preventing stretching and hopefully preserving your perfect fit. As much as you may want to avoid it, you do eventually have to wash your perfect fitting t-shirt. When you take the plunge, wash it in cool water in your washing machine. Then either hang it to dry or tumble dry it on low in your dryer. So you can avoid hauling out the iron and ironing board, you may want use the dryer. However, make sure that you frequently check your shirt during the drying process. If you’re not careful, the evil twin of stretching, which is shrinking, may occur. Using these steps is the best offense for keeping your t-shirt from stretching by maintaining, as closely as possible, the clothing fibers in the same position as when you bought the t-shirt.
A perfect fitting t-shirt is one that hugs your body. For women, this style helps show off the curves of her silhouette. For men, it clings ever so slightly in the chest and arms to show off all the work he’s done at the gym on his pecs and biceps. Your t-shirt does just that and is perfect for you. When friends and family see how good your t-shirt looks on you, they may ask to borrow it or even just try it on. Beware! If you want to avoid stretching, you need to refrain from being your usual kind self. This shirt is a one of a kind work of art just for your body. All those hours spent shopping could be undone by a few extra pounds or the slightly different body shape of your friend or family member. If they suggest your t-shirt it can be shrunk if it is stretched out, don’t become weak and give into their request. Going down that road can open you up to a repeating cycle of shrinking and stretching as you try to get those clothing fibers back to that perfect position.
Finally, it is also important to carefully consider any layering you do with your t-shirt. Depending upon how closely the shirt hugs your body, even another thin t-shirt underneath could stretch it.
Although with a little care and extra work, you can keep your t-shirt from stretching, it is smart to always be on the lookout for another perfect fitting t-shirt. Owning a few of them can keep you from freaking out should stretching accidently happen just before an important date.
How Long Will a T-Shirt Last?
Worried that your favorite t-shirt’s days are numbered? That it’ll die a premature death? Worry no longer. T-shirts never die. Ok, they do eventually, but most of them will live a very, very long time as long as they are not worn every single day. But even if you do want to wear the same shirt every day, the t-shirt will still give you a few blissful months of comfort.
The more often you wear and wash a t-shirt, the more likely it is to wear out. The number of times that the shirt is dried in a clothes dryer also has a lot to do with how long it will last. Any shirt will last longer if it is laid flat to dry or hung up to drip dry rather than being put into a clothes washer. A shirt worn for only an hour or two may not need to be washed and dried at all. If the shirt can go without being washed every time it’s worn, it may last even longer.
A t-shirt that is worn rarely or only once every month or two can certainly be dried in a drier and still last a long time. A shirt in a smaller rotation of clothes, worn once a week and dried in a machine may only last a few months. A shirt that is worn more rarely will last for years or even longer. A shirt that is worn only once or twice a year for a specific type of occasion will last significantly longer than one that is worn weekly or monthly.
Taking good care of a t-shirt means not using bleach on it more than once or twice- bleach causes fabric to weaken and will create holes in it over time. When something is spilled on the shirt and you’re afraid it may stain, try to get the substance out of the fabric right away so that bleach will not have to be used. For a blood stain, soak the t-shirt in cold water immediately. This will take even large quantities of blood out without having to weaken the fabric.
To make the shirt last longer, use a gentle detergent and use slow agitation. This is a good guideline for any other clothing that you want to make last longer as well. A very harsh detergent and fast agitation can make the fabric thinner, weaken the seams and eventually cause holes in t-shirts and many other types of garments. Look for detergent that is made for babies or that doesn’t contain harsh fragrances.
Taking good care of a t-shirt will mean that it will last just about as long as you want it to. It is by no means unusual for a t-shirt to last for decades. If you’ve ever seen anyone wear a vintage t-shirt with a year on it, you have seen how long it is possible to keep a t-shirt. There may not be very many Roaring 20’s t-shirt still around, but there are probably plenty of Woodstock ones.
How Do You Remove Sunblock From A T-Shirt
Sunblock stains on T-shirts are common summertime laundry problems and they can be difficult to deal with. Often sunblock stains do not even show up right away, but may turn up as yellow or orange stains with time. If you are on top of sunblock stains, watch for them and know what to do about them, you can keep your favorite T-shirts looking great.
