Tips

Whatever you love most, Soak can help you get it clean.

Knits | Lingerie | Swimwear | Quilts | Extended Uses

Knits

Download our article from Knit Simple magazine. It gives you the full scoop on Soaking knits. Soak is ideal for raw fibers, spinning, dyeing and the entire fiber lifecycle.

Here are the basics of hand washing. These guidelines are as important for your first scarf as they are for the favorite sweater you’ve been wearing for years.

Use Lots of Water

Fill the sink so there is movement and water flowing freely around whatever you are Soaking. If you don't have enough water the dirt may not fully come out of the knits.

Cool Water

Use cold or cool water to Soak your goods. Warm or hot water can contribute to felting (with wools) or shrinkage with some delicate materials.

Less is More (Detergent)

Use a teaspoon of Soak with a gallon of water. With low-suds/ no-rinse formulations like Soak, less is always more as bubbles are an illusion and they are not what actually does the cleaning. Don't add more Soak to get more bubbles (unless you are taking a bubble bath with your knits- which works too).

Test for color fastness

Rub a bit of the wash product on an inconspicuous part of the garment. Leave it there for 2 minutes and rinse. If there is no bleeding you are good to go. Don’t worry if you Soak too long, or leave a piece overnight. There isn’t anything harmful in most wash products. I leave the light on in the bathroom when Soaking in the sink so I don’t forget.

15 Minutes will Change your Life

Contrary to popular belief, hand washing is easy. A quick Soak is all it takes. Soon, you’ll want to wash all of your finished projects, your lingerie and other delicates.

Don’t Mind the Dirt or Over-Dye

In hand-washing we get a fresh perspective on how much dirt and oils are actually in our clothes. Be prepared for the dirty colour of the water if you haven't washed the piece in a while. With hand-knits and hand-dyed yarns, excess colour will come out when you wash. Gentle cleansers, like Soak, allow the over-dye to come out of the knitted garment and trap it in the water.

Washing Machines including HE

You can wash your delicates in the washing machine using cold water and the delicate cycle. However, traditional powder washes are not as effective as liquids in High Efficiency (HE) washing machines. Soak is appropriate for regular machine washing and HE machines.

Remove and Lay Flat to Dry

Once the garment is Soaked, remove as much water as you can by gently squeezing the sweater over the sink. Do not to lift the weight of the water in the piece.
Lay the knit piece flat on a towel, reshaping it as you go. This is called blocking. Essentially you are moving the fibers back into place so that when they dry they are their original shape.

Do Not Wring

Roll the newly cleaned item in a towel to remove excess water. Always resist the temptation to wring and twist.
Remove the mostly dry piece from the towel and lay it flat to dry in a place that allows circulation of air on all sides. Do not use a wood chair or table as water from the yarn may adversely affect the wood surface. Flip the piece over half way during drying to make sure it has a chance to dry on both sides and that it is maintaining its original shape. If you are lucky enough to have a gentle spin cycle on your dryer, you can also spin away the excess water.

Soaking Swatches

If you are Soaking a swatch, measure your stitch count after the swatch has dried. The stitches will relax and the block will likely grow in size.

Moths and knits

Moths. We’re always asked about them. No amount of detergent will add moth resistance to your knits. Not Soak, not the competition. Moth inhibitors are toxic, harsh chemicals. We recommend you wash your knits on a regular basis and store them clean. The best way to avoid moths in your knit stash or sweater closet is to keep the goods clean. The moths are attracted to wool (or other natural fibers), but more specifically, the oils from your skin trapped inside. Wash them often and especially before you put them away for the off season.

Check out our blog for more moth related tips.

Lingerie

Soak is ideal for hand-washing delicate lingerie. Look for Soak at your favorite Intimate Apparel Boutique across North America as well as department stores, in the lingerie section.

With Soak, people who care about their clothes have a great no-rinse wash solution and an exciting selection of yummy, contemporary scents. Our customers love it. It’s perfect for anything that’s hand-washable – and that includes everything from your raciest lingerie to your sports bra and your every day favorites.

“Not having to rinse to get out residue soap is a real bonus” -customer

The rules of lingerie care are simple. We’re working on a lingerie care tool kit. Watch for updates.

Wear your favorite, fanciest, best fitting lingerie on a regular basis. Don’t just save it for a special occasion.
Hand-wash your lingerie.
Hand-wash your bras every one or two wears. This will prolong their life.
Wash sets together.

Swimwear

We’re always asked if Soak will take out chlorine when washing swimwear.

The key to washing swimwear is getting all of the ‘chlorinated water’ out during the Soak-ing process. Soak does not neutralize chlorine; it helps remove the chlorinated water, and other dirt from the suit. Ingredients that neutralize chlorine tend to be harsh and also potentially damaging to fibers. Chlorine damages fibers when it is on the swim suit, in the water, while the swimmer is wearing it, stretched, over their body. Once out of the water, Soak works to remove chlorine, dirt, sweat and other particles from the swimwear itself, leaving a clean, fresh and chlorine free swimsuit.

