Wash Acrylic Fibers

There are plenty of reasons to like clothes made from acrylic fibers. They're comfortable and flexible, hold color really well, dry quickly, and keep moisture away from your body. Acrylic fabric is also pretty easy to wash if you know the right way to do it. A lot of acrylic clothing can be thrown in the washer, but some delicate pieces require hand washing to keep them in shape. Always check the care label before washing any acrylic fibers.

Steps

Cleaning Acrylic Items in a Washer

1. Pretreat any stains. You can’t rely on detergent alone to get out a big stain on your acrylic clothes. Hit the spot with a spray stain remover and rub the remover in with your fingers so you know it’s really worked in the fabric.
   • Don’t forget to spray the stain remover on the inside of the clothing too.
   • If it’s a really old or stubborn stain, try scrubbing the remover in lightly with an old -- but clean -- toothbrush.
2. Choose an all-purpose detergent. Washable acrylic fibers aren’t very fragile so you don’t need to use a special laundry detergent for them. A basic all-purpose formula will do the trick just fine.
   • All-purpose detergent works for pretty much all washable acrylic fibers but you should always check the care label for any special instructions.
3. Use the warm water setting for the cycle. Acrylic clothes can get hard and crunchy if you wash them in cold water. Whenever you’re washing a load with acrylic fibers, hit the button for the warm water setting to keep your stuff soft and fresh.
   • Whatever you do, don’t use hot water on acrylic fibers. You’ll wind up shrinking them.
4. Add fabric softener during the last rinse cycle. Even with warm water, your acrylic clothes can get hard and stiff if you wash them a lot. Keep them nice and soft by adding some fabric softener to the wash just before it goes into the last rinse cycle.
   • Don’t pour the fabric softener right on the clothing or you can wind up with stains. Add it to the water in the washer instead.

Hand Washing Acrylic Items

1. Select a gentle detergent. Some acrylic fibers are delicate so you need to use specialty detergent. Grab a gentle detergent that’s mild enough to not screw up the fabric.
   • Gentle detergent is usually clearly marked as good for delicates.
2. Wet the item with cool water. A kitchen sink is the perfect place for handwashing your stuff. Fill it up with cool water and dunk your acrylic item in it. Make sure that it gets good and wet.
   • Don’t forget to clean the sink before you start washing your clothes.
   • If you don’t want to wash your clothes in the kitchen sink, you can always use your bathtub or a utility bucket.
3. Mix the detergent into the water. Don’t pour the detergent directly on your clothes. Add a little bit to the water and slosh it around to mix it in. Move the clothes up and down in the water in a pumping motion to get them totally clean.
   • Don’t add more than a tablespoon (15 ml) of detergent to the sink.
   • If your clothing is really dirty, let it soak for a while. You can leave in the water and detergent for up to 60 minutes.
4. Drain the sink and rinse the item with cool water. The water in the sink’s going to get pretty dirty after you slosh your acrylic items around in it. Let the water out, and then fill it back up with cool, clean water to rinse your clothes. Swish the items around in the water to get the detergent out.
   • If there’s a ring of dirt around the sink after you drain it, clean it out before you rinse your stuff.
   • Depending on how dirty your clothes are, you may need to rinse them more than once.
   • You can rinse the clothes under running water at the faucet for the second rinse.
5. Gently squeeze out the excess water and shake out of the item. You’ll damage the acrylic fibers if you wring or twist the clothes to get the water out of them. Instead, just use your hands to gently press down on the fabric and then shake it out so it’s not dripping wet.

Drying Acrylic Items

1. Lay acrylic sweaters out flat to dry. You shouldn’t hang an acrylic sweater you’ve hand washed up to dry. It will lose its shape and get stretched out. Make sure your sweater still fits by laying it out on a flat surface like a table or counter to dry.
   • Clean off the surface you dry the sweater on. You don’t want it to get all dirty just after you’ve washed it.
2. Hang other acrylic items on a hanger to dry. Lighter acrylic clothes like knitwear usually don’t lose their shape if you hang them to dry. Put them on a non-rust hanger and set them out to dry.
3. Use lowest heat setting for acrylic items in the dryer. You can throw plenty of acrylic clothes in the dryer. But you have to use the lowest temperature because they can get permanently wrinkled if the dryer’s too hot.
4. Remove the items from the dryer as soon as the cycle is complete. Leaving acrylic clothes in the dryer after the cycle ends can also cause permanent wrinkles. Get your stuff out of the dryer as soon as the tumbling cycle is done.
   • Give the clothes a good shake after they come out to keep any wrinkles from setting.
5. Smooth wrinkles with a moderately hot iron. If the clothes do get a little wrinkled during drying, you can use an iron on most items. Set it to the medium setting and run it over the clothes quickly.
   • Always check the care label so you know that you can iron an item.

Tips

• These guidelines are good general care info for acrylic fibers, but you should always check the care label. You may need to wash some items in a special way.
• Don’t try to wash items marked as dry clean only at home, even by hand.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Clean Ink off the Inside of a Dryer
• Clean Nylon
• Clean Dress Pants
• Clean Dress Shirts
• Clean Jeans
• Wash Clothes without a Washing Machine
• Disinfect Laundry
• Remove Lint from Clothes
• Get Fluffy Towels
• Wash a Backpack

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