None of this is complicated. It is mostly one rule: heat is what wrecks a print. Wash cold, dry low or not at all, and the graphic will outlast the garment.
Every printed garment
- Turn it inside out before it goes in. This is the single highest-value habit on this page — it stops the print rubbing against everything else in the drum.
- Cold water. Warm and hot are what fade and crack prints.
- Like colors, gentle cycle if your machine has one.
- Tumble low or hang it. Hanging is better. A hot dryer is the fastest way to ruin a good shirt.
- No bleach. No dry cleaning.
- Don't iron the print. If you must iron, go inside-out and work around the graphic.
By garment
Cotton tees and long sleeves
Wash inside-out in cold, tumble dry low or hang it. Ours are pre-shrunk so there is very little movement, but cold water means none at all.
Fleece — hoodies and sweatshirts
Cold wash inside-out, dry low. Skip the fabric softener. It coats the fibres and flattens the loft, which is the whole reason fleece is warm. A hoodie washed with softener for a season comes out thin and never comes back.
Performance fabric — hi-vis tees, jerseys, tanks
Cold wash, hang dry. No fabric softener and no hot dryer. Softener clogs the wicking structure and the fabric stops doing the one thing you bought it for. Heat is what wrecks performance fabric permanently.
Rash guard
Rinse it thoroughly after every use and get the chlorine or salt out before it dries. That one habit is the difference between two seasons and five. Cold wash, hang dry, never a hot dryer.
Hats
Spot clean and air dry. The dishwasher trick is a myth and it will cost you the shape — heat and detergent warp the buckram in the front panels. Cold water, a soft brush, and patience. Air dry on something roughly head-shaped so the crown keeps its form.
Mug
Dishwasher and microwave safe. Genuinely no rules on this one.
Stickers and decals
Apply to a clean, dry, smooth surface — wipe it with alcohol first and let it flash off. Press from the centre outward to push the air out. Give it 24 hours before it gets wet or scrubbed. The small kiss-cut stickers are not rated for weather; the 3″×4″ vinyl decals are.
Phone cases
Wipe with a soft, damp cotton or microfiber cloth. Skip solvents and alcohol wipes — they haze the finish.
Things that will cost you a shirt
- Hot dryer, every time. It is always the dryer.
- Fabric softener on fleece or performance fabric.
- Bleach, including the ‘colour-safe’ kind.
- Ironing directly on the print.
- Leaving a sweaty shirt balled up in a truck for three days. That is not a care instruction, that is just a fact.
Anything not covered here, email sales@altitudeiron.com or use the contact form. A real person answers, usually within one business day.