The best way to prevent stains is to carefully wash T-shirts in an enzyme-based detergent if they have been in contact with sunblock. Be sure to check the tee before putting it in the dryer, as heat will aid in setting the stain, making it even harder to get rid of. If you find that a T-shirt has made it through the washer and has a sunblock stain on it, you need to pre-treat it, let is soak and then rewash it.
Since sunblock is an oil-based product and is often waterproof, care must be taken in removing such stains from a T-shirt or your shirt may be permanently stained. Treat your T-shirt as you would for any item of clothing that came into contact with a greasy mess. You can use dish detergent that has grease-fighting properties as a pre-treatment. You can also apply a protein-based stain treatment that is good at dealing with oily stains. If the laundry detergent you use is protein-based, you can also pre-treat with it. After applying the pre-treatment, let it sit for at least a half hour, although overnight is best. Rub it in gently to make sure it gets into the fibers of the clothes. Then wash the T-shirt in the hottest water that is safe for it.
If you do get to the point of seeing those unsightly yellowish stains appear on your T-shirt, there is still hope. Bleach and vinegar are often helpful with small or light colored stains. For bigger or darker ones, there are bathroom cleaners on the market that advertise that they remove rust and hard water stains. You may use those in your laundry to remove those impossible sunblock stains that nothing else will work for. Just be sure to not mix those cleaners with other detergents or bleach. Wash once with the bathroom cleaners and then a second time with laundry detergent for the clean scent and soft feel.
A great solution to sunblock stains is to opt for T-shirts that are darker in color and will not show the discoloration from such stains. You can also try to prevent the stains by putting on your T-shirt only after your sunblock has dried. You can also try having a little fun with the idea of sunblock stains and having a T-shirt custom-printed with something like:
• Official Sunblock Stain T-shirt
• Yes, I wear sunblock. See the stains!
• My sunblock did this (arrows pointing to collar and sleeves)
If your favorite T-shirt gets ruined by sunblock, don’t despair. Thanks to custom-made T-shirts, you can now recreate your favorite T-shirt exactly. In fact, you can even get a couple of them in case it happens again.
Get your custom-made sunblock T-shirt today and enjoy the sun safely.
How To Get Toothpaste Off My T-Shirt
There are many horrible stains that can be very pesky to deal with on your favorite T-shirt. Luckily, toothpaste is not one of them. It is in fact one of the easier stains to remove. Generally, you can just throw the shirt into the washing machine and it will come out clean. The key is, as with all stains, to not let it set in, especially if it is a colored gel or whitening toothpaste.
In fact regular white toothpaste, not the gel kind, is recommended to use as a stain remover for certain kinds of oily makeup stains, fresh marker stains, crayon stains and more. In fact plain, cheap toothpaste is a multi-purpose stain remover for white T-shirts with stains of all kinds. If you are wearing a white T-shirt and happen to get a colored stain on it, many tipsters recommend covering up the stain with plain white toothpaste to help you get through the day if you can’t deal with the stain right away. In addition to T-shirts, toothpaste is also suggested for cleaning carpet, shoes and more.
However, if you happen to get a glob of toothpaste on your T-shirt, it is in your best interest to scrape off the excess immediately and soak the T-shirt. This is especially true for dark T-shirts which have received a whitening toothpaste glob. Whitening toothpaste contains bleach and therefore can leave bleach marks on dark shirts, ruining the shirt irreparably. For this reason, getting to the stain as soon as possible is very important.
If you are getting ready for work and happen to get toothpaste splatters on your dark-colored T-shirt as you are brushing your teeth, you can attempt to get them out with a wet cloth. This sometimes works if the splatter is still wet. However, toothpaste really does need to be washed out with lots of soap and water typically. Therefore, your best bet, especially if you are crunched for time is to throw the T-shirt in soak and get another one.
