How to Wash Knitted Sweaters | Branch Basics

Sweater weather is finally here! Which means breaking out your cozy wools, luxe cashmeres, casual cottons, and sumptuous silks and wrapping yourself in warmth.

However, nothing will kill your sweater-weather-buzz like holes, stretching, or pilling of your favorite knits.

All too often, these sweater tragedies could have been avoided with proper cleaning and care.

Fortunately, washing knitted sweaters at home is super easy with just a little Branch Basic and some TLC.

Don’t Knitted Sweaters Have to be Professionally Cleaned?

Many people presume knitted sweaters must be professionally cleaned, which isn’t true.

Although professional cleaning is an option and may be recommended on labels, it comes with a hefty price tag regarding chemical exposure (dry cleaning chemicals are highly toxic), time spent going to and from the cleaners, and money.

A smarter alternative is to learn to wash your knitted sweaters at home, which is much easier than you’d think.

What Types of Knitted Sweaters Can be Washed at Home?

Nearly all types of knitted sweaters, including wool, cashmere, cotton, silk, and synthetic blends, can be washed at home.

Exceptions may include sweater coats, lined sweaters, or shaped sweaters, which may require professional cleaning.

If professional cleaning is your only option, see How To Wash Dry Clean Only Items At Home for recommendations on reducing toxin exposure and finding a low-tox dry cleaner.

Everything else can be washed at home in a sink, basin, or the gentle/delicate cycle of your washer.

How to Wash Knitted Sweaters Using Our Formula

We promised this would be easy, so here it goes.

There are three golden rules to washing all knitted sweaters at home:

1. Use a mild, natural soap or laundry detergent like Branch Basics Concentrate.
1. Branch Basics also has Laundry dilution and our new Laundry Detergent. However, we recommend using Concentrate for hand-washing knits (and we’ll explain how in the next section)
2. Hand washing in lukewarm water is recommended for cashmere and delicate wools, but a cold, gentle cycle on the washing machine is second-best for other types of knits (more on this to come).
3. Every knit should be dried flat, NOT tumble-dried on low, to maintain shape and fiber integrity.

Easy so far, right?

Okay, next, we’ll walk you through our formula for washing knits at home.

Related reading: Branch Basics Laundry Instructions

Option 1: Handwash

Handwashing is recommended for cashmere and delicate wools but will help extend the life of all types of sweaters.

How to Handwash Your Knitted Sweaters Using Branch Basics

Materials needed:

• Branch Basics Concentrate
• Lukewarm water
• A sink, bowel, bucket, or basin

Instructions:

1. Pre-treat stains by applying All-Purpose and agitating very gently using a soft brush or cloth. Rinse to see if the stain has lifted, if not, repeat.
   When pre-treating stains on silk, test a small area first by spraying a little All Purpose, then wetting. Stubborn stains may need to sit for 15 minutes or more (see our Branch Basics Stain Master Guide for fabric- and stain-specific advice).
2. Fill your sink, bowl, bucket, or basin with lukewarm or cool water and ½ teaspoon Branch Basics Concentrate.
3. Soak your knits for 15 - 30 minutes. 
4. Gently agitate to help remove dirt, odors, and soil.
5. Gently rinse by hand under cool or lukewarm water.
6. Gently squeeze (without wringing) out excess water.
7. Have a large towel ready for drying (which we’ll cover in the next section).

Take a breath. You’re done washing your knitted sweaters! 

Option 2: Machine Wash on Gentlest Cycle (Wool, Silk, Cotton, Synthetic)

As mentioned previously, hand-washing is the gentlest way to wash knitted sweaters and will give them the longest life.

However, modern washing machines have pretty awesome delicate cycles that can save some time and work fine on wools, silk, cotton, and synthetic knits.

(We may have even washed a cashmere sweater or two using our front-loader's delicate cycle-in-a-pinch and had great results. However, that’s generally not recommended as it will reduce sweater longevity and is riskier for causing damage.)

With this method, we recommend Branch Basics Laundry Dilution, which is ultra-gentle, works great in cold water, and is ideal for delicates.

Smaller loads are generally better, but it’s OK to wash knitted sweaters with other sweaters or delicates. Just avoid adding bulky or rough items like towels, jeans, anything with buckles, etc. 

