Should You Wash Hoodies Zipped or Unzipped?

Is there a special way to wash hoodies? Is it necessary to use specific kinds of detergent? Should it be washed zipped or unzipped? Is it better left hanging to dry or using a tumble dryer?

These are some questions that come up for hoodie lovers, especially for hoodies that come with zippers because you can easily end up being unable to wear them after washing.

Therefore, when it comes to washing your zipper hoodies, here’s how you do it right.

 

Should You Wash Hoodies Zipped or Unzipped?

You should wash hoodies zipped up rather than unzipped. There are several important reasons for this.

First of all, it helps to reduce any difficulty you may encounter with opening and closing your zip when it’d ready to wear.

Also, when you wash a hoodie unzipped, it becomes easier for the zipper to get caught in some moving parts of the machine, thereby causing some damage. 

In some extreme instances, it can scratch or even crack the washing machine’s front load door window.

There are even more reasons too. Zipping your hoodies up will also prevent the zips from fastening or catching onto other clothes as you wash. Any other fabric catching on the zipper may cause it to fray. 

If you have trouble keeping the zipper in place after zipping up, you can lock the zip by pressing it down and passing a safety pin across the hole in the zip head and the cloth.

Now that we’ve answered the main question, let’s take a look at everything else you need to know about washing hoodies. 

 

Should Clothes Be Washed Inside Out?

Absolutely! The importance of turning your hoodie inside out when washing cannot be overemphasised.

This is even more necessary when machine washing because it helps to prevent several issues ranging from colour bleeding to shrinking to losing its softness.

Another difficulty that may arise is the washing off of printed designs due to the normal pressure that occurs from washing, and we don’t want any faded clothes too soon, right? 

While most cotton hoodies are washing machine friendly, woollen materials are not, and require professional care or better still, should be washed using a wash bag.

 

Should You Use a Wash Bag for Clothes with Zippers?

It is advisable to use a wash bag, also known as a laundry bag, when washing your hoodie in a washing machine. 

This is because using a wash bag prevents clothes from tangling with each other, especially for those with hooks, strings, zips, buttons, and any other detailing or embellishments.

Importantly, if using a large wash bag for your hoodie, do not overstuff it as this will defeat the purpose of allowing enough space for the hoodie to be cleaned properly.

 

Should Hot or Cold Water Be Used?

Washing your hoodie with cool or lukewarm water (either 30 or 40°C) gives a more desirable result than washing it with hot water. 

Using hot water increases the possibility of your cloth fading and shrinking, while colder water helps to retain its shape and reduces wrinkles to a reasonable extent.

This may change if your clothing is heavily soiled with grease stains or dirt.  As long as it’s a suitable fabric, you can then place it in a hot wash. 

Hoodies don’t usually get that dirty though, so a cooler wash is usually better. 

Should Special Detergents Be Used?

Although any normal detergent should be fine for hoodies, it is more advisable to use a mild and gentle detergent. For delicate fabrics such as wool and cotton, using a mild detergent like a wool wash detergent is simply ideal.

In addition to this, you can also use a colour-shielding detergent to retain the brightness of your hoodie. You should however avoid using too much detergent when washing your hoodie. 

Rather than getting a cleaner cloth, doing this will leave excessive residue stuck in the cloth and it might be more difficult to get a good rinse.

These days, most detergents are quite gentle on all fabrics so it’s unlikely you’ll need to buy anything special to clean your hoodie. 

 

Should You Tumble Dry Hoodies Zipped or Unzipped?

Generally, you need to be careful when using dryers as they can further shrink your hoodie, especially for materials that are 100% cotton or even cotton-blended. Let alone wool and synthetics. 

Just as when washing, ensuring you zip your hoodie is necessary to prevent the zippers from getting stuck in the dryer’s drum.

 

Final Thoughts

Whether you should zip or unzip your hoodie is not up for debate. They should always be zipped up as there is no good reason to do otherwise. 

Keeping it zipped will help protect your hoodie, the rest of the clothes in the drum and the machine itself.