If you are unlucky enough to not catch those whitening toothpaste stains in time and you end up with a spotty shirt, you can always choose to dye it or put it in the stock of clothes you use around the house when cleaning. Bleach of any kind is the worst thing that can meet your clothes.
Custom-made T-shirts are great for those sloppy tooth brushers. You can get a T-shirt made that pokes fun at your clumsiness or that talks about the benefits of toothpaste stain removal. Some fun options to print on a T-shirt include:
• Official Tooth Brushing Shirt
• Step 1: Clean Teeth, Step 2: Remove T-shirt with toothpaste splatters
• I hate toothpaste splatters
• Toothpaste stains suck
• New markers for 2 year old - $3, White toothpaste to remove marker stains from sofa and carpet - $2, Saving 2 year old’s derriere - Priceless
Get a fun custom-made T-shirt and show off your feelings about toothpaste and stains today.
How Do I Remove A Beer Stain From My T-Shirt?
Everyone has one of those absolute favorite T-shirts. Doesn’t it always happen that it is inevitably that shirt that somehow manages to get the most stains? It’s always happens when you are least expected too. You are out with friends having a good time and all of a sudden you look down and you have a beer spilled on the front of your T-shirt. You know it’s going to leave a stain for you to do battle with. These things never happen when you’re at home near the laundry room. It’s always when you are away from home and the stain has the opportunity to sit and worsen.
Luckily it is relatively easy to remove beer stains. The key with removing such stains is the same as with many others: be sure to treat or wash the stain as soon as possible. Here are some tips to help you get beer stains out of a T-shirt:
- Take it off as soon as it happens and soak it in cold water. If this is not possible right away, do so as soon as you possibly can.
- After rinsing the stain, wash it in cold water as usual.
- Remove the T-shirt from the water and examine it. If you can still see the stain, do not put it in the dryer, as this will set the stain.
- Do a laundry pre-treat on the stain, by rubbing detergent onto the stain and letting it sit for at least 5 minutes or so. You may also try vinegar on the stain. This is very good on white clothes but will also bleach clothing. Therefore if you use vinegar you must rinse it out immediately after using it.
- Rewash as usual to finish removing the stain.
- If the stain is being really difficult, you may want to consider soaking it in bleach for colors overnight and then doing another wash.
It is rare for a beer stain to be this difficult to remove, although dark beer stains can be more challenging than others. If all else fails and your favorite T-shirt is stained, you can always just get another one to replace it. Custom-made T-shirts are great because you can have them made exactly to your specifications, so you can recreate your favorite T-shirt perfectly.
One of the best ways to avoid having to deal with beer stains is to buy dark T-shirts. Black T-shirts are always in fashion and you can customize them to say whatever you want them to. What a great way to cover up the fact that you have a tendency to spill beer. If you really want to though, you can have fun with it and flaunt the fact that you know the best way to deal with beer stains. Have a custom-made T-shirt printed that says something like:
- Official Beer Drinking T-shirt
- Under These Words Lie the Stains of Many a Good Beer
- Beer Stain Disguise
- I’m a Clumsy Beer Drinker
Get your custom-made beer stain T-shirt today and show that you know how to deal with beer stains.
How to Make the Print on a T-Shirt Last Longer
Most print used on t-shirts today is superior to the print used decades ago. That print wore off easily, leading to the crackled appearance that appeared after just a couple of washings. Today’s t-shirt print can still fade after a number of washings. The print can be made to last longer with a little bit of extra care.
The print on a t-shirt usually fades from being washed. The key, then, is to take care during each washing and to make sure that the t-shirt is washed as gently as possible. Rubbing up against other clothing in the wash is one of the causes of fading during washing. The repeated friction of the t-shirt against other items can be avoided with one simple step. Start the special treatment by turning the t-shirt inside out. This will minimize the contact that the printed area has with other items in the same load.
