Putting Clothes in the Freezer: Why and How to Do It

Putting clothing in the freezer might seem like a daft idea! What’s your t-shirt going to do, befriend your Yorkshire puddings and iced lollies?

As funny as that picture may be, there are a few legitimate reasons behind storing clothes in a freezer, and it’s a handy practice to try out if you’ve got time and space!

So, why do people put clothes in a freezer and how do you do it properly? Find out below.

 

Why Put Clothes in the Freezer?

Believe it or not there a few reasons why you could pop your laundry inside your freezer, and these include:

• You can freshen your laundry up by freezing it. The cold temperature can actually act as an odour-neutraliser and can refresh your garments for you!
• Sticking items in a freezer can slow down the growth of bacteria (but won’t kill bacteria). Essentially, the freezing temperature helps to starve off the microorganisms by placing them in an inhospitable environment. The temperature alone cannot completely eradicate the bacteria though!
• Popping clothes inside a freezer can help you remove pesky stains from them. Stains like chewing gum go hard in the freezer, and when they’re frozen, they can be easily removed from various materials.
• Adding natural fibred clothes to a freezer can stop pilling and shedding. In turn, this can boost their lifespan.
• If you’ve got a moth larvae problem, you can stick your jumpers into a sealable bag and freeze the contents for up to 72 hours. The larvae don’t like the cold, so they die off.
• Freezing clothes means that you don’t have to wash them as often, which, in turn can protect their longevity. Not subjecting your washing to the somewhat harsh agitation of the washer can protect the material for longer. However, you cannot solely rely on a freezer to ‘clean’ your clothes for you, you will have to wash the laundry properly at some point.

 

How To Put Clothes in a Freezer

Keep these tips in mind when freezing clothes in a freezer:

• Don’t cram your items into the freezer. Make sure each item has plenty of room. And you should only put one item in each sealable bag at a time.
• Make sure you follow the ‘treatment method’ properly and adhere to it. If you’re following a specific method to cure a particular problem, you must stick to the advice you’re given. Methods usually state how long you need to freeze your item(s) for and how to treat it after.
• It’s a good idea to label the sealable bag, so you know what’s inside it and what sort of treatment the item is going through.
• Don’t freeze laundry that is covered in sequins and embellishments. The cold environment could permanently damage these pieces.

How to freeze your laundry step-by-step:

1. Make sure your item is completely dry before you think about putting it in the freezer.
2. If the item is wet/damp wait for it to dry.
3. Place the dry item in a sealable bag.
4. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and lock it shut.
5. Place the flat bag of clothes inside the freezer on a flat shelf.
6. Leave the item in the freezer for the desire amount of time (follow the guidance you’ve been given in the method you’re following).
7. When you’re ready, remove the item from the freezer.
8. Take the item out of the sealable bag.
9. Leave the item to come up to room temperature.
10. Treat the item accordingly.
11. Shake your clothing out to remove any debris.
12. Wash or dry your item as per the advice given by your cleaning method.

 

Examples of When You Could Put Clothes in a Freezer

Below you’ll find examples of when freezing clothing could help you out of a tricky situation:

• Got some tar on your clothes? Just freeze the thick, gloopy substance on your garment and then scrape the tar off when it’s frozen over!
• Gum can be a pain to remove! And you daren’t try to pull it off because it’ll go all stringy and almost always ends up all over the place. One clean and simple way to take out gum is to stick the item of clothing in the freezer, then when the gum has hardened you can scrape or tweezer it off your item.
• Kids love to play with slime, but it inevitably ends up all over their clothes! It can, at times, be a tricky product to remove, but if you’ve got a freezer at hand, removing slime from clothing will be a doddle!
• Glue is used to stick things in place, so it’s no surprise no hear that it can be difficult to remove said substance form clothing. But is it that hard? Not when you’ve got a freezer it isn’t! Just freeze the glued-up item, then remove the frozen glue and treat the stained patch with a little acetone to remove any blemishes!
• It’s not always possible to wash clothes, so if you don’t have access to a washer, freeze your laundry instead. Freezing laundry can spruce it up and stop odours like sweat, from getting stronger!