Materials needed:

• Branch Basics Laundry
• A washing machine

Instructions:

1. Pre-treat stains by applying Branch Basics All-Purpose and agitating very gently using a soft brush or cloth. Rinse to see if the stain has lifted, if not, repeat.
1. When pre-treating stains on silk, test a small area first by spraying a little All Purpose, then wetting. Stubborn stains may need to sit for 15 minutes or more (see our Branch Basics Stain Master Guide for fabric- and stain-specific advice).
2. Add Branch Basics Laundry to your machine’s dispenser.
3. Run your knits on the machine’s most delicate cycle such as “delicate”, “hand wash”, or “slow-slow”.
4. Adjust cycle duration (if able) to the shortest time available or select “lite”.
5. If the cycle doesn’t automatically run cold, select “cold” or “cold-cold”.
6. Run the cycle then prepare to air dry the knits.

That’s it! Time to move onto drying.

How to Dry Your Sweaters Effectively 

Remember the third golden rule of washing knitted sweaters at home? You must dry them flat.

The only exception may be synthetics, but even then, you run the risk of pilling and shrinkage.

Our advice: dry them flat.

For handwashing:

1. After gently squeezing (not wringing) out excess water, transfer your sweater directly to a large towel and lay flat.
2. Apply gentle pressure as you roll up the sweater, squeezing out excess moisture. This also helps prevent wrinkles!
3. Unroll and repeat if necessary, but one roll is usually sufficient.
4. Next, lay flat on a large towel to dry.

Note: some sweater lovers and knitting enthusiasts swear by small electric spin dryers, which are gentler than using the spin cycle on your washer. Once spun, you’d still dry the knit flat.

For machine washing:

1. Remove knits from the washer and lay flat on a large towel to dry.

If your sweaters are wrinkled, we recommend using a clothes steamer or putting them in the bathroom while you shower to naturally release wrinkles.

Tips for Sweater Maintenance Between Washing

Knitted sweaters shouldn’t need washing as often as other clothes, especially if you follow these tips.

• Wear undershirts or layer under your sweaters to prevent perspiration odors on the sweater.
• Take sweaters off your kiddos (or yourself) before eating, doing art projects, etc..
• Air out your sweaters by hang-drying outdoors or indoors between uses.
• Use steam to iron out wrinkles and freshen.
• Dust underarms with rice starch or spray a little cheap vodka to absorb odors between washings.
• Use a sweater comb or shaver to remove fuzz balls and imperfections.

Interested in some of our favorite sustainable brands? 

We’ve really been loving Quince for sustainable, low-tox, and affordable cashmere, wool, and silk as well as organic cotton clothing, sheets, and more.

Also, see How To Choose Healthy Sustainable Clothing for more brand recommendations.

How to Store Sweaters While Avoiding Toxic Mothballs

These at-home washing methods work great during the cooler months and in preparation for storage.

As always, we recommend storing clean sweaters in air-tight containers using non-toxic mothball alternatives, like natural cedar.

Some people also find vacuum bags helpful for preserving their knits and preventing moth damage during the warmer months.

Find Human-Safe Laundry with Branch Basics

Did you know the laundry room is often the most toxic room in the house?

That’s because most laundry detergents, stain removers, laundry boosters, fabric softeners, etc. are loaded with harmful chemicals and endocrine-disrupting fragrance that permeate our indoor air, clothing, sheets, blankets, and towels.

This creates low-grade toxic exposure every time we run a load of washing, sleep in clean sheets, or wear our clothes.

Surely, we all deserve better than that!

Branch Basics all-in-one human-safe and earth-friendly cleaning and laundry system was created to simplify switching from synthetic products to healthier ones.

All our cleaning and laundry products are human-safe, plant- and mineral-based, Made Safe Certified, all ingredients are rated 1-2 on EWG Skin Deep, Cruelty-Free, biodegradable, third-party tested as non-skin and eye irritants, and made for the most sensitive individuals and families.

Our foundational product, Branch Basics Concentrate, was designed to replace every cleaning and laundry product with harmful ingredients in the home! 

Just add water to the refillable glass or plastic bottle to create enough All-Purpose, Bathroom, Foaming Wash, Streak-Free, and Laundry to last for months.

Everything you need is included in our Premium Starter Kits or Laundry Kits.

See for yourself in: How To Get Started With Your Branch Basics Kit, which contains a full video and written tutorial of how our system works.

Ready to get started? Check out our Premium Starter Kits, Laundry Kits, and Branch Basics NEW Laundry Detergent.