The temperature of the water when the t-shirt is being washed is also a factor. For an especially dirty shirt, most people want to wash it in hot water to get rid of all the dirt. This hot water, however, can contribute to the print fading before it should. Hot water is hard on clothes of any type, and printed clothes can particularly feel the effects of it. Try washing the t-shirt in cold water instead. If this isn’t enough to get the dirt out of the t-shirt, try to soak the shirt first to loosen the dirt. You might also try a pre-treatment that is rubbed into the fabric to help fight the stains. A pre-treatment will not be as hard on the t-shirt as hot water and may actually lead to the dirt coming out of the shirt more easily.
Drying clothes in a clothes dryer is one of the fastest ways to break down the print. The dryer uses heat and movement to dry the clothes. Not only will the heat start to break down the print, the fast tumbling creates a friction that can help wear it out faster. To prevent this, try tumbling the shirt without the heat setting. You might also try lying the t-shirt flat to dry or letting it drip dry instead of putting it in the dryer at all. Hanging it to dry may change the shape of the shirt, however, so many people prefer to let their t-shirt lie flat.
A printed t-shirt that is often exposed to direct sunlight will also fade faster than one that isn’t. To some extent, this can’t be helped. There will certainly be times when a t-shirt is exposed to sunlight. And normal sunlight in the course of an outing won’t fade the lettering. However, a t-shirt that is often worn to outdoor sporting events will look faded before it ordinarily would. The key for thee occasions, then, is to rotate the t-shirts that are worn to these events. Having two t-shirts for weekend baseball games, then, is a much better way to preserve the print than wearing the same one each week.
How to Make Your T-Shirt Soft
T-shirts are so popular because they are comfortable, easy to wear and are likely one of the softest items of clothing you own. The soft, combed cotton that is used for t-shirt has a feel that is unlike any other. There are some types of clothing care, however, that can take away some of that softness. If your t-shirts are starting to feel a little stiff or if you just want to make sure that they never end up feeling that way, there are several ways to take care of it and ensure a softer t-shirt.
Fabric Softener
Using a fabric softener may seem like a simple thing, but there are an enormous number of ways to use it. There are the well-known dryer sheets that can be added to the dryer along with the wet clothes, but there are a number of other types. There are fabric softener balls that are added to the washer. These balls add a liquid fabric softener into the wash at the right time. Another way to use fabric softener is to pour in a liquid type that is poured in during the rinse cycle.
Drying
The key to the softness of any item of clothing is usually the way it has been dried. Line drying a t-shirt will leave it far stiffer than putting it through a dryer cycle. Many people choose to use line drying anyway because of the energy savings or the cost of a dryer. Some simply prefer the way clothing smells after it has been line dried. If you like line-drying your t-shirts, try using a quick 5-minute drying cycle after the t-shirts are mostly dry. This will result in a t-shirt that has still saved energy and still has the smell of line-dried clothing, but it will have the soft feel of t-shirts that have been dried in a dryer.
Softening the Water
If your clothes aren’t getting softener, it may the water itself that needs softened. If you have hard water, it can take a serious toll on your clothing every time it’s washed. To soften the water, add a little bit of vinegar into the washer during the rinse cycle. Some people also use two rinse cycles when washing their clothes to ensure that all of the soap has been removed and to make sure that the vinegar is having an impact on the t-shirts.
To make sure that any t-shirt doesn’t get hard again, also make an effort to keep it clean. Some t-shirts may harden when they are left dirty for long periods of time. Sweat, body oils, dirt, deodorant and other substances can harden the fabric if they are left on it for too long. Wash t-shirts as they become dirty and then make sure to take a step or two to ensure that the wash will lead to softer t-shirts. This will ensure that the comfort of a brand-new t-shirt goes on and on, even when the t-shirt has been worn and washed many times.
How to Keep Your T-Shirt Color Bright
The colors of a new t-shirt are always brightest when the t-shirt is newest. Over a long period of time and many washes, the colors will begin to fade. However, there are a number of ways to keep the colors bright and to keep fading to a minimum.
One of the fading factors is UV light. Direct sunlight will eventually fade the colors of t-shirts. For this reason, dry a t-shirt indoors to preserve the bright colors. It’s also a good idea not to stay in bright sunlight while you are wearing the t-shirt. This can fade the shirt just as quickly as hanging it in the sun can do. Also consider where you store your t-shirts. If there is direct sunlight shining into your closet, that can fade your t-shirts as well as anything else being stored there.
