General care for all Polartec® Fabrics
Keeping your Polartec® fabrics looking new and performing better.
Polartec® fabrics are known for their easy care and lasting durability. Most Polartec® fabric can be washed in warm water and tumbled dry on low and in most cases this will deliver the best post-wash feel and performance.
However, every single Polartec® fabric can be machine washed cold and line dried and a few of our fabrics require it. This approach is the most gentle for the fabric and is also the most energy-efficient. One of the greatest environmental impacts of our clothing is washing and drying over the life of the garment. Using cold water and line drying saves a large amount of energy. And most Polartec® fabrics are stain-resistant (requiring less laundering) and dry extremely quickly on their own.
A few general tips:
• At Polartec®, we don’t always know what trim or special features clothing companies may have applied to the finished garment. So please refer to the care instructions on the garment in addition to our general suggestions.
• Front-loading washers are preferred if possible. They are gentler on our fabrics and use less water generally than top-loading agitation-style machines.
• Turning a fleece garment inside out prior to wash can help preserve its appearance.
• Detergents and machine-washing in general gradually degrade the Durable Water Repellent (DWR) treatment on fabrics. To get the best performance, run an extra rinse cycle, and tumble dry low if garment care instructions allow.
• Some fabric treatments like Polartec® Power Care™ DWR require warm water and some time in the dryer to be activated. Follow the specific instructions on the bottle when using a fabric treatment product.
General care for Next-to-Skin Fabrics – Polartec® Power Dry® and Polartec® Power Stretch®:
• 100% polyester: Machine wash warm (105F, 40C), tumble dry low.
• Blends of polyester, nylon, polypropylene, wool, and/or spandex, or where garment care instructions indicate: Cold wash (85F, 30C), line dry.
Next-to-Skin fabrics Polartec® Power Dry® and Polartec® Power Stretch® rely upon mechanical wicking to pull moisture away from the skin. Using too much detergent in the wash cycle or fabric softener in the dry cycle can inhibit the wicking action. Be sure to use light detergent (Polartec® Power Care™ Base Layer Wash) that rinses completely clean and avoid fabric softeners for these fabrics.
Insulation Fabrics: Polarfleece®, Polartec® Classic, Polartec® Thermal Pro®, and Polartec® Wind Pro®. As a general rule, most fabrics in these series can be machine washed warm (105F, 40C), tumble dry low.
Blends of polyester, nylon, polypropylene, and/or spandex, or where garment care instructions indicate: Cold wash (85F, 30C), line dry.
However, consider reducing environmental impact with a cold wash and line dry on all these fabrics. (Note: A few minutes in a dryer on low can improve the softness/fluffiness of the fabric.) Use a clean-rinsing detergent (Polartec® Power Care™ Outerwear Cleaner™). Fabric softener can be used to reduce static cling, but this will also reduce the effectiveness of the Durable Water Repellency (DWR) treatment. If you would like to increase the DWR, we recommend Polartec® Power Care™ DWR to renew the water repellency.
General care for Weather Protection Fabrics (laminates) – Most Polartec® Windbloc® and Polartec® Power Shield fabrics are laminates. When washing is necessary, we recommend using a front-loading washer, cold wash (85F,30C), and a light detergent like Polartec® Power Care™ Outerwear. Refer to garment care labels for drying instructions. When possible, tumble dry low is specified to improve DWR performance. In some instances, however, line dry is required. Remember, line drying is always an energy-saving and safe alternative to dryer use.