How to Wash Cotton Polyester

Co-authored by Safir Ali and Eric McClure

Last Updated: June 30, 2021 References

If you’re worried about how your cotton-polyester blends will hold up in the washer or dryer, go ahead and take a deep sigh of relief. Cotton-polyester clothing is one of the most resilient and easy to clean fabrics when it comes to laundry.^{[1]
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Research source} Cotton is durable, but it can shrink when it’s exposed to heat. Polyester is much more resistant to heat, but it is prone to fading over time. Cotton-polyester offers the best of both worlds, and it’s much better than the vast majority of clothing when it comes to handling washer and dryer cycles.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Washing Cotton Polyester Blends

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Read the care instructions printed on the tag. While most cotton-polyester blends will be perfectly fine in a washing machine and dryer, some articles of clothing may need to be hand-washed or line dried if they have printing on them or they’re particularly thin. Read the instructions printed on the tag thoroughly to determine if you need to do anything special for a piece of cotton-polyester clothing.^{[2]
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- This is a good tip for laundry in general. People tend to ignore the care instructions, but they are vitally important when it comes to not ruining that brand new sweater or shirt that you just bought!
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Machine-wash your clothing unless the tag says otherwise. Cotton-polyester blends hold up better in the washing machine than almost every other textile. In fact, one of the main benefits of cotton-polyester clothing is that it is less prone to shrinking than 100% cotton and less likely to fade than 100% polyester. If there are no special instructions on the tag, toss it in with your standard laundry and wash it in the machine.^{[3]
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- You can hand-wash a cotton-polyester blend if you’d like, but you won’t notice much wear and tear over time if you use the washing machine.
Tip: Cotton-polyester blends may shrink slightly and there may be some minor fading, but blends should hold up better over time than 100% cotton or polyester.

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Use standard laundry detergent and add fabric softener if you want. Use less detergent than what's recommended on the back of the bottle whenever you're washing something made of polyester.^{[4]
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Expert Source

Safir Ali
Professional Dry Cleaner
Expert Interview. 15 September 2020.} Pour your detergent directly into the machine like you normally do. You can use fabric softener if you’d like—it won’t have a major impact on cotton-polyester clothes.^{[5]
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- Despite popular belief, your clothes don’t get cleaner the more detergent you use. You only need to add a 1/3-1/2 cap of detergent to your laundry most of the time.
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Use cold water if at all possible.^{[6]
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Expert Source

Safir Ali
Professional Dry Cleaner
Expert Interview. 15 September 2020.} Warm water may slightly shrink cotton-polyester clothes, especially if they’re new, so it's best to use cold water. Only use warm water if your clothes are particularly dirty.^{[7]
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- The washing machine is less likely to shrink your clothes than the dryer. If you’re really worried about shrinkage, air drying your clothes is the best way to avoid it.
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Select the cycle setting based on the other clothes in your washer. Cotton-polyester clothing will hold up just fine in basically any wash cycle, so use the other clothing that you’re washing to determine your wash cycle. If you’re washing silk, linens, or other sensitive fabrics, use the delicate cycle setting. For thicker textiles, like denim, use the normal or standard setting. When in doubt, use the permanent press setting, which is usually a good middle ground for a variety of different fabrics.^{[8]
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- If you’re only washing cotton, polyester, or cotton-polyester clothes, use the standard setting if they’re really dirty. If they aren’t particularly filthy, use the permanent press setting.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Drying Your Clothing

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Air dry your clothes for best results.^{[9]
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Expert Source

Safir Ali
Professional Dry Cleaner
Expert Interview. 15 September 2020.} Air drying is the best way to ensure that your clothes don’t shrink or fade, since the friction and heat from the dryer can wear clothes out over time. After your wash cycle is finished, use clothespins to attach them to a clothing line outside. Alternatively, you can slide the clothes over a hanger and hang them in a well-ventilated area.^{[10]
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- Unless you have some bulky sheets or a thick cotton-polyester sweater, air drying should take 2-4 hours.
- You can use a drying rack instead of a hanger or clothesline if you prefer. Just be sure that your clothes aren’t touching one another while they dry or they may not dry properly.
2
Use the dryer if you don’t mind some slight wear and tear over time. Cotton-polyester clothing will do relatively well in the dryer compared to other fabrics. If you’re trying to get your clothes dry quickly, dry your cotton-polyester clothes in the dryer.^{[11]
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- If your cotton-polyester clothing is really colorful, it may fade over time with machine drying.
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Use the air fluff setting on your dryer. Avoid using heat to dry anything made with polyester so you don't shrink and damage it.^{[12]
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Expert Source

Safir Ali
Professional Dry Cleaner
Expert Interview. 15 September 2020.}
- In general, lower temperatures are better for your clothes than high temperatures.
Tip: The regular drying setting is kind of misleading. It usually uses the highest heat setting available unless you have a bulky sheets setting.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Cleaning Cotton-Polyester Blends Efficiently

1
Treat your stains before washing your cotton-polyester blends. Blot stains with a wet towel as soon as you notice them. Use a nontoxic stain remover to lift up any tough stains. For white clothes, you can use chlorine bleach to remove basically any stain. If you wash your cotton-polyester clothes without removing the stain first, you may end up setting the stain into the fabric permanently.^{[13]
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- White vinegar is a good natural option for stained cotton-polyester clothing as well.
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Separate your laundry by color to keep clothes pristine. Washing your white clothing separately from your lightly-colored clothing and darks is the best way to ensure that whites stay bright and colored clothing doesn’t fade. Either separate your laundry before washing it, or keep separate laundry baskets for different colors to divide the loads ahead of time.^{[14]
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Turn colored clothing inside out before washing It. Colored clothing is more likely to fade or become discolored if the exterior of the fabric is rubbing against the sides of your washing machine or dryer. To keep colored clothing safe, turn it inside out before washing it.^{[15]
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Tip: This is particularly important for brightly-colored cotton-polyester clothing, since polyester is already prone to fading over time.
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Hang or fold your clothes as soon as they’re dry to prevent wrinkles. Letting your laundry sit in your dryer for too long will cause it to wrinkle. To keep your clothing looking as pristine as possible, fold it as soon as it’s done drying. For items that you want to store vertically, put them on hangers as soon as the dryer finishes running.
- This is less important for cotton-polyester clothing since it’s naturally more resistant to wrinkling. Still, it’s a good habit to get into if you want to keep laundry day efficient.

Expert Q&A
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Question

What's the best way to prevent damage when washing polyester clothes?

Safir Ali
Professional Dry Cleaner
Safir Ali is the Co-Founder and CEO of Hamper Dry Cleaning and Laundry, a startup in Houston, Texas reinventing the laundry industry. With over six years of experience launching and operating Hamper, Safir specializes in innovative ways to simplify dry cleaning using the experience from his family's business. Safir holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Texas A&M University. Hamper offers 24/7 on-demand dry cleaning and laundry through delivery and kiosk services. Hamper has been featured on the Houston Rockets, Station Houston, the Houston Business Journal, BBVA, Yahoo Finance, and Innovation Map.

Safir Ali

Professional Dry Cleaner

Expert Answer

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Wash polyester clothing with cold water and less detergent than the bottle calls for. Also, never use heat to dry polyester. If you're going to use the dryer, use the air fluff setting.