A t-shirt with a bright color should only be washed with other clothes that have the same or a similar color. Washing the shirt with very different colors can mute the colors of all of the items as the dyes are mixed together. If the t-shirt has color like nothing else in your wardrobe, wash it by itself.
When washing the t-shirt, use a color-safe detergent. These may be color-safe bleaches or just detergent that is made for keeping colors from fading. The washing itself should be done in cold water to prevent too much of the dye from being lifted out of the material. Hot water will take it out far too quickly and will cause a faded look after a few washings. Use short washing cycles if the t-shirt isn’t terribly dirty as well to reduce the time that the t-shirt will be wet.
Because there is usually a little bit of dye that is lifted from clothing when it is washed, there are specific products that can capture that dye and prevent clothes from being dulled by the dye from other garments. One of these is dye grabber sheets. These are placed into the washing machine when the clothes are loaded. The sheet will absorb the dyes and leave the clothing looking far less faded.
Another way to ensure brighter colors is to use a common household ingredient to the wash. Many people regularly use vinegar in the wash to keep dyes from being lifted out of fabric and colors looking bright. To use vinegar in the wash, get a supply of white vinegar. This is an inexpensive type of vinegar available at any grocery store. Measure one cup of the vinegar and pour it into the washer along with the detergent. You don’t have to use less detergent than usual when you do this. The result will be t-shirts that keep their bright colors longer. The detergent generally takes care of any vinegar odor, and using a dryer sheet can also be helpful.
When drying, use a tumble dry mode instead of a heat dry mode. This will keep some fading from occurring and keep the colors looking brighter.
How to Stretch Your T-Shirt
We’ve all got that one t-shirt that would fit perfectly if we could just stretch it out a bit. Chances are, your t-shirt fell victim to one of the most common culprits, the washer and dryer. Or, maybe you bought it a little too small because the t-shirt was unique or too good a deal to pass up but the store did not have quite your size. Whatever the reason for your ill fitting t-shirt, it’s time to stop looking in your closet, pulling out the t-shirt, and putting it back. Stretch that baby and give it some wear time!
There are a couple methods for stretching a t-shirt that can be used when either the garment is wet or dry. The first one involves simply trying to stretch the t-shirt by pulling on it. While most people may try just tugging on the shirt in its poorly fitted places when it’s dry and on their body, this method isn’t usually successful. In fact, if your t-shirt has graphics on it, it may distort them and give away your attempt to stretch your t-shirt. Stretching a t-shirt while it is wet is most successful.
The first step after wetting the shirt is to lay it on a flat surface and start pulling gently on the fabric in the areas that you need to stretch out. You should pull lengthwise and crosswise during your stretching process. After you’ve stretched out the wet shirt, hang it to dry. A second tactic to use while the t-shirt is wet is to stretch it with an iron. The heat setting of the iron should be on a low to medium. Gently run the iron over the problem area pushing out the fabric lengthwise and crosswise. As with hand stretching, hang the t-shirt to air dry. A final method that can be attempted is to use your iron on a dry shirt using the same technique as above. This method however is likely to only be successful in situations where limited stretching is needed.
Having a larger sized family member or friend put on your shirt and wear it may sound like another option for stretching out your t-shirt. However, you’d better think carefully before you choose someone to help you out with this! If the size differential between you and your friend or family member is too great, you’ll ruin your shirt. However, if the differential is not great enough, you may get little or no stretching. Therefore, depending on how much the shirt needs to be stretched and if you have the right individual to utilize for the process, this idea may work. However, you may undo all your stretching work when you wash the t-shirt prior to wearing it yourself.
Are you ready to take on stretching that t-shirt and make it fit properly? Then drag it out of the closet and figure out just how much stretching you’ll need to do to achieve the fit you’re after. Just remember – the stretching techniques used for wet shirts work best for t-shirts that need a whole lot of stretching. Finally, remember each time you wash your t-shirt you might need to repeat the whole process to get that perfect fit again. Happy stretching!