Whether you’ve spilled coffee down your front at Starbucks, you realize your lucky shirt is dirty on the morning of your big presentation, or you are on travel, sometimes you need to hand wash your shirt.

 

SPOT CLEANING IN A PUBLIC RESTROOM

Great for mishaps on planes, in office spaces, and in coffee shops and restaurants.

1. Wet the stains with water and rub a little bit of hand soap into each one until stain is removed.

2. Rinse each spot with cool water.

3. Squeeze out excess water (never wring) with paper towels if available. If a hand dryer is present, even better. Simply hold the shirt a foot away from blower nozzle until just shy of damp.

4. Once “dry”, smooth out the washed areas with your hands and voila!

 

FULL-SHIRT CLEANING AT HOME OR ON TRAVEL

Great for when you want to wash an entire shirt, but are limited by time or access to a washing machine.

1. Close all hardware and pre-treat any stains.

2. Fill a clean sink, a mixing bowl, or hotel ice bucket 3/4 full with cool water and add a touch of detergent (we like the Delicate Wash from The Laundress). Agitate water to dissolve mixture.

3. Submerge shirt in soap mixture and squeeze several times to distribute soap through shirt.

4. Let shirt soak for 2-30 minutes depending on time and soil level. Once finished, agitate soap through the shirt a few more times, then remove shirt from mixture and squeeze (like a ball, never wring).

5. Run cool water over shirt, continuing to squeeze like a ball until water runs clear of soap.

6. Lay out a clean towel and place flattened shirt on top. Roll shirt and towel like a sleeping bag, then press on the roll using your forearms (again, never wring).

7. Hang shirt to dry and gently run your hands down the shirt to smooth out wrinkles. The shirt should dry within 1.5 hours. This can be sped up using a fan or a hair dryer on low heat.