The smell of the chlorine can live beyond the actual chlorine, when you swim a lot, ever notice how even after the hot shower, you still smell like a pool? Make sure when you Soak your suit, there’s enough water to flow freely around your suit. If there isn’t enough water and movement around the suit, the chlorine and dirt doesn’t have enough water flow to sufficiently come out. Swimming a lot? A double soak/ rinse combination is great to further remove chlorine smell if it remains after the first Soak. Or, wash it in the shower, then Soak at home. When I wash my swimsuit after being in the pool, it gets a quick rinse with Soak (which doesn’t take out all of the chlorine smell) and then a proper long Soak at home, which does.

Soak is made from a premium ingredient structure that is still gentle on your skin/ hands, while cleaning your swimsuit. Although Soak is no-rinse, if the swimsuit has been in chlorinated water for a prolonged time, we encourage rinsing.

No wash product can fully restore the damage that is done to fibers when they are stressed while on the body and in chlorine. Soak ensures that the swimwear is cleaned properly, prolonging its life and continued use.

Quilts

Often we find that the most appealing textiles are the most delicate. Rarely do we concern ourselves with fiber care when choosing vintage fabrics in urban flea markets, digging through stashes in the attic or purchasing limited edition textiles from remote and exotic locations. Fortunately for crafters, here at Soak, we explore washing methods and fiber care in general so that you can focus on your love of craft, sewing and print. We get countless phone calls with questions about finished projects gone awry when fiber care wasn’t considered at the onset of a project (or crafty purchase).Our mission is to empower crafters to confidently work with the best and most luxurious textiles they can find. We also want everyone to wear the best frocks they can find or make. The more confident you are taking care of all your fibers, the more you’ll love them and the longer they’ll last.

Here are some tips and tricks for specialty fibers, as well as the basics of hand washing. Remember, the less we know about the origin of the textile, the more attention needs to be give to how we care for it. Our basic rule is that if the fabric is going to get washed (even by hand) at some point during its life, wash it before you cut, sew or alter it so you’ll know what you are in for. We’ve made hand washing fun, so be creative and enjoy!

Mark Lipinski’s posse voted Soak the top detergent for quilts!

Learn and listen

Try to learn as much as possible about your fabric. Where is it from? What kinds of dyes were used? Did it come with special instructions? Often rare fibers come from people as interesting as the textiles themselves, who are happy to share their experiences and fiber history with you.

Test for color fastness and shrinkage

Rub a bit of the wash product on an inconspicuous part of the garment. Leave it there for 2 minutes and rinse. If there is no bleeding you are good to go. Don’t worry if you Soak too long, or leave a piece overnight. There isn’t anything harmful in most wash products. I leave the light on in the bathroom when Soaking in the sink so I don’t forget.
If you have excess fabric, wash and test for shrinkage before you make your project.

Some textiles (especially modern synthetics) were just never meant to get wet.

Materials with stiffeners, interfacings and sizing (wool suits, for example, as compared to wool sweaters) can not get wet.
Many hand-made textiles come with ‘do not wash’ instructions yet can be Soaked, with little agitation and cool water as needed. Use your judgment or ask someone who has more textile experience.
If your textiles come with a ‘do not wash’ warning, consider a crafty project that doesn’t need repeated washes during its life. Mentally go through the textile’s life to determine how much washing, if any, will be needed.

Don’t Mind the Dirt

In hand-washing we get a fresh perspective on how much dirt and oils are actually in our clothes. Be prepared for the dirty colour of the water if you haven't washed the piece in a while, or if is a vintage piece.

Mind the Over-Dye

With hand-knits and hand-dyed fibers, excess color will come out when you wash. Gentle cleansers, like Soak, allow the over-dye to come out of the textile piece and trap it in the water. Be aware not to have the garment folded, or have multiple colours in the same wash.

“At the Guild we had a white quilt with marking pencil tracings that would not come out despite trying several different methods that usually work. We had a small sample of soak so decided to try it. We diluted it with a bit of water and dabbed it on the lines. Magically they disappeared leaving no residue and we had a much relieved quilt maker”. -customer

“The advantage is less stress on the threads…” -customer

“Not having to rinse to get out residue soap is a real bonus” –customer

“It came out beautifully -soft, clean and unmatted”. –customer

Extended Uses

We know there are many more uses for Soak. Here are a few brilliant washing solutions for all of your favorite fabrics, knits and fiber projects that just don’t fit into one of our other categories.

You can also use Soak on your pet - because a wet dog is pretty much like a wet sheep.

Need an answer on something that isn’t covered here? Ask us a question?

If you would like to stock Soak, we would love to hear from you.

“My daughter's teddy is on his last legs (too fragile for the washer) but at the same time is extremely filthy - yuck!! Teddy has had his bath and he looks great - no damage”.