Good news: up to two-thirds of the carbon footprint of your clothes takes place after you take it home. This is great, because it means that positive change is in your hands to enact. It’s also not even hard to do, because it all comes down to how you take care of your clothes.
All Oramai products carry full washing instructions and linen can be laundered with confidence. For further advice on this, please read below!
Detergent:
It is important to select the best washing agent. Many detergents today contain optical whitening agents that work well on white linens, but are not recommended for coloured linens, however, as discolouring and spotting may occur as a result. When washing colours, check that your detergent does not have whitening agents or choose a soap powder. If you have hard water with a high lime content, we recommend a softening agent, especially for darker colours.
General Care:
- Unfold your linens completely before washing.
- Do not overload the machine.
- Wash your linens at max. 40°C / 104°F.
- Use a mild soap. Avoid chlorine bleach.
- If possible, line dry, it is best for linen and the environment.
- If using a tumbler, dry on medium heat, do not over dry.
- Turn inside out and iron with steam on slightly damp linen.
For stains, try the following:
- Ink: Soak in milk, or in soap-and-ammonia mixture, and rub the spot.
- Blood: Rinse immediately in cold water.
- Fruit, coffee, tea and chocolate: Rub with alcohol, white vinegar and ammonia.
- Candle wax: Scratch off dried wax, absorb residue with blotting paper and warm iron.
- Greasy Stains: Rub with ammonia.
- Red Wine: Rub immediately with sparkling water or white wine.
If stains do not disappear, you can try:
Either soak the linen in a good washing detergent or dissolve 3.5 oz sodium borate in boiling water with enough cold water to yield 1½ gallons and soak for 1 hour. Never use chlorine bleach, as this may damage the fibres beyond repair.
Only wash as needed:
Not only will you save water and detergent, but your clothes will last much longer.
Skip the dryer:
Line drying your clothes for just six months out of the year can eliminate up to 700 pounds of greenhouse gases annually. That’s the same energy as driving a Prius 1,800 miles, which is a super long road trip. Also hanging your clothes to dry looks super chic and Italian!
Keep it cold:
When you do the wash, set your washer to “cold” to save energy and help your clothes live a little longer (heat can break fibers down). Also, switching from hot water to cold or warm can help prevent 500 lbs of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year. That’s the same energy as a 30-minute blow dry twice a week for a year. Pass the round brush!
Spot cleaner:
If it’s only dirty in one small place, save the full cleaning process and spot clean as needed!