How to keep printed and embroidered workwear looking new

Branded workwear is an investment in how your business looks. A crisp logo on a clean polo says you take care over details. A cracked print on a grey, bobbled shirt says the opposite. Most of the difference comes down to a few washing habits, and none of them take extra time once they are routine.

Read the care label first

Every garment comes with a care label, and it is the best starting point. It tells you the maximum wash temperature, whether it can be tumble dried and whether it can be ironed. The logo does not change those limits. If anything, it is a reason to stay a little under them.

If your team washes their own workwear at home, it is worth sharing a short version of the advice below. Wash cool, turn garments inside out and keep heat away from the logo. People are far more likely to follow those three habits than a long list.

Washing temperatures

For most branded workwear, a wash at 30 or 40 degrees is plenty. Modern detergents are designed to work at lower temperatures, and cooler washes are kinder to fabric, thread and print.

• Cotton and cotton blends can usually go at 40 degrees. Hotter washes speed up fading and can shrink the garment slightly.
• Polyester should be washed cooler, usually at 30 or 40 degrees. It does not need a hot wash to come clean, and heat can set creases.
• Hi-vis should follow its label closely. Heat and harsh chemicals dull the fluorescent colour and wear down the reflective tape.

Avoid bleach on any branded garment. It can discolour embroidery thread, fade the fabric around the logo and damage vinyl. Heavily soiled items are better given a pre soak or a second wash than a hotter one.

Turn garments inside out

This is the easiest habit to adopt. Turning a garment inside out before it goes in the machine means the logo rubs against the inside of the drum less and against other clothes less.

For vinyl, it protects the surface of the print and its edges, which is where lifting usually starts. For embroidery, it stops the thread catching on zips, hooks and hook and loop tabs on other garments. Doing up zips and closing hook and loop tabs before washing helps too, because an open zip is one of the most common causes of snagged stitching.

Go easy on the tumble dryer

Heat is what shortens the life of a vinyl print. The adhesive that holds the vinyl to the fabric softens when it gets hot, and repeated hot tumble drying can cause edges to lift, cracks to form or the print to shrink and wrinkle.

The best option for vinyl printed garments is to hang them to dry. If you must use a dryer, choose the lowest heat setting and take the garment out while it is still slightly damp.

Embroidery copes better with tumble drying, but the garment underneath may not. Cotton polos and sweatshirts can shrink in a hot dryer, and a shrunk garment makes even a perfect logo look wrong. Low heat or line drying is kinder to everything.

Skip fabric softener on vinyl printed garments and hi-vis. Softener leaves a coating that can affect how well the vinyl stays bonded and can dull reflective tape.

Ironing around embroidery and print

Many workwear garments come out of the wash looking fine if they are hung up straight away. If you do need to iron, a few rules protect the branding.

• Never iron directly on vinyl. The heat will soften it and it can stick to the iron. Iron the garment inside out, or place a clean cloth over the print.
• Iron embroidery from the back. Turn the garment inside out and iron over the reverse of the stitching on a soft surface such as a folded towel. This keeps the stitches raised rather than flattening them.
• Use the right heat for the fabric. Polyester needs a low setting. Cotton can take more, but still keep the iron moving.
• Avoid steam directly on vinyl. It adds heat and moisture to the adhesive at the same time.

Storing workwear

Fold printed garments with the print facing outwards, or hang them, so the vinyl is not creased against itself. Do not leave damp workwear sitting in a bag or van overnight. It encourages mildew and odours that are hard to shift.

When to retire hi-vis

With hi-vis, looking tired is a safety problem rather than a style problem. A hi-vis garment protects the wearer by being seen, and it stops doing that job as it wears out.

Replace hi-vis when any of these apply.

• the fluorescent fabric has faded, gone grey or is badly stained
• the reflective tape is cracked, peeling, torn or no longer shines back brightly under a torch
• the garment is ripped, burnt or has been repaired in a way that covers any of the tape
• it is contaminated with oil, paint or chemicals that will not wash out
• it has reached the maximum number of washes shown on its care label

Many hi-vis labels state how many washes the reflective material was tested to. Once a garment passes that number, it may no longer meet its class, even if it looks fine. A regular check of everyone's hi-vis, perhaps when you reorder other kit, catches these garments before they become a problem.

Get a quote

When it is time to replace worn kit or add new starters, email [email protected] or message us on WhatsApp with what you need. We will send you a quote for the garments and branding.