# Care Label Contents



## Oritron (Feb 26, 2007)

Hi everyone,

I moved this set of questions from another thread I started the other day, since they aren't really related to the rest of the thread. No one has answered yet, I'd love to get some insight!

What are care instructions should I include for a t-shirt? I am really not an expert on keeping t-shirts for ever. Here are the specs that I am aware of that apply to the shirts I want to use:

Cotton, ringspun, silicone/silicon (I've seen both used, clearly one is wrong, since they are different things) washed shirts.

From what I've gathered, these are the points I have to hit:

Drying
Will hang drying rather than tumble drying make for a longer-lasting shirt?
What temperature can you dry a cotton shirt at? Wouldn't it depend on how long you are drying for?

Washing
Saying "wash with like colours" seems to make sense.
My mom taught me to wash whites at warm, and colours cold. Should I have a different tag for whites than colours (money!)? Do you just go on the safe side and say cold wash?

Bleach
No brainer, I think... they shouldn't be bleaching this shirt. I could be wrong, though.

Fabric softener
Do these affect the finish of a shirt? I would imagine that stuff gets softer (shocking) if you use it, but I have read something about not using fabric softeners on bamboo shirts, since it blocks antibacterial properties and such. Is that an issue for cotton?

Ironing
My shirts are going to be water-based prints, so ironing over the design works. However, I am thinking of getting plastisol tags. Does it make sense to specify "do not iron over this tag," or should I just say "do not iron" and avoid some risk?
I know that in some parts of the world ironing t-shirts is more common

Am I missing anything?

Thanks in advance, everyone!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

We can't give you your care instructions. In order to be legally compliant they need to be accurate to the garment they are on, which means they need to be tested. If you just want to stick with boilerplate, you can grab the care instructions off any pre-existing t-shirt.


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## Oritron (Feb 26, 2007)

Solmu said:


> In order to be legally compliant they need to be accurate to the garment they are on, which means they need to be tested.


That makes a lot of sense! It definitely explains why I haven't found info on making care instructions. I'll just keep the care instructions from the shirts I print, then. Thanks Solmu!

In general, though, will stuff last longer if you use hang drying vs tumble? Fabric softener vs no fabric softener?


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Oritron said:


> In general, though, will stuff last longer if you use hang drying vs tumble?


Hang dry. Hang dry is basically harmless (unless you put it in direct sunlight, which can be a problem for fading, and for wool), tumble drying will potentially damage the print or cause more shrinkage (or it might do nothing, depends on the dryer, the shirt, etc.).



Oritron said:


> Fabric softener vs no fabric softener?


As far as I know the care instructions don't need to cover fabric softener, in which case I'd avoid giving an opinion you can be held to (though that's extremely far-fetched anyway).


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